WTIT Top 10 R&B Male Singers

WTIT: The Blog today brings you our featured called A DJ’s Take and another of our "Best of" lists. Today we bring you our Top 10 Male R&B Singers of all time. Please feel free to “take this feature" and do it as a meme to present your opinions. Today, we will share. We will do R&B Female Singers in the future. We will give you the artist and a bit of their bio. Let’s cue up today's A DJ's Take!

10. Michael Jackson started with The Jackson 5, his brothers. Their biggest hits were “ABC” and “I Want You Back”. Before the weirdness (which we can’t ignore and is why he is this low on our list) his solo career included one of the best and biggest selling albums of all time, “Thriller”. In the mid-80’s he was a huge superstar. When he fell, he fell hard. He was working on a comeback when he passed away in 2009 at the age of 50.

9. Phillip Bailey was the lead vocalist of Earth, Wind and Fire. Phillip was born in 1951. Earth, Wind & Fire's biggest hits included, “Reasons”, “Shining Star”, “Head to the Sky” and “Fantasy”. He had a less successful solo career with his biggest hit being “Easy Lover” with Phil Collins. His latest album was released in 2002

8. Otis Redding was born in 1941. He was not with us long. He started recording in the early 60’s and as “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” became his biggest hit, Otis was killed in a plane crash in December 1967.

7. Lionel Richie was born in 1949 in Alabama. He started as the lead singer of The Commodores in the early seventies. The Commodores had hits including “Three Times a Lady, “Brickhouse” and “Easy”. In the 80’s Lionel began a solo career that was just as big. He had a monster hit with Diana Ross in 1981 “Endless Love”.

6. Levi Stubbs was born Levi Stubbles in 1936. My favorite Motown group were The Four Tops. Levi was their lead singer from their inception until he found out he had cancer in 1995. “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, “I Can’t Help Myself”, “Baby I Need Your Loving” and “It’s the Same Old Song” were just a few of the Four Tops hits. He was their only lead singer until his retirement. Levi passed away in 2008.

5. David Ruffin was not in The Temptations at the very beginning, joining in 1964. He was with them in their heyday. David was born in 1941. “My Girl”, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “I Wish It Would Rain” are some of his lead vocals with The Temps. He left The Temptations in 1968 and did not return until the 1984 reunion tour and left for good after the concerts. He died in June of 1991 and Aretha and Stevie Wonder performed at his funeral.

4. Eddie Kendrick was born in 1939 and was in The Temptations from the start from 1961 to 1971. He rejoined for 1982 as the original band got back together briefly. He was the lead singer on many Temps classics including “The Way You Do the Thing You Do”, “Just My Imagination” and “Get Ready”. In his solo career “Keep on Trucking" was as big a number one song as he had. Eddie passed away from cancer in 1992.

3. Marvin Gaye was born in 1939. His major hits during the Motown years included “Aint That Peculiar” and “How Sweet It is to Be Loved By You”. One of his biggest hits Motown founder Berry Gordy hated and refused to release. It was a song about social and political change in 1971. Gordy relented and when “What’s Going On” was a huge hit he told Marvin he would never question his choices again. On April 1, 1984 Marvin was shot to death by his father during an argument.

2. Smokey Robinson was born in 1940. With his band, The Miracles from 1960 to 1971, Smokey cranked out the hits including “I Second the Emotion” and “You Really Got a Hold on Me”. He wrote and produced for other Motown groups. It’s a long list but right at the top is “My Girl” recorded by The Temptations.

1. Stevie Wonder born Steveland Morris in 1950, Stevie has had us since his first release of “Fingertips, Part 2” in 1963. He had megahits in the Motown era like “If You Really Love Me” or "I Was Made to Love Her", had incredible complex albums like “Talking Book” and “Innervision” in the 70’s and just never stopped. Stevie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 along with The Stones.

We hope you've enjoyed our stroll today.

This list does reflect

The WTIT Tape Radio DJs' age.

Unlike rock, we have not kept up with the genre.

It is mostly because of rap and hip hop.

We will bring you our

"Dating Profile of the Week" tomorrow.

Just have a good laugh on your Friday.

We will be here.

Same time. Same blog.