The brothers, whose parents were of
Cape Verdean descent, started performing in 1959 as
Chubby and the Turnpikes when the youngest brother was nine years old.
P-Funk keyboardist/architect
Bernie Worrell briefly joined the group in 1968, while attending the
New England Conservatory of Music. Future
Aerosmith drummer
Joey Kramer appeared as the drummer with the group in a later incarnation called
The Turnpikes from the fall of 1969 until September 1970, when he was invited to join
Steven Tyler's band. He was later replaced with drummer Paul Klodner and bassist Steve Strout, which gave them a tight, punchy rhythm section. Chubby and The Turnpikes signed with
Capitol Records in 1967 and had a couple of local hit records including "I Know the Inside Story" in 1967 and "Nothing But Promises" in 1968. By 1973, they had changed their name to Tavares and scored their first R&B top 10 (Pop top 40) hit with "Check It Out", Chubby Tavares released his first solo album,
Jealousy, on July 17, 2012, a few months after Tavares, the
Four Tops (who recorded the original version of "Remember What I Told You to Forget"), and
The Temptations toured the
UK together. Preceding the album, a digital-only single was released called "It's Christmas". On December 17, it reached No. 5 on Amazon's Acid Jazz chart. Both the album and the single were produced by
Carla Olson, and the album was released by "Fuel Records"/
Universal Records. In 2013, the brothers were honored with "Lifetime Achievement Awards" by The National R&B Music Society Black Tie Gala, in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. All six brothers attended and performed on stage together for the first time in 37 years. In 2014, Pooch suffered a stroke and the business/booking for Tavares was turned over to Oriola Mngmt LLC. He regained his health and opted for retirement. Ralph Tavares died on December 8, 2021, two days before his 80th birthday. Pooch Tavares died on April 15, 2024, at the age of 81. On November 29, 2025, Chubby Tavares died at the age of 81. ==Band members==