| The
duo, Peaches & Herb formed in 1967 comprised Herb Fame,
and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker. Over the years,
however, Herb has remained a constant in the duo while their have been
5 incarnations of Peaches over the years.
Herb Fame, was born in Washington D.C. in 1942. From an early age, he sang with his church and around his neighbourhood. After graduation, he worked in a record shop where he met producer, Van McCoy (best known for his hit The Hustle) who granted him an an audition and paired him up with Francine Barker. Francine "Peaches" Barker (who was nicknamed due to her peach like cheeks by her mother when she was born) was also a Washington, DC. native. Peaches & Herb as they became to be known had a string of successful singles in the next two years with the songs Let’s Fall in Love, Close Your Eye, For Your Love, and Love Is Strange. Despite the duo's success, Barker chose to leave due to the rigours of touring and embarked on a solo career. |
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| Brought
in as a tour replacement, Marlene Mack became the second of the five
Peaches; however Barker's voice remained on the actual music and
albums. The new duo continued to chart with such singles as Two
Little Kids and When He Touches Me. With duos
popularity beginning to decline, Fame decided to retire from the music
industry in 1970 where he commenced a new career with the Washington
D.C. Police Department.
Fame decided to re-enter the music business in 1976 and bring back Peaches & Herb. With the help of Van McCoy, the found Linda Greene as the Peaches replacement and it was this incarnation of the duo that was most successful. Their first album 2 Hot went gold . It contained the hits Shake Your Groove Thing which peaked at number 5, on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1979, and Reunited, the unlikely follow-up single, which reached number 1. Unable to repeat the success of 2 Hot with their subsequent albums, Greene and Fame decided to retire their partnership in 1983. Fame again chose to revive his entertainment career in 1990, with the help of a fourth "Peaches" - Patrice Hawthorne. She is now the bandleader of her own orchestra. Nevertheless, Fame retained his job with the Washington, D.C. police department, suggesting a somewhat less than serious approach to his professional music career. The group enjoyed a resurgence in the mid nineties when Shake Your Groove Thing was included on the Priscilla Queen of the Desert soundtrack and in its 2006 stage musical. The original Peaches, Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker, passed away unexpectedly on August 13, 2005 due to health related issues. |
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