The Four Tops have been bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 51st Grammy Awards. Sole surviving original member Abdul "Duke" Fakir accepted the accolade on behalf of the linchpin Motown group, adding one more plaudit to a long string of career highlights, including a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1990.

As Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs had passed away this past October, predeceased by bandmates Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton, Fakir took the opportunity to join a newly assembled Tops tribute group onstage during the awards broadcast. Comprising Fakir, Smokey Robinson, Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx, this cross-generational soul quartet did an able job of filling the shoes of Fakir's fallen comrades on a medley of 'Reach Out I'll Be There' and 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).'

See the full list of 2009 Grammy winners here.