Peaches & Herb

Peaches & Herb
Peaches and Herb in 1968.
Background information
Origin	Washington D.C., United States
Genres	Disco, Funk, R&B, Soul
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Date Records, Columbia Records, Imagen Records
Associated acts	Van McCoy
Website	Peaches & Herb.com
Members	Wanda Makle Herb Fame
Past members	Francine Hurd Barker ("Peaches" was her actual nickname since childhood) Marlene Mack Linda Greene Patrice Hawthorne Miriamm Wright Meritxell Negre

Peaches & Herb are an American vocalist duo, once comprising Herb Fame (born October 1, 1942) and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker (April 28, 1947 – August 13, 2005). Herb has remained a constant in "Peaches & Herb" since its creation in 1966, while seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches."

History

Herb Fame (born Herbert Feemster, October 1, 1942, in Anacostia, Washington, D.C.), sang in church and neighborhood groups as a child. After graduation from high school, he worked in a local record store where he met record producer Van McCoy and was signed to Columbia subsidiary Date Records by McCoy and A&R executive Dave Kapralik. Francine "Peaches" Barker (born Francine Edna Hurd, April 28, 1947, in Washington, D.C.), using the stage name Francine Day, started a singing trio initially dubbed The Darlettes and later renamed The Sweet Things after a change of record label to Date Records. Having produced two releases for the trio, McCoy decided to record Feemster/Fame and Hurd/Day together at Kapralik's suggestion. The resulting single, "We're in This Thing Together," was distributed to radio stations but went nowhere for months until December 1966, when a St. Louis disc jockey broadcast the single's B-side, a revival of the 1934 hit "Let's Fall in Love."

The new duo, christened "Peaches & Herb," had a string of successful singles and albums over the next two years such as "Let's Fall in Love," "Close Your Eyes," "For Your Love," and "Love Is Strange." Despite burgeoning success and a media image as the "Sweethearts of Soul," Barker chose to semi-retire from the duo after two years because of the rigors of touring. Marlene Mack (aka Marlene Jenkins), who had sung on the Jaynetts' hit "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" and had recorded as Marlina Mars, replaced Barker on stage, but Barker remained on all of the duo's recordings for Date Records. During this period, the semi-retired "Peaches" also worked as a solo artist using her married name, Francine Barker. She released three singles in total on the Columbia Records label, including "Angels in the Sky" and "Mister DJ."

Fame retired the act in 1970 when, for personal reasons, he enrolled in the police academy of Washington, D.C. and thereafter joined the city's police department. Peaches & Herb lay dormant until Fame decided to re-enter the music business in 1976. In his search for a new "Peaches," Herb again enlisted the assistance of Van McCoy, who suggested that Linda Greene would be suitable for the position. Fame met Greene and concurred, thereby leading to formation of the most successful of the "Peaches & Herb" incarnations to date. Linda's early musical training (while growing up in Washington, DC) was at The Sewell Music Conservatory.

Fame and Greene recorded seven albums altogether, including one album released only in Argentina. Their first album, Peaches & Herb, was recorded for MCA Records and produced by Van McCoy, but it generated only one charted hit, "We're Still Together." Peaches & Herb signed with MVP/Polydor and under the management of Paul J. Cohn, released 2 Hot, which went gold. The album's first single, "Shake Your Groove Thing", went gold and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1979. The follow-up single, viewed as the album's "secret weapon" by producer/songwriter Freddie Perren, was the triple platinum hit "Reunited." This song, evoking the 1960s Peaches & Herb hit "United," (originally recorded and made a hit by The Intruders), reached #1 on both the Hot 100, the Billboard R&B chart, and in Canada. "Reunited" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1980. Subsequent releases with Polydor produced several more hits, including the lasting wedding staple, "I Pledge My Love." After changing labels again to the Entertainment Company, Fame and Greene released their seventh album in 1983. Scoring only one minor hit, Greene and Fame decided to make no more albums and retired their partnership. Once again, Fame returned to law enforcement and joined the U.S. Marshals Service in 1986 as a deputized court security officer at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Greene returned to her family and, together with her husband Stephen Tavani, went on to release three gospel albums and start the charity WOW (Winning Our World).

