11/30/25-Chubby Tavares Passes

Trusted Source: soultracks.com – by Chris Rizik

Every soul music death hurts, but this one has a special sting to us at SoulTracks. The Tavares family posted on social media the sad news today of the passing of Antone “Chubby” Tavares, lead singer of the vocal group Tavares:

It is with great sadness that we share news of our Dad Antone “Chubby”Tavares passing. He passed last night at home in peace & comfort. Within the past year his health has declined but, his spirit and attitude always remained positive. Dad and his brothers touched many people and brought Joy worldwide. They were Blessed to experience many places and things. A Celebration Of Life to honor him will be held at a later date. The Family appreciates your prayers during this difficult time.

Tavares was the first act we ever profiled on SoulTracks, in large part because of my personal affection for the group. I first interviewed Chubby when I was an 18 year old freshman writing for a college newspaper, and had the chance to speak with him several times over the years. He was always both kind and humble about his accomplishments, and those accomplishments are many. The five brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts – Ralph, Tiny, Chubby, Butch and Pooch – created some the most consistently high quality soul and dance music of the 70s and early 80s.

Originally called “Chubby and the Turnpikes,” the Tavares brothers spent the late ’60s and early ’70s in their native New England covering tunes of R&B greats at various clubs, while trying to land a record deal. They finally scored a contract with Capitol Records’ then-new black music division and released the single “Check It Out” in 1973. It soared to the top 10 on the R&B charts and became the group’s first top 40 pop hit. What came after that was a string of hits that led Blues & Soul magazine in 1976 to label Tavares “The Next Supergroup.”

“It Only Takes A Minute,” “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel,” “She’s Gone,” “Never Had A Love Like This Before” and many, many more memorable cuts established the Tavares Brothers as 1970s R&B music royalty, even allowing them to survive the mixed blessing of having their version of “More Than A Woman” as part of the Grammy Award winning soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. That participation gave the group its greatest exposure ever but brought with it a label that Tavares would spend years trying to shake – that of “Disco Group.” In that decade that highlighted so many groups, from the last Detroit days of Motown to the arrival of hot sounds in Philadelphia and Los Angeles — the Tavares brothers proved themselves to be among the most versatile and talented, and time has been kind to their enviable legacy.

After the group’s last major label release, 1983’s Words and Music, brother Ralph Tavares retired, and Tavares became principally a touring group, often performing in multi-artist shows with other 70s R&B and dance acts. Chubby also made a stir as a solo artist, with a series of albums in the last decade working with legendary producer Preston Glass. He continued to perform with his brothers until early 2023, when Chubby announced his retirement to focus on his health and his family.

The death of Chubby Tavares is a sad coda for our long relationship with one of SoulTracks’ favorite singers, even as we marvel at more than five decades of incredible music memories he created. Rest in peace, Chubby.