New Bedford native Ralph Tavares of musical group Tavares dies at 79

Linda Roy, Standard-Times
·3 min read

NEW BEDFORD — Ralph Tavares of the musical group Tavares, who hailed from New Bedford, has died. The singer would have turned 80 on Friday, Dec. 10.

His cause of death has not yet been released.

The Grammy-award winning soul group featured Ralph Tavares and his four other brothers, Antone Laurence "Chubby" Tavares, Perry Lee "Tiny" Tavares, Feliciano Vierra "Butch" Tavares Jr., and Arthur Paul "Pooch" Tavares.

In 1975, the brothers released their smash hit "It Only Takes a Minute." A string of hits followed including “Heaven Must be Missing an Angel” and “More Than a Woman.”

They were inducted into the Cape Verdean Museum Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ralph Tavares, far right, of the R&B group Tavares, hailed from New Bedford.
Ralph Tavares, far right, of the R&B group Tavares, hailed from New Bedford.

Ralph Tavares worked at the New Bedford and Fall River courts for over 30 years, retiring in 2015.

“He was still rehearsing and playing,” said Quinn Feno, assistant chief court officer in Fall River. He worked with Tavares at the New Bedford and Fall River courts for about 12 years altogether.

From the archives: Tavares still groovin’

“We became best of friends outside the courthouse,” Feno said. The two texted often and would get together monthly, and on Veteran’s Day or head to Foxwoods every now and then.

Quinn Feno worked with Ralph Tavares for many years while Tavares was a court officer in New Bedford and Fall River.
Quinn Feno worked with Ralph Tavares for many years while Tavares was a court officer in New Bedford and Fall River.

“He was very humble, but he would love to tell us stories about Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder or the Bee Gees,” Feno said, adding the stories were “unreal,” but that Ralph Tavares never bragged about his celebrity. “They just played at Myrtle Beach in October.”

Grammy and other accolades for Tavares

Tavares won a Grammy in 1978 for the single “More Than a Woman” on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which won Album of the Year.

The group was nominated for a Grammy in 1982 for their hit single “A Penny for Your Thoughts.”

The group had six gold and two platinum albums, a Grammy Award and fans around the world when, in 1984, Ralph Tavares quit.

The Bristol Community College reunion show

In 2014, the group played a reunion show at Bristol Community College.

As his brothers sang onstage at BCC, Ralph Tavares waited in the shadows, just off stage. He was to be the surprise of the concert. After all, he had left the group 30 years earlier. But at first, he wasn't so sure he wanted to do the reunion performance.

More from the archives: Tavares Brothers still touring U.S. and Europe

“I wasn’t sure I’d fit in,” he said in a Standard-Times article covering the concert. But this performance was for his parents.

“Tiny kept asking me,” he said, but after so many years out of the group, he wondered if he would be better off unseen and unheard.

Then he thought about his parents, the people who encouraged him and his brothers to use their voices, who loved him unconditionally, who ignited a passion for music in countless children.

“That kind of struck a chord,” Ralph said.

Locals remembered Ralph Tavares on Twitter.

Standard-Times digital producer Linda Roy can be reached at lroy@s-t.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @LindaRoy_SCT. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford native Ralph Tavares of Tavares band dies at 79