The Fantastic Four

The Detroit-based R&B and soul ensemble known as the Fantastic Four came together during 1965. Its founding lineup consisted of "Sweet" James Epps along with Ralph Pruitt, Joseph Pruitt, and Wallace Childs. After Childs and Ralph Pruitt exited the group, Cleveland Horne and Ernest Newsome stepped in to fill the vacancies. On the Ric-Tic imprint, their debut single "The Whole World Is a Stage" stood as their sole major success, climbing to the sixth position on the R&B charts throughout 1967. The follow-up effort, "You Gave Me Something (And Everything's Alright)," attained the twelfth spot later that year. Following Motown's acquisition of Ric-Tic, the ensemble scored another entry in the R&B Top 20 via "I Love You Madly," a track issued in 1968 under the Soul banner. During the disco period, they experienced fresh popularity through several modestly charting releases on Westbound, notably "Alvin Stone (The Birth & Death of a Gangster)" and "I Got to Have Your Love." In 1979, Dennis Coffey handled production duties on "B.Y.O.F. (Bring Your Own Funk)," yet the effort met with limited success. The Fantastic Four have sustained their presence over the years, issuing "Working on a Building of Love" on Britain's Motorcity label in 1990. One of the group's veteran performers, Cleveland Horne, passed away on April 13, 2000, after suffering a heart attack.