 On June 20, 1997, 59-year-old Lawrence Payton died as a result of liver cancer, after singing for 44 years with the Four Tops who, unlike many other Motown groups, never had a single lineup change until then.At first, Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Abdul "Duke" Fakir toured as a trio called "The Tops".In 1998, they recruited former the Temptations Theo Peoples to restore the group to a quartet.