While remaining employed at the court, Fame again revived the brand in 1990. For the fourth "Peaches" he chose Patrice Hawthorne, fresh from television exposure on the Natalie Cole-hosted talent show Big Break. The duo appeared infrequently in concerts, and did not release any recordings. Hawthorne remains a Philadelphia bandleader of her own orchestra, CTO Soho.

Due to unpaid royalties, Fame's financial state was far from wealthy despite years of hits and selling nine million records with Greene. Thus, in 2001, Fame and Greene hired attorneys Oren Warshavsky and Steven Ames Brown through Artists Rights Enforcement Corporation. The attorneys brought a lawsuit against MVP Records, then headed by Christine Perren. Perren's testimony at trial revealed a series of contradictions in MVP's defense, with the result that Fame and Greene received royalties, income, and a reaffirmation of their artists' rights. Those rights have since been vigorously defended. Having financial security, Fame would then have been able to leave the court and focus solely on his music career. Instead, he banked significant funds and continued enjoying the work.

A fifth "Peaches"—singer, songwriter, and breast cancer advocate Miriamm—joined the duo in 2002. Miriamm began touring with Herb and was introduced to the world as the new "Peaches" when she joined Herb in the PBS televised "Rhythm, Love & Soul" Fundraising drive. They shared the stage with greats such as Aretha Franklin, Gloria Gaynor and Lou Rawls, among others. Their performance re-introduced Peaches and Herb and their on-stage chemistry was so well received, it sparked another invitation to the duo for the follow-up star-studded installment of the PBS show featuring R&B greats such as Irene Cara, Heatwave, and Anita Ward. Both performances currently air periodically throughout the year. Miriamm currently performs as a free-lance vocalist and has founded a breast cancer foundation, EPW Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., in honor of her mother, Edith P. Wright, providing support to families facing breast cancer.

Wanda Makle subsequently performed with Fame in weekend appearances, and in 2008 they were reported to be planning a recording together. Those plans dissolved, and instead Makle was ultimately dropped in favor of another "Peaches," Meritxell Negre from Barcelona, Spain.

Negre, who was introduced to Fame by producer Bill Davis, is the first-ever non-black "Peaches" and third recording artist to co-record a Peaches and Herb album. Together, Fame and Negre recorded Colors of Love, the first album from Peaches & Herb since 1983. Combined with Fame's classic, zesty tenor flair, Negre's soulful, alto-soprano range seamlessly replaces Linda Greene 25 years after the Peaches & Herb album Remember. Colors of Love was released in May 2009 by Imagen Records, approximately three months after Negre's stage debut as "Peaches."

Fame has since returned to touring with Wanda Makle.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Label	Year of release	Country of release	Peak Billboard chart position*	Peaches:	LP	CD
For Your Love	Date	1967	USA	13	Francine Barker	LP	–
Let's Fall in Love				30		LP	–
Peaches & Herb	MCA	1977		–	Linda Greene	LP	–
2 Hot	MVP / Polydor	1978		2		LP	CD
Twice the Fire		1979		31		LP	–
Demasiado Candente			Argentina	–		LP
Worth the Wait		1980	USA	120		LP	CD
Sayin' Something		1981		16		LP	–
Remember	The Entertainment Co. / Columbia	1983		204		LP	–
Colors of Love	Imagen	2009		NA	Meritxell Negre	–	CD

*Based on Billboard's Hot 100, R&B, and Disco/Dance singles charts. [Source: Billboard Top Pop Hits and Billboard Top R&B Hits by Joel Whitburn.]

Compilation albums

Title	Label	Year of release	Country of release	Peak Billboard chart position*	Peaches:
Greatest Hits	Date	1968	USA	18	Francine Barker
Greatest Hits	Epic	1979		-
Sweathearts of Soul	Origianal Sound Entertainment	1994		-
Reunited: At Their Best	PSM	1995		-	Linda Greene
Best of Peaches & Herb	MVP / Polydor	1996		-
Reunited	Rotation / MVP / Polydor	2001	EU	-
20th Century Masters	MVP / Polydor	2002	USA	-
Two of a Kind	Collectables	2005		-	Francine Barker
Old School Cruzin' With Peaches & Herb	Thump			-
The Best of Peaches & Herb: Love Is Strange	Epic / Legacy	2007		-
Greatest Hits	Wounded Bird	2009		-
Golden Duets	Wounded Bird	2009		-

*Based on Billboard's Hot 100, R&B, and Disco/Dance singles charts. [Source: Billboard Top Pop Hits and Billboard Top R&B Hits by Joel Whitburn.]

