Obie Benson’s Grave

We’ve already stood outside the Bagley duplex where Obie Benson helped write “What’s Going On”; this is where the Four Tops’ bass voice rests now. Benson spent five decades in one of Motown’s most enduring groups — “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Bernadette” — but his quiet masterstroke was that protest anthem, which he conceived, nurtured, and finally convinced Marvin Gaye to record.

He’s buried at Woodlawn alongside a remarkable share of the Motown family — including his bandmate Levi Stubbs. A fitting place for a man who spent his life making other people’s records sound like home. On our list.