Born between 1942 and 1949, the five Tavares brothers began performing in 1964 as children under the name Chubby & the Turnpikes. They were the sons of a jazz and R&B musician based in New Bedford, MA named Feliciano "Flash" Vierra Tavares. After the success of the Jackson 5 they re-named themselves, simply, Tavares. The group — made up of Pooch (Arthur), Ralph, Tiny (Perry), Victor, Butch (Feliciano), and Chubby (Antoine) — signed to Capitol Records by early 1973.However, Victor, the oldest brother dropped out by the time the group recorded its follow-up LP, and they carried on as a vocal quintet for over a decade.
In 1974, they did a cover of "She's Gone," which had just been written and recorded by Hall & Oates. Tavares had a #1 hit on the R&B charts with it, which prompted Hall & Oates to release it (and score a hit with it) on the pop charts later that year.
Tavares was one of the first vocal groups in R&B to deeply embrace the disco movement. With the help of producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, the group began recording In The City, which was released in the summer of 1975. That album would include an R&B cover of Edgar Winter's "Free Ride," (a top 5 hit on the R&B charts) as well as the group's breakthrough crossover smash, "It Only Takes A Minute (To Fall In Love)." Over the next eight years, the group would go on to release eight more records with varying success. Only 1976's Sky High! would crack the US Top 25. Ralph left the band in 1984, bug the group continued to tour as a quartet until Tiny left the group in the 90's. However, Tiny has recently rejoined the group, and they are back on the road.