Cavin Yarbrough, one half of the chart-topping 1980s R&B duo Yarbrough & Peoples, passed away on Thursday (June 19) at the age of 72 due to complications from heart disease. “He was the love of my life, my protector. Now he’s my guardian angel,” Yarbrough’s wife and longtime music partner, Alisa Peoples, said in a statement. The group was known for their breakout hit, “Don’t Stop the Music,” which topped the R&B charts in 1981, and also reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Don’t Stop the Music” went on to become an RIAA gold-certified single, and was featured on the pair’s gold-certified debut album, The Two of Us, which also spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The duo also achieved commercial success with other hit songs like “Don’t Waste Your Time,” “Heartbeats,” “Guilty,” and “I Wouldn’t Lie.” The duo was discovered by Charlie Wilson of The Gap Band, who in turn introduced them to Lonnie Simmons, who signed them to his Los Angeles-based label, Total Experience Records. (Billboard)
