Temptations, Four Tops get ready for Broadway

NEW YORK — As soul survivors and sole survivors, Otis Williams and Abdul "Duke" Fakir have clearly forged a deep bond.

Williams and Fakir are the only original members of, respectively, the Temptations and the Four Tops still alive. The legendary Motown groups tour together frequently, but the gig that brings them both to Manhattan this holiday season is a special one: The Temptations & the Four Tops, running Dec. 29 through Jan. 4 at the Palace Theatre, marks the vocal groups' first concerts on Broadway since 1986.

"New York audiences have been great to us," says Fakir, in town with Williams a couple of weeks before the seven-show stint begins.

"But you got to give it up for them," adds Williams, leaning forward in his chair as Fakir nods.

"It's like playoffs would be for a basketball player," Fakir confirms. "You've got to up your game."

In conversation, Fakir, who turns 79 today, and Williams, 73, casually complete or embellish each other's thoughts. And they offer similar prescriptions for longevity.

"Twenty years ago, I stopped drinking and smoking and messing around — and staying up late," Fakir says. "Fortunately enough, I still have this tenor voice that I had when I was 20."

Adds Williams, "For Duke and I to still be around, you have to have more discipline, know what matters. You can't be out there partying and drinking and with the girls — we did all that. Truth be told, shame the devil. But it's business now. Because traveling can drain you."

Their rapport offstage and on doesn't preclude a little friendly rivalry. "At Motown, we were raised on competition," Fakir points out. "We all competed, constantly. The writers were competing with each other, producers, engineers, groups."

Members of the groups "would bet on who would get the No. 1 song" each week, Williams notes. "But it's all in fun."

Asked about favorite songs, each cites the other's catalog, going back to the beginning. "My Girl — I mean, get outta here," says Fakir.

"I was just telling Duke, I love Baby I Need Your Loving," Williams responds.

Fakir agrees that the latter is "a great singalong song. ... It changed my life." Released in 1964, Baby was the Tops' first single, and hit; My Girl, the Temptations' first single and hit, was released later that year.

Fakir has noticed a "resurgence" of interest in old Motown hits generally since Motown the Musical arrived on Broadway last year. "We're getting calls from all over the place now," he said.

Their audiences, of course, are multi-generational, he says. "We've seen our fans grow up and pass our music on to their kids, and their grandkids.They say, 'This is who we were raised on. And when you see these guys, expect a good show, because that's what they're going to give you.' That's a great thing, and it keeps us on our toes."

Williams recalls being "brought to tears" by a fan's story of "a relative who passed away, and the last request was, 'Please put a Temptations CD in my coffin.'"

"A lot of people who served in Vietnam tell me that Motown music kept them going," Fakir notes. "They still tell me that. You come in this business to be in it forever, but you expect to be in it maybe 20 years. To still be in it after 50 years — that's amazing."