Tribute performers honor legacy of Motown

For Dave Revels, it was love at first listen.

The first time he heard Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops sing, Revels fell in love.

Revels is not sure which record was his first exposure to Stubbs’ vocals. It might have been “I Can’t Help Myself,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” or any of the songs made famous by the Four Tops.

All Revels knows is that Stubbs’ impassioned vocals with the backing of sterling harmonies irrevocably changed him.

“I was 13,” says Revels. “That’s a formative time for a singer. You idolize other singers. You want to reach every note they reached. That was the way it was with me and Levi Stubbs. That was the kernel of a genuine love.”

Several years ago, Revels — who has worked as performer and producer — took that love to another level. He started “Shadows of the 60’s,” a musical tribute to the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Supremes, and other acts from the Motown label.

That tribute will kick off the 2015-2016 season for the Centenary Stage Co. in Hackettstown this Saturday.

Revels will take the vocals of Stubbs. He is accompanied by performers who sing and dance in the style made famous by artists who recorded for the Motown label.

“This started primarily as a Four Tops show,” he says. “But we touch on all the different acts that performed on Motown, like Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.”

Revels says that this tribute is personal to him for another reason. In the 1980s, he sang as a member of the Drifters, when two original members were still in the group. On the road, they occasionally shared a bill with the Four Tops.

“I met them,” Revels says proudly. “For me, it was beautiful. We didn’t spend much time together, but I got to talk with them. They were such warm-hearted guys. That only reinforced my love for the Four Tops even more.”

“After Levi passed (in 2008), I heard tributes to him,” Revels says. “But they didn’t sound like Levi. Songs were in a different key, and arrangements weren’t right.”

So Revels formed his own tribute. “It took me two years to find people who could do what I wanted,” he says. “I wanted people who had to same commitment to the music that I did, who had the same attitude that I did.”

Music was only part of the package, however.

“I think big,” Revels says. “I’m a producer, and I think of how it looks and sounds. That means costumes and choreography. I want to give people their memories in three dimensions.”

In that respect, Revels is following the example of Berry Gordy, founder of the Motown label. Gordy was famous for his attention to details of how his acts looked and moved, including the carefully planned dance steps.

But primarily “Shadows of the 60’s” honors the music, according to Revels. He points out that the Motown label had talented songwriters and producers (notably Smokey Robinson and the team of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland).

“Berry Gordy has the vision,” Revels says. “He had a perfect storm of across-the-board talent: genius singers, incredible jazz-based musicians, brilliant writers. They had a finger on the pulse of what people wanted to hear, songs of love and heartbreak.”

Revels says “Shadows of the 60’s” is the sort of show he himself would want to see.

“That’s me, sitting in the third row, center seat,” he says. “I’m a kid at heart when it comes to music.”

“When I present these songs, all these things are in my soul,” he says. “I’m doing this because I love it, and I want other people to love it, too.”

SHADOWS OF THE 60’S:

A TRIBUTE TO MOTOWN’S SUPER GROUPS

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: David and Carol Lackland Center, Centenary College, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown

TICKETS: $20 to $30 (advance);

$25 to $35 (day of show)

INFO: 908-979-0900 or www.centenarystageco.org