My Levi Stubbs Story

The year would have been 1992 or 1993, I'm guessing...I can only guess because I used to go to Las Vegas twice a year, every year, from about 1986 to 1997...Once a year for Super Bowl, and random 5-day jaunts from time to time, not to mention the summers when my long road trips through the western US blew me through that sinful city...

Now, it's probably no surprise that as a young boho hipster doofus I took a few cues from Hunter S Thompson, which means my trips to Vegas were oftentimes literally, trips...Self-experimentation RE my interaction with the people and assorted stimuli of that loud/colorful city whilst intoxicated on various substances...

So, to cut to the chase...In 1992 or 1993 I went to a Don Rickles show at the Golden Nugget while tripping on a tab of Blue Bart (Simpson) acid...It was a damn good thing we had cheaper seats in the back half of the hall, cuz Rickles works the front of the room pretty damn heavily, and had I somehow ended up the target of his jabs that night, I most certainly would have completely melted down...So yeah, it's a good thing Rickles is a short, fat man who won't or can't stray more than about 15 feet from the stage, wireless mic be damned...

So, there I was, tripping balls about 100 feet away from Don Rickles, watching his head balloon in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out, and changing colors slowly...All the colors of the rainbow, not to mention ultra-violet, infrared, x-ray and for a short burst, I'm pretty sure he turned into pure radio waves...

In addition to the Blue Bart, there was a two drink minimum, which was outright laughable for a drinker like me (then, not so much now), so I downed about 4 or 5 Brandy Alexanders during the show, and I laughed like a maniac, which went completely unnoticed because, well, Don Rickles is a damn funny mofo, and all 2000 of us were howling...

We all know the man's schtick - he tells ethnic jokes, and in that live club setting, he picks out individuals for his various target groups - blacks, Asians, Arabs, Jews, the fat, the ugly, the effeminate - and he keeps going back to 'em throughout his set...So, that night he's zero'd in on a particular black man who is sitting, dressed to the nines, in the very front row...And Rickles rocks this guy time and time again, working him into the act, mostly with jokes about pimping and black sexual endowance and endurance...Coming back to the dude time and again for the better part of an hour...

So, at the end of his show, Rickles reiterates his MO about being an equal opportunity offender, and he takes time to apologize to those specific people he's used in his act, and he gets to the last guy, this dapper black man...Rickles has him stand up, and ask him his name...

"Levi Stubbs."

Now, I don't know if Don Rickles was merely playing ignorant, or if the name meant absolutely nothing to him, but he started walking away from Levi Stubbs, and that's when the piano player who had opened the show chimed in, "Levi Stubbs! He's the singer from The Four Tops!"

A look of utter shock and surprise seemed to cross Rickle's bulbous and quivering purple head, and he went back and the two talked some more before Stubbs sang some "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" and brought the room down...It was one of the greatest and most memorable nights of my life...

And that's my Levi Stubbs story.

Hotcha! Hank

This Post Was Inevitable

Billy Bragg: Talking With The Taxman About Poetry: "Levi Stubb's Tears" [mp3]

Levi Stubbs is the kind of man who gets his name in the titles of other people's songs.

Hotcha! Hank

A Tear For Levi

The Four Tops: "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" [mp3]

Levi Stubbs, lead singer of The Four Tops, passed away today at the age of 72.

I heard plenty of Motown and Mr. Stubbs commanding yet pleading voice in the house and car growing up...Motown was right up my mom's alley, and my Sister Starsky and I dug the hell outta Hitsville USA too, and if you have any doubts about just how powerful that Motown Sound truly is, play it to children...Play it to babies, even...It's been my experience with my two nieces, Shorty and The Manga Queen, as well as the experience of several other parents I've discussed this with over the years (hey, I consider this an important phenomenon worthy of examination) that any given Motown song, whether sung by The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Spinners, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, will put a smile on a small child's face, and get them bopping around...The consensus is that the Motown Sound, more than any other music, save perhaps Sesame Street, has the most profound effect on the young...toddlers in particular...1-3 year olds...

So, what is it? What's the secret? Holland-Dozier-Holland songcraft? The sweet strings? Those supple horns? James Jamerson's amazing bass? All those amazing vocal arrangements and harmonies? Berry Gordy's production style/philosophy in general?

It all adds up to the most sophisticated simplicity, that's all I can say, something powerful and upbeat and joyous even when Levi Stubbs is singing about his heart being ripped apart...

RIP, Levi Stubbles.

Hotcha! Hank