Yarbrough and Peoples
Encyclopedia
Yarbrough and Peoples was an American
R&B duo
from Dallas, Texas
. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music
", a US
Billboard
R&B
chart topper
in 1981.
Yarbrough met the Wilson brothers while on tour in the band of Leon Russell
. He returned to Dallas, and started a band (Grand Theft), of which he and Peoples were the lead singers and keyboardists. In 1977, the Wilson brothers (who had just joined Total Experience Records
as the Gap Band
) went down to Dallas to perform a concert, and saw Yarbrough and Peoples, who were performing at a club in Dallas.
Lonnie Simmons
invited the couple to Los Angeles
and in 1979, they signed a recording contract
and released their first album
, The Two Of Us. It contained "Don't Stop the Music
", which topped the US
Billboard
R&B
chart
in early 1981, knocking their label-mate, the Gap Band's song "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
" out of the top spot. It went on to chart higher on the Billboard Hot 100
than any of the other songs released on the label. The album went gold
, peaking at #16 in the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The UK
release of "Don't Stop the Music" reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
.
The duo continued its R&B success throughout the 1980s, with four more Top 10 R&B hits. "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 brought the band success.. After Guilty, their final album for Total Experience, Yarbrough and Peoples would leave the label in 1986.
After leaving Total Experience, Yarbrough and Peoples [who married in 1987) returned to Dallas and started their own music production company, Yarbrough & Peoples Productions. They continue to write, produce and perform concerts, and mentor gifted newcomers to the music industry.
They both appeared in the stage musical
, Blind Lemon Blues, at the York Theatre, New York
in 2009, where Cavin Yarbrough portrayed Lead Belly.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
from Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Their biggest selling release was "Don't Stop the Music
Don't Stop the Music (Yarbrough and Peoples song)
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from the duo's 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. It was released as a single on Mercury Records in 1981....
", a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart topper
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in 1981.
Career
Cavin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples, both grew up in Dallas. They knew each other since they were children, as they had met taking piano lessons. They remained friends throughout their childhood.Yarbrough met the Wilson brothers while on tour in the band of Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
. He returned to Dallas, and started a band (Grand Theft), of which he and Peoples were the lead singers and keyboardists. In 1977, the Wilson brothers (who had just joined Total Experience Records
Total Experience Records
Total Experience Records was a record label founded in 1977 by Lonnie Simmons. Its two major acts were The Gap Band and Yarbrough & Peoples. It originally began as a production company with a distribution deal through Mercury/PolyGram before becoming a full fledged label in 1981...
as the Gap Band
Gap Band
The Gap Band was an American funk band, who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. Comprising brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, the band first formed as the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band in 1967 in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The group shortened its name to The Gap Band...
) went down to Dallas to perform a concert, and saw Yarbrough and Peoples, who were performing at a club in Dallas.
Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons is an American record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is founder and president of the now-defunct Total Experience Records. As a composer, he wrote several #1 R&B songs for his label's major acts, The Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples....
invited the couple to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and in 1979, they signed a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
and released their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, The Two Of Us. It contained "Don't Stop the Music
Don't Stop the Music (Yarbrough and Peoples song)
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song by Yarbrough and Peoples, from the duo's 1980 debut album, The Two of Us. It was released as a single on Mercury Records in 1981....
", which topped the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in early 1981, knocking their label-mate, the Gap Band's song "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
"Burn Rubber on Me " is a song originally performed by The Gap Band and written by member Charlie Wilson and producer Lonnie Simmons. In 1981, it peaked at number eighty-four on the Hot 100 but it was a number one hit on the R&B charts...
" out of the top spot. It went on to chart higher on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
than any of the other songs released on the label. The album went gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
, peaking at #16 in the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
release of "Don't Stop the Music" reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
The duo continued its R&B success throughout the 1980s, with four more Top 10 R&B hits. "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 brought the band success.. After Guilty, their final album for Total Experience, Yarbrough and Peoples would leave the label in 1986.
After leaving Total Experience, Yarbrough and Peoples [who married in 1987) returned to Dallas and started their own music production company, Yarbrough & Peoples Productions. They continue to write, produce and perform concerts, and mentor gifted newcomers to the music industry.
They both appeared in the stage musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, Blind Lemon Blues, at the York Theatre, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2009, where Cavin Yarbrough portrayed Lead Belly.
Discography
- The Two of UsThe Two of Us (Yarbrough & Peoples album)The Two of Us is the debut album by the R&B duo Yarbrough & Peoples. It was released in 1980 on Mercury Records, and produced by Total Experience Records owner Lonnie Simmons.-Reception:...
- MercuryMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/PolyGram - 1980 - Heartbeats - Total Experience/PolyGram Records - 1983
- Be a Winner - Total Experience Records - 1984
- Guilty - Total Experience Records - 1985
- The Best of Yarbrough and Peoples - Mercury/PolyGram Records - 1997
External links
- [ Yarbrough and Peoples's biography at the Allmusic.com]