Music
Renaldo "Obie" Benson
1936–2005 · bass singer, songwriter
Detroit-born bass singer of the Four Tops who wrote the first draft of "What's Going On" and persuaded Marvin Gaye to record it.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 69- Birth name
- Renaldo Benson
- Also known as
- Obie Benson
- Detroit years
- 1936–2005
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Benson grew up in Detroit and attended Northern High School with Lawrence Payton. In 1953–1954 the pair teamed up with Levi Stubbs and Duke Fakir as the Four Aims, soon renamed the Four Tops, and Benson handled the group's choreography in its early years. After stints with Chess, Columbia and the jazz supper-club circuit, the quartet signed with Motown in 1963 and scored "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". In 1969, back in Detroit after seeing police beat protesters at People's Park in Berkeley, Benson began writing "What's Going On" with lyricist Al Cleveland, who rented the upstairs of his duplex. The Four Tops turned it down; Marvin Gaye reshaped it into his 1971 masterpiece. Benson sang with the group until 2005 and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Highlights
- Founding member of the Four Tops (1953–2005)
- Co-wrote "What's Going On" with Al Cleveland and Marvin Gaye
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1990 with the Four Tops
- Buried at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · early 1950s
Northern High School
Closed · 1916–2007
He and Lawrence Payton were schoolmates here before forming the Four Tops. The building now houses the Detroit International Academy.
Recorded here · 1963–1972
Motown Museum
The Four Tops recorded their Motown hits here.
Buried here · 2005
Woodlawn Cemetery
His grave.