New Bedford street could be named for hometown music icons Tavares
NEW BEDFORD — In the 1970s five brothers from New Bedford made the city proud with numerous chart-topping songs, tours with The Jackson Five, and even winning a Grammy — now one council member wants to honor them in a permanent way.
City Councilor Derek Baptiste the filed a motion to request that Griffin Court, from South Second Street to JFK Memorial Boulevard be renamed to honor the band Tavares for the contributions they have made to the city both musically and personally.
A hearing on the proposed street name, Tavares Brothers Way, will be held at the Jan. 11 City Council meeting.
"They never forgot New Bedford," said Baptiste. "When they were at their height they always represented New Bedford, they are beloved by our community and should be honored for the impact they had on both the city and the Cape Verdean community."
Councilor Baptiste hopes to recognize more people who have put the city on the map. "New Bedford is full of talented people and by commemorating those who have contributed to the community, I hope it shows others that they can dream big and make it out of the box," said Baptiste.
He noted, "Often we wait until someone has passed to give them flowers or to honor them, but rarely do we give them recognition when they can smell the flowers and see how beloved they really are."
That's what he's hoping to accomplish with this motion to show the members of Tavares how beloved they are and that their memory will always live on in New Bedford.
"It will be beautiful to one day drive down Tavares Way in a historic Cape Verdean community and remember their legacy." said a hopeful Baptiste.
What to know about Tavares
The R&B group Tavares featured brothers Feliciano, aka “Butch,” Perry Lee, aka “Tiny,” Antone, aka “Chubby” Arthur “Pooch" and Ralph Tavares who grew up in Providence and later New Bedford.
According to a biography, the boys' musical talent came from their dad Feliciano Tavares who was known as “Flash” as he created a name for himself in the Cape Verdean-American music scene for many decades.
In a previous Herald News article, Chubby remembers it fondly, "We were poor, but we had music,” Chubby says. “We were introduced to music by my father 'Flash' Vieira Tavares, and my aunt Vicky Enos Tavares, and my mother Albina was always singing around the house. Our dad was a singer and guitarist who would occasionally invite me to sing with him at his local shows.”
Their journey began as a trio with Chubby, Pooch, and Butch called Chubby & The Realities playing at high school and Catholic Youth Organization dances across New England. Later in the 1950s under the direction of famed studio musician and record producer Marvin Holzman, they became Chubby & The Turnpikes.
They released their first record in 1968, “I Know The Inside Story” and became big news in the New England music scene. It would later be considered one of the finest Northern Soul records ever made.
Music legend: New Bedford native Ralph Tavares of musical group Tavares dies at 79
As their popularity grew and all five brothers joined together in the 1970s they became known as just Tavares.
Tavares went on to have eight singles on Billboard's Top 40, 12 Singles on the R&B Top 10 Chart (Including three No. 1 records), three Dance Chart Hits, including a No. 1, and 10 Hit Albums. This included their best-known 1976 hit "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" and the Bee Gees song "More Than a Woman.”
Their work on the soundtrack to the iconic movie, “Saturday Night Fever,” won them a Grammy in 1978.
The brothers were inducted into the Cape Verdean Museum Hall of Fame in 2006; in 2013, they were honored with "Lifetime Achievement Awards" by The National R&B Music Society Black Tie Gala; and they were inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Ralph Tavares sadly passed away in 2021, but his brothers are keeping the family tradition going.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Music icons Tavares may have a New Bedford street named for them
