Duke Fakir
Duke Fakir | |
---|---|
LBJ Presidential Library in 2019 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Abdul Kareem Fakir |
Born | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | December 26, 1935
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1953–present |
Member of | Four Tops |
Abdul Kareem Fakir (born December 26, 1935),
Biography
Fakir was born on December 26, 1935, in
With their shared love of singing, they tried a few other singers then decided to ask
They became a popular local performing group but recording success eluded them until they signed with the newly established Motown Records in 1963. They soon became one of the biggest recording groups of the 1960s, with 14 charted hits through the early 1980s. They are listed at number 77 in Billboard magazine "Top 100 Artists Of All Time".[8] Fakir was a guest on the "Not My Job" segment of the NPR radio show Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me broadcast on January 21, 2012.[6] In 2022, Fakir was featured in an Associated Press Q&A article[9] and video in which he discusses his memoir called I'll Be There: My Life With The Four Tops,[10] and musical[11] based on his life and the story of The Four Tops.
Awards and achievements
As a member of the Four Tops Fakir was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990,[12] received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997,[13] was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999,[14] the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998,[15] received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009,[16] and was included in the Billboard magazine Top 100 Recording Artists of All Time.[8]
Personal life
Fakir resides in the Palmer Park section of Detroit with his second wife. He has four children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild as of 2016.[17] Fakir attributes his upbringing in Detroit as a strong influence in his choice to pursue his music career. Detroit is "full of churches. It's one of those cities in which gospel music has always been prevalent, jazz music had always been prevalent. Back in the day this was a jazz town... And when I was born we went to church, just like a couple of the other guys, so we sang all our lives pretty much... my mother worked at church and my cousins and I, we all went to choir, we grew up there."[18] Both Benson and Fakir received scholarships to attend the same college and were preparing to enter. However, the group received their first professional singing engagement during the summer of 1954 in Flint, Michigan, took a gamble, and decided to pursue their music career instead.[18][19]
Fakir was close friends with fellow Motown artist
References
- Allmusic. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Duke Fakir, the remaining member of the Four Tops".
- ^ His mother was an African American named Tessa.Wright, John (October 21, 2018). "Abdul 'Duke' Fakir: 'I lost $30k gambling – but then I won it back'". The Daily Telegraph. p. 14.
My father was a factory worker who came from the part of India which is now Bangladesh.
- ^ Maynard, Micheline. "Levi Stubbs, 72, Powerful Voice for Four Tops, Dies." The New York Times. October 17, 2008. Retrieved on November 7, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "2010 Interview with Dave Lawrence". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me". NPR.
- ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
- ^ a b Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists list Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Listal.com (2008-09-12). Retrieved on 2012-11-10.
- ^ "Duke Fakir details The Four Tops musical bond in new book". AP News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- OCLC 1281135768.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ McCollum, Brian. "Four Tops musical 'I'll Be There' will premiere in Detroit ahead of Broadway run". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ^ The Four Tops Biography | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine. Rockhall.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-10.
- ^ The Four Tops | Hollywood Walk of Fame Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. Walkoffame.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-10.
- ^ The Four Tops – Inductees – The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. Vocalgroup.org. Retrieved on 2012-11-10.
- ^ "GRAMMY Awards: Here Are the 2018 GRAMMY Hall of Fame Inductees". 1077theend.com. January 16, 2018. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ Entertainment | Four Tops to get lifetime Grammy Archived 2008-12-25 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News (2008-12-22). Retrieved on 2012-05-13.
- ^ "Where are they now". Daily Express. September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b "The Last Top".
- ^ 2012 Interview with BBC Breakfast.
- ^ "Motown: The Musical, UK. Exclusive Interview with Duke Fakir".
- ^ "Mary Wilson Duke Fakir YouAndMeThisMorning". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
- ^ "US Government Seeks $500k in Unpaid Taxes from Motown Legend". Michigan Live. January 19, 2023.