Reach Out I'll Be There

Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is one of the most widely-known Motown hits of the 1960s and is today considered the Four Tops' signature song.

"Reach Out I'll Be There"
Artwork for US single
Single by the Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side	"Until You Love Someone"
Released	1966
Studio	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A)
Genre	Soul
Length	3:01
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
The Four Tops singles chronology
"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (1966) "Reach Out I'll Be There" (1966) "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (1966)
Official Audio
"Reach Out I'll Be There" on YouTube

It was the number one song on the Rhythm & Blues chart for two weeks and on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, in October 15–22, 1966. The track also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Motown's second UK chart-topper after The Supremes' 1964 release "Baby Love". It reached number one on October 27, 1966, and stayed there for three weeks.

Rolling Stone later ranked “Reach Out” number 206 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Billboard ranked the record as the number four song for 1966. In 2022, the single was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

In 1966, Holland, Dozier and Holland were writing new songs for the Four Tops to record for an album. Lamont Dozier said that he wanted to write "a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero. To get this across, I alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major, gospel feel in the chorus." He developed the lyrics with Eddie Holland, aiming for them to sound "as though they were being thrown down vocally." Dozier said that they were strongly influenced by Bob Dylan at the time, commenting: "We wanted Levi [Stubbs] to shout-sing the lyrics... as a shout-out to Dylan."

For the recording, the writers and producers intentionally put Levi Stubbs at the top of his vocal range, according to Abdul Fakir of the Four Tops, "to make sure he'd have that cry and hunger and wailing in his voice." Arranger Paul Riser overdubbed instruments including a piccolo and flute in the intro, and a drum pattern made by using timpani mallets on a tambourine head. After the recording was completed and on hearing the final version, the group begged Berry Gordy not to release it; according to Fakir, "for us, the song felt a little odd." However, Gordy insisted that it be issued as a single.

Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that some suggest straddles the line between singing and shouting, as he did in the 1965 hit, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". AllMusic critic Ed Hogan praises Stubbs' vocal as well as the song's "rock-solid groove" and "dramatic, semi-operatic tension and release." Critic Martin Charles Strong calls the song "a soul symphony of epic proportions that remains [the Four Tops'] signature tune."

In 2014, interviewed by The Guardian, Four Tops singer Duke Fakir said:

Eddie realized that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line "Just look over your shoulder" was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was creative like that; he could always add something from the heart.

Cash Box said that it is "a hard-driving, pulsating pop-r&b romancer about a very-much-in-love guy who claims that he'll always be at his gal's beck-and-call."

The version by the Four Tops was used by Joe Biden during his campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election. Many artists covered the song, including the Jaded Hearts Club cover as recently as 2020.

In 1998, the 1966 recording by the Four Tops on Motown Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

American singer Diana Ross covered "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in 1971. Her version was released by Motown from her third album, Surrender (1971). It was produced by Ashford & Simpson, and reached number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 35 in Canada.

Charts

"Reach Out, I'll Be There"
Artwork for German single, also used for Portugal and Yugoslavian releases
Single by Gloria Gaynor
from the album Never Can Say Goodbye
B-side	"Searchin'"
Released	1975
Recorded	1974
Genre	Disco
Length	3:07
Label	MGM
Songwriter(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Tony Bongiovi Meco Monardo Jay Ellis
Gloria Gaynor singles chronology
"Never Can Say Goodbye" (1974) "Reach Out, I'll Be There" (1975) "Walk on By" (1975)
Music video
"Reach Out, I'll Be There" on YouTube

"Reach Out, I'll Be There" was covered by American singer Gloria Gaynor in 1975. It was the third of three singles released by MGM from her debut album, Never Can Say Goodbye (1975). Gaynor's version became an international hit. It peaked at number 60 in the US and number 16 in Canada. In Europe, it reached number 14 in the UK and number five in West Germany.

Charts

• Reach Out: The Motown Record
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1966
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1966
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1966 (U.S.)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s