Mystery Behind Ralph Tavares Cause of Death: Eldest Member of Soul Group Tavares Dead at 79

The musical group Tavares has lost their eldest member, Ralph Tavares, who would have turned 80 on Friday, December 10.

As USA Today reported, the group's manager, David Oriola, confirmed his passing at his home in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, last Friday, December 8. However, as of writing, no cause of death was disclosed to the public by the manager.

Ralph Tavares is a part of the Grammy-award-winning soul group along with her four other brothers Antone Laurence "Chubby" Tavares, Perry Lee "Tiny" Tavares, Feliciano Vierra "Butch" Tavares Jr., and Arthur Paul "Pooch" Tavares.

The Beginning Of Tavares

According to ABC News, The four brothers were sons of immigrants from Cape Verde and based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. By 1959, they started performing together.

The group settled with their surname as the group name by 1973, which is also the same year they had their first hit, "Check It Out."

In 1975, the brothers released their chart-topping song "It Only Takes a Minute," which reached No. 10 on Billboard Hot 100 and claimed the top spot of Hot Soul Singles chart. The following year, their songs "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" and "More Than a Woman" also got a chance to secure a place in the Billboard charts, claiming No.15 on Hot 100 and No. 3 on Hot Souls Singles.

The group reached their chart peaks with 1975's "It Only Takes a Minute," which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart, and 1976's "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel," which got to No. 15 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on Hot Soul Singles.

Grammy Recognized Tavares

The group later earned their first Grammy award in 1978 for covering Bee Gee's "More Than A Woman," which was used for the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. It won the Album of the Year category.

Four years later, Tavares earned their second nomination for another hit single, "A Penny for Your Thoughts." In their career, they were able to bag six gold and two platinum albums and a Grammy award before the eldest brother left in 1984.

Ralph Tavares soon reunited with the group by 2014 and performed with his brothers until his passing.

May his soul rest in peace.