AILSA CHANG, HOST:
One of the leading voices of early 1980s R&B, Cavin Yarbrough of the singing duo Yarbrough and Peoples, died this month at the age of 72. His wife confirmed to CBS News.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Yarbrough was a classically trained pianist who played and sang ferociously with his wife, Alisa Peoples. They were discovered by the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson.
CHANG: Or Uncle Charlie Wilson, as some may know him. With his help, the duo signed to Total Experience Records, where they started making quintessential '80s music.
SHAPIRO: Like their No. 1 hit "Don't Stop The Music."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP THE MUSIC")
YARBROUGH AND PEOPLES: (Singing) Don't you stop it, don't you stop the music.
CHANG: Synthesizers, 808 drums, Alisa Peoples' bold, yet endearing vocals - this was their recipe, which sounded futuristic then but is now timeless.
SHAPIRO: And shaped so much of what the genre would sound like during the '80s.
CHANG: The duo pioneered other hits, like "Don't Waste Your Time" and "Guilty."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUILTY")
YARBROUGH AND PEOPLES: (Singing) You′re so sweet and beautiful.
GINA SEDMAN: I mean, when "Don't Stop The Music" came out, I mean, come on, we were skating off of that, and just - I mean, it was just groundbreaking. And then the video - I mean, with the Muppets in there (laughter). I mean, it was so creative, you know?
SHAPIRO: That's Gina Sedman, founder and CEO of the entertainment magazine The Indie Post Magazine. She interviewed Yarbrough and Peoples in 2023.
SEDMAN: You know, she would talk, and then he would complete her sentences, which is just like - I mean, it's like your normal, everyday married couple that have been married for so, so many years.
CHANG: The two were first introduced by a piano teacher during the early 1960s in Dallas, and they were married in the 1980s.
SHAPIRO: They were practically inseparable - playing, singing and cooking together.
SEDMAN: He loved his wife's cornbread (laughter). The way it was described, I mean, I can taste it, you know, from just the interview. She said she would take this chicken breast and she would bread it, and he used to love that. That was one of his favorite meals.
CHANG: To Cavin Yarbrough, thank you for your major contributions to R&B music.
SHAPIRO: We still won't stop the music. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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