7" Singles and promos

Title	Label	Year	Country of release	US Billboard chart *	US R&B Chart	UK chart position #	NL (Dutch)	Peaches:
Close Your Eyes b/w I Will Watch Over You	Date	1967	USA	8	4	–	–	Francine Barker
For Your Love b/w I Need Your Love So Desperately				20	10	–	–
Two Little Kids b/w We've Got to Love One Another				31	25	–	–
Let's Fall in Love b/w We're in This Thing Together				21	11	–	–
Love Is Strange b/w It's True I Love You				13	16	–	–
United b/w Thank You		1968		46	11	–	–
Let's Make a Promise b/w Me & You				75	34	–	–
The Ten Commandments of Love b/w What a Lovely Way (To Say Goodnight)				55	25	–	–
Let Me Be the One b/w I Need Your Love So Desperately		1969		74	40	–	–
When He Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters				49	10	–	–
Darling How Long b/w Cupid				–	–	–	–
The Sound of Silence		1970		100	–	–	–
It's Just a Game, Love b/w Satisfy My Hunger				110	50	–	–
God Save This World	Columbia	1971		–	–	–	–
I'm Counting on You	MCA	1977		–	–	–	–	Linda Greene
We're Still Together				107	98	–	–
Shake Your Groove Thing	MVP / Polydor	1978		5	4	26	22
Reunited b/w Easy As Pie				1	1	4	2
Reunited b/w We Got Love			Germany	–	–	–	–
We Got Love b/w Four's a Traffic Jam			USA	44	25	–	14
Roller Skatin' Mate		1979		66	30	–	–
I Pledge My Love b/w (I Want Us) Back Together				19	37	–	–
Howzabout Some Love b/w Put It There			Spain	–	–	–	–
Sacude Tu Alegria b/w Todo Tu Amor			Argentina	–	–	–
Fun Time		1980	USA	–	37	–	–
All Night Celebration				–	–	–	–
Hearsay				–	–	–	–
Freeway b/w Picking Up the Pieces		1981		–	37	–	–
Bluer Than Blue b/w Go with the Flow				–	45	–	–
Remember	The Entertainment Co. / Columbia	1983		–	35	–	–
In My World b/w Keep on Smiling				–	–	–	–

*Based on Billboard's Hot 100, R&B, and Disco/Dance singles charts. [Source: Billboard Top Pop Hits and Billboard Top R&B Hits by Joel Whitburn.]
# Based on Complete UK Hit Singles 1952 – 2006 published by Collins UK.
"I Pledge My Love" also reached number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart for a week in 1980.

12" and maxi singles

Title	Label	Year of release	Country of Release	Peak Billboard chart position*	Peaches:
Shake Your Groove Thing	MVP / Polydor	1978	USA	-	Linda Greene
Roller Skatin' Mate		1979		-
Fun Time		1980		-
Freeway		1981		-
Shake Your Groove Thing (Serious Rope Remixes)	Mother / MVP / Polydor	1994	UK	-

*Based on Billboard's Hot 100, R&B, and Disco/Dance singles charts. [Source: Billboard Top Pop Hits and Billboard Top R&B Hits by Joel Whitburn.]

Legacy

The disco song "Shake Your Groove Thing" has featured prominently in many films such as An Extremely Goofy Movie, Monster, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Connie and Carla, Marock and The Country Bears, as well as in an advertisement campaign by Intel in the late 1990s. The song was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks with Drew Seeley for their album Undeniable, and again with the Chipettes on the soundtrack for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Also, the cast of That '70s Show sang it in the episode "That '70s Musical".

In June 2009, rock band Faith No More opened their set at Brixton Academy with their own cover of "Reunited" the song alluding to the band's own eleven-year break up and subsequent reunion. They subsequently did the same for their headlining slot at Download Festival on June 12.

See also

• Music of Washington, D.C.
• List of Soul Train episodes
• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
• List of Polydor Records artists
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart

External links

• Peaches & Herb official site
• Peaches and Herb recordings at Legacy Recordings
• Soulandfunkmusic.com
• Discogs.com