When you think of the group Tavares, "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" immediately comes to mind...as it is one of Jersey's Favorite Hits. But there's much more to this group!

Like the Jacksons and the Sylvers (profiled earlier this year at nj1015.com, click here), Tavares is a family band!  It is made up of 5 brothers brothers of Cape Verdean descent:  Ralph (born 1941), "Pooch" (Arthur, born 1943), "Chubby" (Antone, 1945), "Butch" (Feliciano, 1948), and "Tiny" (Perry, 1949) all grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

This family band started performing in 1959 as "Chubby and the Turnpikes."

Working the clubs in their native New England through the late 1960's, the brothers honed their harmonies, alternating lead vocals.

They signed with Capitol records in 1967, and had a couple of local hits including "I Know The Inside Story" in 1967 and "Nothing But Promises" in 1968.

Around 1973, they changed their name to Tavares, and scored their first R&B and Top-40 hit with "Check It Out" (#5/1973 on R&B, and #35/1973 on the Pop chart).

Their first album ("Check It Out") included their brother Victor, who sang lead on "Check it Out", but left the group shortly after.

In 1974 Tavares had a #1 R&B hit  (#50 Pop) with "She's Gone," written by Hall & Oates

(the song would become a hit for Hall & Oates two years later...in 1976).

Tavares followed up with "Remember What I Told You to Forget" (#4 R&B, #25/1975 Pop).

1975 would turn out to be their most successful year on the charts.  Tavares released the Top 40/Pop album "In The City," which had their biggest hit, "It Only Takes A Minute" (#1 R&B, #10/1975 Pop).

With this radio and chart success, Tavares found themselves the opening act for the Jackson 5 (KC & The Sunshine Band was also on this tour).

Tavares 2
My original vinyl copy of this album is...somewhere! (amazon.com)
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A string of hits folllowed: "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel"  (#3 R&B, #15/1976 Pop)

"Don't Take Away The Music"  (#15 R&B, #34/1976 Pop),

"Whodunit" would follow in 1977 (#1 R&B, #22/1977 Pop).

While Tavares considered themselves an R&B band, many of their hits gave the group a disco image. This was reinforced by their appearance on the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack in 1977.

 "More Than A Woman" was specifically written for Tavares by the Bee Gees, and (along with the Bee Gees version) got radio airplay (#32 Pop/ #34 R&B/1977). Selling over 11 million copies, "Fever" is one of the most successful soundtrack albums in history, ironically, earning Tavares their only Grammy award!

Later Tavares albums strayed from the disco format and were less successful on the Pop chart.

At the start of the 1980's, Tavares left Capitol, signing with RCA Records.

They had one last major hit, the ballad "A Penny for Your Thoughts" (#16 R&B, #33/1982 Pop)

The song earned Tavares a 1982 Grammy nomination.

Tavares' last major album release was "Words And Music" in 1983...it contained several R&B chart songs, but nothing that made it to the Pop charts.

In 1984, oldest brother Ralph Tavares left the group...and Tiny left in the mid-1990s.

The other three brothers continued to tour over the years...

In early 2009, Tiny Tavares rejoined the family band. Further cementing the "family" image, Tiny invited his grandson, Anthony Paul Verville, to sing on stage with him during a live family concert.

Chubby Tavares released his first solo album, "Jealousy," on July 17, 2012.

And the beat goes on...

Tavares...the family band...continues to tour, worldwide.

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