Motown music fans inside Morristown, NJ’s MPAC auditorium get ready this Thursday, February 12, 2026 evening for a concert by The Four Tops and The Temptations.
The lights dim and the curtain rises to reveal a stage filled with musicians on guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, and horns who play an instrumental medley of Four Tops hits before the audience hears the announcement, “This performance — and every Four Tops performance — is dedicated to the memory of Lawrence Payton, Renaldo ‘Obie’ Benson, Levi Stubbs, and ‘Duke’ Fakir.”
The crowd cheers as the current members of The Four Tops — Lawrence Payton, Jr., Theo Peoples, Ronnie McNeir, and Michael Brock — take the stage. Payton — the son of founding member Lawrence Payton, Sr. — asks audience members to shout out their favorite Four Tops songs. After they respond with multiple choices, Payton jokes, “I heard you, and we’ll simply do them all!”
Here, the group launches into The Four Tops’ 1964 million-seller, “Baby, I Need Your Loving,” where the Tops dance with synchronized steps, their voices showing terrific range and style.
Lead vocalist Theo Peoples listens to fans as they sing along on the tune’s famous “Baby I need your loving/Got to have all your loving” refrain.
The quartet breaks into a soulful rendition of the Tops’ 1967 Top 5 Billboard hit, “Bernadette,” where Peoples wails and pleads, “Keep on loving me, Bernadette/Keep on needing me, Bernadette.”
Moving on to a rollicking rendition of “It’s the Same Old Song,” the audience sing along with Payton on the 1965 hit’s “It’s the same old song/But with a different feeling since you’ve been gone” refrain.
The Tops follow up with a spirited version of 1966’s “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)” where Peoples croons with energy as the group dances and shimmies on stage.
The crowd responds with hoots and hollers and Payton takes a moment to reminisce about a simpler time — the early 1960s — before Peoples leads the quartet in a performance of the group’s first recorded ballad, their 1965 Top 40 hit, “Ask the Lonely.”
Michael Brock is featured on the steamy R&B ballad, “Still Water (Love),” prior to the group’s performance of the Tops’ 1972 soul hit, “Keeper of the Castle.”
The men follow up with their interpretation of Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” where after Ronnie McNeir delivers a cool, jazzy lead, Peoples takes over backed by the sound of horns, Payton adds a gravelly Louis Armstrong imitation, and Brock concludes by adding his own flavor and personality to the swinging arrangement.
The sound of a slap funk bass contrasts with Peoples’ smooth and lyrical voice on the rhythmic R&B tune, “One More Mountain,” before fans stand and dance to the Tops’ 1981 disco-style hit, “When She Was My Girl.”
Lights swirl over the audience as Peoples sings lead on the Tops’ 1973 Top 5 hit, “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I've Got,” backed by Payton, McNeir, and Brock’s tight harmonies and stylized dancing.
The performers follow up with a dynamic rendition of one of their signature songs — the 1966 #1 smash, “Reach Out I’ll Be There” — where the crowd sings out on the tune’s “I’ll be there with a love that will shelter you” refrain.
Following avid applause, the group keeps the party rollin’ with a rockin’ performance of their 1966 Top 10 hit, “Standing in the Shadows of Love.”
After Peoples asks “Can we do one more song?” fans sing and dance as the group presents a high-energy version of the group’s 1965 chart-topper, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).”
Audience members stand and cheer and Payton thanks the crowd, announcing, “We hope we touched your hearts!” as the group exits the stage and the curtain closes.
Following a short intermission, the curtain reopens and the backup band plays a short instrumental overture. Audience members cheer as The Temptations — Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Tony Grant, and Jowan M. Jackson — take the stage.
A wah-wah guitar effect is featured as The Temps open their set with the group’s 1973 #1 hit, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone.” Soulfully singing, “Papa was a rolling stone/Wherever he laid his hat was his home,” the members of the group accompany themselves with synchronized moves.
The quintet continues with their 1966 Top 40 hit, “Get Ready.” As the vocalists cry, “So fee fi fo fum/Look out baby ’cause here I come!” music lovers nod their heads and tap their toes as they sing along to the driving beat.
Temptations’ founding member Otis Williams announces, “Let’s reminisce on some of this!” as he and the group sing and dance to their 1964 Top Ten hit, “The Way You Do the Things You Do.”
Animated dancing highlights The Temps’ 1966 Top 20 hit, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” where Motown fans enjoy the soulful groove coming from Tony Grant and his stagemates.
The Temptations follow up with an electrifying rendition of the group’s 1970 Top 5 record, “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today),” the vocalists trading off singing lead as colored lights swirl while the “band plays on.”
The synthesized sounds of a thunderstorm highlight a dramatic rendition of 1967’s “I Wish It Would Rain,” where Tony Grant’s voice is supported by the stylized harmonies of his colleagues.
After Ron Tyson dedicates the next song to “all the ladies in the house tonight,” the crowd joyfully sings along with the group on their easy-going 1971 #1 smash, “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).”
The Temps follow up by segueing into a high-energy version of their 1969 #1 single, “I Can’t Get Next to You,” where blaring horns and a honky-tonk piano add to the explosion of sound emanating from the MPAC stage.
Audience members stand and cheer as Otis Williams reveals, “I’m 84 years old!” and tells the crowd about the early days at Motown where artists worked with teachers who taught them everything from singing and dancing to grooming and etiquette.
Williams also introduces a 2021 Temptations song they recorded with Smokey Robinson, “Is it Gonna Be Yes or No,” which starts off with Jowan M. Jackson singing bass, riffing cool and low while the other three “oooh” over him.
Weeks follows up by channeling Robinson on his lead, Tyson sings high and sweet, and Williams’ voice sounds mellow on this slow and sensual R&B number.
Grant invites the ladies in the house — and their gentlemen — to dance to the group’s 1984 soul recording, “Treat Her Like a Lady.” As Grant vocalizes, the rest of The Temps move behind him, inspiring screams from the crowd.
Showing off their individual and collective vocal ranges on a cover version of McFadden and Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” The Temps turn the MPAC auditorium into a party room with lights flashing and audience members singing and dancing to this 1979 disco tune.
Jowan M. Jackson introduces what he calls, “The Temptations ‘National Anthem’” as the vocalists ease into their 1965 chart-topper, “My Girl.”
Audience members happily join in on the song’s “Hey, hey, hey” refrain before Grant chooses audience members to come up on stage and sing the song. After a father/daughter duo, Steven and Avery, and a mother/daughter duo, Karen and Sammie, perform, The Temptations conclude singing “My Girl” to a standing ovation. At this point, the quintet takes a well-earned bow as Tony Grant exclaims, “We love you, and God bless you!” before the curtain closes.
For more information about The Four Tops, please go to facebook.com/FourTops. To learn more about The Temptations, please go temptationsofficial.com. To find out about upcoming events at MPAC — including The Phil Collins Story on February 25, The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute on February 27, and The Simon and Garfunkel Story on March 5 — please go to mayoarts.org.
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