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, D.C.) 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 No. 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".[1] This song, evoking the 1960s Peaches & Herb hit "United" (originally recorded and made a hit by The Intruders), reached number one 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.[9] 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).[10] Formerly Greene, Linda now goes by Linda Peaches Tavani.
Later years
[edit]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.[11] The duo appeared infrequently in concerts and did not release any recordings.
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.[12]
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.[9]
A fifth "Peaches"—singer, songwriter, and advocate for breast cancer prevention, 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 people 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. Miriamm currently performs as a freelance 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,[13] and in 2008 they were reported to be planning a recording together.[10] 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.[14] Together, Fame and Negre recorded Colors of Love, the first album from Peaches & Herb since 1983.[15] Colors of Love was released in May 2009 by Imagen Records, approximately three months after Negre's stage debut as "Peaches". Negre died in 2020 after battling cancer.
Fame has since returned to touring with Wanda Tolson.
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