Tavares -

The Tavares were an American soul group from New Bedford, Mass., that released 10 albums on Capitol between 1974 and 1981, followed by a pair of titles on RCA in 1982/83. The group scored crossover hits with covers of songs by Hall & Oates (“She’s Gone”) and the Edgar Winter Group (“Free Ride”). In 1976, they peaked commercially with their twin signature songs “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” and “Don’t Take Away the Music.” Their version of the Bee Gees‘ “More Than a Woman” earned them a spot on 1977’s mega-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Members: Arthur “Pooch” Tavares, Chubby Tavares, Feliciano “Butch” Tavares, Perry “Tiny” Tavares, Ralph “Vierra” Tavares

The Tavares formed in 1959 as The Del-Rios by brothers John, Chubby, Pooch, and Ralph Tavares. As the backing act for singer Linda Steele, they cut a single for Crackerjack Records in 1962. With younger brother Butch in lieu of John, the group reverted to Chubby and the Turnpikes and issued two singles on Capitol in 1967/68.

With the addition of last-of-kin Tiny, the group renamed itself Tavares. In January 1974, they released their first album Check It Out. It was produced by Johnny Bristol, who wrote or co-wrote five of the tracks, including “I’ll Never Say Never Again” and “Strangers in Dark Corners.” Notable players on the album include guitarists David T. Walker and Melvin “Wahwah” Ragin and percussionists Bobbye Hall and Gene Estes.

The Tavares second album, Hard Core Poetry, followed in September 1974. The album was produced by the team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who wrote eight of the nine tracks. Arrangements were handled by Michael Omartian. In addition to the coral-sitar title-track, the album features “What You Don’t Know,” “Someone to Come Home To,” “Too Late” (#10 R&B), “Leave It Up to the Lady,” and “To Love You.” The group’s cover of the 1973 Hall & Oates ballad “She’s Gone” topped the R&B charts two years before the re-released original became a top-ten pop hit.

The third Tavares album, In the City, appeared in July 1975 with Omartian and Lambert/Potter retaining their roles. The production team penned half of the 10 tracks, including “Ready, Willing and Able,” “We Fit to a Tee” and the hits “It Only Takes a Minute” (#10 pop, #1 R&B) and “In the Eyes of Love” (#10 R&B). The album’s title-track was written by Butch Tavares and his then-wife Lola. A cover of the Dan Hartman-penned funk-rocker “Free Ride,” originally a hit for the Edgar Winter Group, also charted.

In May 1976, the Tavares released their fourth album Sky High! It features the dance-floor favorite “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” (#15 pop, #3 R&B) and the exuberant “Don’t Take Away the Music” (#14 R&B). Production work on this and the following two albums — Love Storm (1977) and Future Bound (1978) — was handled by Motown-vet Freddie Perren, who co-wrote most of the songs with Keni St. Lewis.

In 1977, the Tavares cut a disco-pop cover of the Bee Gees current “More Than a Woman,” which appears on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack alongside the original.

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