The Four Tops' Duke Fakir was Detroit's proud and friendly Motown ambassador

Before his death Monday at 88, Duke Fakir wasn’t just the conservator and proponent of the Four Tops’ legacy. He was one of Motown’s most prominent homegrown ambassadors.

Through the decades — and years after Berry Gordy moved his operations to the West Coast — the suave and sweet-tempered singer became a leading beacon of Motown in its birthplace, a ubiquitous presence at events big and small.

In Detroit, Duke Fakir was Motown, and Motown was Duke Fakir. Well into his final years, he was the living embodiment of history, blessed with a vivid memory and a million stories to go with the snazzy suits and wide smile.

It was a position that proved fruitful to the Motown Museum, where a favor from Fakir was just a phone call away and “the answer was always yes,” said chairwoman and CEO Robin Terry.

More:Four Tops' Duke Fakir, group co-founder and keeper of legacy, dies at 88 in Detroit

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Fakir was always around — helping launch the museum’s floats in Detroit’s Thanksgiving parade, performing at fundraising events, even serving as the recorded voice that greeted phone callers.

“Duke was one of a kind,” said Terry. “There wasn’t anything I ever asked of him that he didn’t do. He was one of those alumni you could always count on.”

Fakir’s tight relationship with the West Grand Boulevard institution will be emphasized later this week: On Thursday, the late singer’s public viewing will be held at Hitsville Next, the expansion space next door to the building where the Four Tops once recorded many of their biggest hits.

He will be the first person to lie in honor at the Motown Museum.

More:Public viewing for Four Tops’ Duke Fakir to be held at Motown Museum on Thursday

It follows a posthumous gesture from Fakir’s family, who asked that fans and other mourners donate to the museum in lieu of sending flowers.

“Duke meant everything to us, so we’re very, very grateful for that,” Terry said.

If there was a Motown event in Detroit and he wasn’t on the road with his group, Fakir was there. That’s why it was notable last October when the singer failed to show up at a museum party held at the Roostertail. It turns out he was in declining health, and soon quietly retired from touring duties.

Fakir’s devotion to Detroit and the Motown Museum stemmed in part from longevity. He and the Tops were among the few artists who remained in Detroit when Motown Records headed to Los Angeles in the early ‘70s. And by the time of his death, he had outlived many of his colleagues, including his fellow Four Tops founders.

“He was so proud to carry the banner for the Four Tops that he sincerely appreciated the mission of the museum to perpetuate that story and the legacy of Motown,” Terry said. “He made himself available whenever and wherever he could to help us advance that mission.”

But it was also rooted in Fakir’s deep pride for his hometown — a city that had “given me so much,” as he told the Free Press in 2021.

Drew Schultz, a drummer and onetime musical director in the Four Tops band, said Fakir would happily rep Detroit on the road, hitting the airport in Tigers wear and other hometown apparel.

“Being from Detroit clearly meant a lot to him,” Schultz said.

Schultz was a New York resident when he landed the drummer gig in 2009. Fakir and the group insisted he move to Detroit.

“They wanted to have as many of the core (musicians) in Detroit as possible,” he said.

A Four Tops hometown show was always a special event, teeming with spontaneity and crowd interaction, Schultz recalled. The stage wings would be crowded with friends and family; folks such as Aretha Franklin would have front-row seats.

“They were world-famous but still hometown heroes at the same time,” the drummer said.

A sense of family prevailed as well at the Motown Museum, where Terry referred to Fakir as “the Duke” and he nicknamed her “Hollywood.”

Fakir didn’t bring just star power to his Motown outreach efforts. He also brought a genuine passion and love for the history, tradition and musical endowment.

In that way, Terry said, “he’s irreplaceable.”

“The loss of a giant like Duke really does mark the end of an era for the Four Tops,” said the museum chief. “And our mission is to make sure that the world never forgets those musical giants and their contributions to American culture.”

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.