The eternal sounds of Motown echoed through the years and off the walls of a jammed Savannah Center on Wednesday.
Theo Peoples, the only man to sing lead with the Temptations and the Four Tops, captured Motown magic in all its soulful and funky glory. The show was billed as Theo Peoples and the Four Tops, but it was so much more than that for a generation that came of age with Motown.
This night was about honoring the memories of such late Motown pioneers as Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, along with the Temptations’ David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Dennis Edwards.
There were plenty of standards, including “(Reach Out) I’ll Be There,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination.” But one song touched the heart, as well as the soul.
It was “A Song For You,” a bittersweet, mournful number from 1975 with Dennis Edwards on lead. “We just lost Dennis, this year,” Peoples said. “We dedicate this song to him and all the rest of the performers who made Motown. Without them, we would not be here tonight.”
I remember when Dennis Edwards played The Villages three years ago. He offered similar thoughts about his late musical partners: “I’ll never forget them. I stand here tonight because of them.”
Motown memories can be sad, but the music is uplifting and powerful.
Peoples and the rest of these Four Tops – Larry Johnson, Terry Horn and Michael White – opened with a rousing standard, “Baby I Need Your Loving.”
There are a myriad of Motown tribute acts, but Peoples and his singing crew – with help from a remarkable six-piece band – brought authenticity and infused the old songs with new energy.
Larry Johnson’s falsetto lead on “Just My Imagination,” “You’re My Everything” and “The Way You Do the Things You Do” honored the memory of Eddie Kendricks.
But it was Peoples who dominated this show.
“Levi Stubbs (late lead singer of the Four Tops) passed the torch on to Theo Peoples,” Johnson said.
Peoples hit the high notes on such Tops’ staples as “Bernadette” and showed he could get into a mellow R&B groove on “Ask The Lonely.”
The Tops had a smash in 1981 with “When She Was My Girl,” and Peoples and company nailed it. The same could be said for “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got.” Things turned seriously funky with “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.”
Peoples and the group saved the best for last with an explosive three-song encore that had the Savannah audience standing in their seats and dancing in the aisles.
It began with a blistering “(Reach Out) I’ll Be There,” which turned into a thumping “Standing In The Shadows of Love” and ended with a triumphant “(Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) I Can’t Help Myself.” Peoples and the guys ended that number by coming off stage and singing, while marching down the center isle of Savannah.
On this night, the sounds – and spirits – of Motown Past were alive, well and rocking.
