Theo Peoples (born Theopolis Peoples, III on January 24, 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an African-American R&B/soul singer. The son of a preacher, he was discovered by Ron Tyson and tapped to replace Richard Street in the long-lived Motown group The Temptations in 1992.
His first recordings with the group were released in the box set Emperors of Soul (1994) where he sang lead on "Givin' U The Best," "Elevator Eyes" and "Blueprint For Love." [1] On the album For Lovers Only, Peoples sang lead vocals for "Night and Day," which was featured in the 2000 film What Women Want.[2] After Ali-Ollie Woodson left the Temptations in 1996 due to his battle with throat cancer, Peoples assumed the role of lead second tenor/baritone for the group.[3] Although he was replaced by Barrington "Bo" Henderson before the album's release, Peoples made significant contributions to the multi-platinum and Grammy Award nominated Phoenix Rising, singing lead on the group's #1 hit "Stay" and composing the single "This Is My Promise." [4]
He joined the Four Tops, another classic-era Motown act, following his departure from The Temptations in 1998. After original Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs had to cease touring, Peoples took his place as lead singer. Renaldo "Obie" Benson, died July 1, 2005. Levi Stubbs also died in his sleep on October 17, 2008. Theo, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Ronnie McNeir, and Roquel Payton, son of the late Lawrence Payton, continued to tour and perform until he left the group in 2011 and was replaced by Spike Deleon (Bonhart).
As a member of the Tops, Peoples is probably most noted for his performances of "Always and Forever," a track originally released by the funk group Heatwave in 1977. The song was featured in The Four Tops 50th anniversary live special, From the Heart (2004). Peoples has also released several solo albums including Down Time (2000), Listen 2 Your Heart (2002) and Chemistry...You and Me (2004).
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