Motown mourns Levi Stubbs

Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and performer Smokey Robinson were among the mourners at a funeral service in Detroit on Monday for Levi Stubbs, frontman for the Four Tops.

“He will always be here,” Robinson said. “You’re going to turn on the radio and hear him tomorrow. He made his mark on the world. All of the world, you’ll be able to hear Levi Stubbs forever.”

Stubbs died in his sleep Oct. 17 at his Detroit home. He was 72.

His dynamic and emotive voice drove Motown classics such as “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” and “Baby I Need Your Loving.”

“He made us walk in his shoes, felt what he felt and loved what he loved,” Gordy said. “He not only sang the song, he was the song.”