Four Tops ~ When She Was My Girl 1981 Soul Purrfection Version

The Four Tops, Levi Stubbs, Obie Benson, Lawrence Payton and Duke Fakir had been together since 1954, way before Berry Gordy left his job at a record store to start Motown records.

They had their first #1 R&B hit with "I Can't Help Myself" in 1965 and it spent nine weeks at the top, and two weeks atop the Hot 100. Their second #1 "Reach Out I'll Be There" came the following year and spent two weeks at #1 R&B and the Hot100.

They had many more hits including "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got),"Bernadette", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" and their third #1 R&B, "When She Was My Girl" in 1981. The Tops were without a label but never lacked for work performing in clubs around the US.

Their manager Ron Strasner, met the wife of David Wolfert who knew her husband loved Levi Stubbs music and made the introduction. Soon they were signed to Casablanca Records where Wolfert was a staff producer. Wolfert knew Rich Chertoff (Cyndi Lauper) who brought songwriters Larry Gottlieb and Marc Blatte to him and their synth demo of "When She Was My Girl". There was no bridge so they completed the song and presented it along with other songs they had to the group, who welcomed the opportunity to work with them.

The song is a throwback to the doo wop era and is reinforced by the sound of the melodica solo, a kind of mouth organ with a small keyboard popular in the 60'S. The nuns at my school used the melodica to accompany the singing students and help us get the right key to sing in. All this nostalgia lent a certain charm to the song and it still resonates today.

Someone asked for a remix and I got on it right away for my 30 days 30 Remixes challenge. I hope you are enjoying this ride!