Motown Records may have been the home to the "Sound of Young America," but the Four Tops – as successful as any early Motown act, including the Temptations and the Supremes – were Young America's older brothers and uncles. They'd been together nearly 10 years when Berry Gordy signed them in 1964, and it wasn't until 1965, when they released "Baby I Need Your Loving," which climbed to number 11 on the pop charts, that their future was sealed. From there they ripped off a string of hits that ranked – in terms of commercial and artistic success – with those of any artists in pop history.

One key to the group's success was their pairing with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team that provided them with classic pop material like "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "It's the Same Old Song," and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)." But where the pairing really soared was on tunes like "Reach Out" and "Bernadette," which were musically and emotionally more complex than typical hit-parade material and well suited for a group that had bled a decade of hard-fought dues before hitting pay dirt. The Tops never had a lock on success after H.-D.-H. left Motown in mid '67, but 1970's Still Waters Run Deep (which produced the hit of the same name) was a shot across Motown's bow letting it know the company had a roster with artists who aspired to more then kid-friendly singles.