Peaches & Herb are a vocal duo once comprising "Herb" Fame, and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker (born April 28, 1947, died August 13, 2005). Herb has remained a constant in "Peaches & Herb" since its creation in 1967, while five different women have filled the role of "Peaches".
Herb Fame (born Herbert Feemster, 1 October 1942, in 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 eventually met record producer Van McCoy. McCoy agreed to let Fame audition, and decided to record him with Francine Barker, the lead singer of another group he was producing. The duo impressed McCoy so much that he released singles to local radio stations.
Francine "Peaches" Barker (so nicknamed by her mother as a newborn because of her fuzzy, "peach-like" cheeks) was born on April 28, 1947 in Washington, D.C. Before joining with Herb, Peaches started her own singing group, The Sweet Things, who were also a signed music trio. Upon suggestion of Van McCoy, Francine and Herb teamed up. Peaches & Herb then had a string of successful singles in the next two years with the songs "Let’s Fall in Love", "Close Your Eyes" (a Pop #8 hit in 1967, and also their debut single), "For Your Love", and "Love Is Strange". Despite the duo's burgeoning success, Barker chose to leave the duo because of the rigours of touring. During this time she also worked as a solo artist. One of the more popular tunes is "Angels in the Sky" released on Columbia Records.
Marlene Mack initially replaced Barker for touring, becoming 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". However their popularity began to fade. Depressed by the slumping prospects of his partnership with Mack, Fame chose to retire from the music industry in 1970, after which time he got a job at the Washington, D.C. police department.
"Peaches & Herb" thus lay dormant until Fame decided to re-enter the music business in 1976. In his search for a new "Peaches", Fame again enlisted the assistance of Van McCoy, who suggested that Linda Greene would be suitable for the position. Fame met Greene and concurred, leading to the formation of the most successful of the "Peaches & Herb" incarnations.
Their first album 2 Hot went gold . It contained the songs "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.
The naysayers watched in shock as "Reunited" earned platinum status, holding on to the number one spot for four weeks on both the R&B and pop charts during spring 1979. Both are on the platinum album 2 Hot (released October 1978). The majority of their Polydor hits were written by Perren, Dino Fekaris, Kenny St. Lewis, and Melvin Ragin. Though there were other hits on Polydor, none came close to the success of their early- to mid-'60s Date singles. Though Herb Fame believes it can happen again and employs a new "Peaches" to keep the name current while he holds down a job in the Washington, D.C. police department.
