Yarbrough and Peoples
| Yarbrough and Peoples | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres |
Urban contemporary Boogie Soul |
| Years active | 1980—1987 |
| Labels | Total Experience (U.S.) |
| Members |
Cavin Yarbrough Alisa Peoples |
Yarbrough and Peoples was an American Urban contemporary duo from Dallas, Texas. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music," a US Billboard R&B chart topper in 1981.
Career
Cavin Leon Yarbrough (born January 22, 1954) and Alisa Delois Peoples (born June 29, 1957) both grew up in Dallas, Texas, having known each other since they were young children, as they had met taking piano lessons, after which they remained friends throughout their childhoods.[1]
In the mid `70s Yarbrough was on tour in the band of Leon Russell and met the Wilson Brothers, who would go on to form The Gap Band. Upon returning to Dallas some months later, the twosome started the band Grand Theft, both as featured keyboardists as well as vocalists. In 1977, the Wilson Brothers had just joined Total Experience Records as the Gap Band and went down to Dallas to perform a concert. Later that night, trying to unwind after the show, the Wilsons caught the twosome's act,[1] and as a result, Lonnie Simmons invited the couple to Los Angeles where they began playing in clubs around Southern California.
Two years later, they signed their own recording contract with Total Experience and recorded and released their debut album, The Two Of Us.[1] which contained "Don't Stop the Music," topping the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1981, knocking their label-mate's song "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" out of the top spot.[1] The song went on to chart higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than any of the other songs released on the label up to that time. In addition, the corresponding album went Gold and peaked at #16 in the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.[1] Across the pond in Europe, the UK release of the song reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart and was also certified Gold.[2]
The duo continued on with its R&B success throughout the 1980s, with four more Top 10 R&B hits entitled "Heartbeats" (R&B #10 in 1983), "Don't Waste Your Time" (Pop #48, R&B #1 in 1984; #60 UK), "Guilty" (R&B #2 in 1986; #53 UK), and "I Wouldn't Lie" (R&B #6 in 1986; #61 UK), all of which brought the band success.[1] After Guilty, their final album for Total Experience, Yarbrough and Peoples left the label in 1986.
They married in Las Vegas on January 18, 1987, and tiring of the Southern California grind, returned to their hometown of Dallas and started their own music production company, Yarbrough & Peoples Productions. Today, they continue to write, produce and perform concerts, mentor other gifted newcomers, and otherwise continue to leave their indelible stamp on the music industry.
In 2009, they both appeared in the Off-Broadway musical, Blind Lemon Blues, at the York Theatre, New York, where Cavin Yarbrough portrayed Lead Belly.[3]
They were featured on an episode of TV One's Unsung on September 2, 2015
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
US R&B [4] |
NLD [5] | ||||||||||||
| 1980 | The Two of Us | 16 | 1 | 33 |
|
Mercury | ||||||||
| 1983 | Heartbeats | — | 25 | 47 | Total Experience | |||||||||
| 1984 | Be a Winner | 90 | 6 | — | ||||||||||
| 1986 | Guilty | — | 13 | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
- The Best of Yarbrough & Peoples (1997, Mercury)
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
US R&B [4] |
US Dan [4] |
AUS [7] |
CAN [8] |
NLD [5] |
UK [9] | ||||||||
| 1981 | "Don't Stop the Music" | 19 | 1 | 26 | 73 | 40 | 2 | 7 | ||||||
| "Third Degree" | — | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1982 | "Heartbeats" | 101 | 10 | 61 | — | — | 10 | 91 | ||||||
| 1983 | "Feels So Good" | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1984 | "Don't Waste Your Time" | 48 | 1 | 11 | — | — | — | 60 | ||||||
| "Be a Winner" | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "I'll Be There" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| 1985 | "Guilty" | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 53 | ||||||
| 1986 | "I Wouldn't Lie" | 93 | 6 | 34 | — | — | — | 61 | ||||||
| "Wrapped Around Your Finger" | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Don't Stop the Feeling" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allmusic.com biography
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 613. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Blind Lemon Blues". Offbroadway.com. September 16, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "US Charts > Yarbrough & Peoples". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- 1 2 "NLD Charts > Yarbrough & Peoples". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ↑ "US Certifications > Yarbrough & Peoples". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "CAN Charts > Yarbrough & Peoples". RPM. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ↑ "UK Charts > Yarbrough & Peoples". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-04-01.