New Bedford Music Legend 'Pooch' Tavares Passes Away

Arthur “Pooch” Tavares of New Bedford’s legendary 1970s R&B group Tavares has passed away.

He was 81.

His brother Tiny Tavares posted to Facebook early Wednesday morning a series of photos of him and his brothers, specifically focusing on Pooch, with the caption “Miss what we had.”

On the final photo, a shot of Pooch and eldest brother of the group Ralph, who passed away in 2021 at age 79, Tiny wrote “Now you two can get the stage ready for us. RI-Paradise.”

Tiny Tavares via Facebook

Tavares – brothers Ralph, Pooch, Chubby (real name Antone), Butch (Feliciano) and Tiny (Perry) – began in South Providence but the brothers have always considered New Bedford home.

The group reached massive success during the 1970s. Tavares’ version of “More Than a Woman” appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, one of the best-selling albums of all time and winner of the Album of the Year Grammy in 1979.

Tavares via Facebook

The group had numerous other hits including “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel,” “It Only Takes a Minute,” “She’s Gone,” “Don’t Take Away the Music” and “Whodunit.” Their songs frequently topped the R&B and dance charts.

In 2014, Pooch Tavares suffered a massive stroke. Although he recovered, he opted to retire from the group, and was replaced by Ralph, who had previously left the group in 1984 for family reasons.

Chubby Tavares retired last year due to health issues.