Motown Sounds of Touch electrifies Dixie Classic Fair
The Motown Sounds of Touch perform the Four Tops classic, “I Can’t Help Myself” at the Dixie Classic Fair on Tuesday.
Photo by Todd Luck
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Click here to watch a live performance from The Motown Sounds of Touch!
The Motown Sounds of Touch dazzled attendees at the Dixie Classic Fair on Tuesday night.
The Motown tribute group from Dayton, Ohio, has been entertaining audiences around the country for the last 20 years. The band currently consists of Arthur “Hakim” Stokes, Anthony “Plum” Brown, Xonerale Freeman and Floyd Weatherspoon, who perform with a six-piece backup band, The Untouchables. Stokes said that the band is continuing a proud musical tradition in Dayton that spawned groups like the Ohio Players, Lakeside, Zapp, Heatwave and Platypus.
“The city has always been about groups and putting groups together,” he said.
Sounds of Touch got nationwide exposure in 2013 when it was a top three finalist in the NBC show “The Winner Is.” The show pitted six musical acts against each other and let 101 voters decide who made it to the next round, with the winner taking home $1 million. The finale in which the group performed the Temptations classic, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” had more than 5 million viewers.
Though Sounds of Touch didn’t win, Stokes said they were honored to be chosen to perform on the show out of the thousands of acts that were considered.
“It was a blessed opportunity,” he said. Sounds of Touch boasts an impressive history, as Stokes and Weatherspoon have written songs for The Jackson Five and Michael Jackson. The group has opened for the likes of Ray Charles, Rick Springfield, The Temptations and Al Green.
Sounds of Touch performed at the 2014 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame induction for Ken Griffey Jr, Dave Packer and Ron Oester and during the 2015 Congressional Black Caucus Week in Washington, DC. Though no stranger to county fairs, Tuesday was the group’s first time performing at the Dixie Classic Fair, where they were well-received by attendees.
Stokes said that it’s the love of singing and entertaining the audience that keeps the group going. “It’s fun, we enjoy it,” he said.
