Grammy award winning legend Ralph Tavares has died aged 79.
The singer was a member of 70s group Tavares, with multiple hit tracks including Don’t Take Away the Music, More Than A Woman and Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel.
The oldest of the brothers who were all part of the same group has sadly died days before he would have been celebrating his 80th birthday.
A cause of death is yet to be disclosed.
The singer was the fifth of 10 siblings, but the band comprised of the five brothers who all committed to making hit tracks in the ’70s and became incredibly popular in the decade.
(Image: Redferns)
He landed a Grammy Award following one nomination which remained an incredibly high achievement for him.
Ralph was also inducted into the RI Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
After years of making music with his brothers, he stepped down in 1984 while his brother Pooch took over as the business and booking agent from 1984 to 2014.
Many of their hit songs ended up being covered by other artists, with It Only Takes a Minute covered by Take That and becoming a Top 10 UK hit.
(Image: Youtube)
Elsewhere, Out of the Picture was sampled by 50 cent in his track Many Men (Wish Death).
Ralph’s death has certainly come as a shock to many fans who have supported him and followed him since he first rose to fame with his family.
Tributes have poured in online, with one fan writing: “RIP Ralph Tavares. Loved the song Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel.”
Another said: “Rest peacefully Ralph Tavares.”
(Image: Redferns)
A third wrote: “Would like to send heartfelt condolences to the Tavares family to someone who really wanted to help us do more for the Cape Verdeans here in Cabo-Verde. Grammy Award Winning Artist. Rest in peace.”
The family grew up in Providence and performed in the area as Chubby and the Turnpikes before moving to New Bedford in 1962.
Ralph has joined the army while his brothers continued performing and upon his return home in 1965, he joined his brothers with the group later being renamed to Tavares in the early ’70s.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
