Tuesday, December 15, 2009
When Theo Peoples and his wife Daphne walk into a room you know they are “somebody.” Daphne is beautiful, and a fashion aficionado and so is Theo, but their easy, friendly manner and quick smiles make those around them feel as if they’ve known them for years. Actually, many St. Louisans have known Theo- through his music- but didn’t realize it.
Theo Peoples will be touring again soon with the Four Tops soon.
For years he was a fixture at places like, The Seventh Inn and Al Baker's, two upscale restaurants which featured live music in their lounges in the 1970s and ‘80s. After many years of playing to the St. Louis crowds, Peoples has gone on to success on the national scene. He is the only person to play in both the Four Tops and the Temptations and currently tours with the Four Tops.
Though he never dreamed he would be where he is today- playing with one of Motown’s biggest bands, some of his most proud moments have come when his own songs have been recorded.
“I haven't become the successful solo artist by societies standards, winning the sought out, Grammy Award thus far,” said Peoples. ‘But the ‘rewards’ I feel I have won in making people smile through painting a picture with my songs is a special feeling. The feelings people have gotten when they’ve heard some of my songs, such as "This Is My Promise," and "Stay" to name a couple, far exceeds any award I could be given. To me, that’s success!”
Peoples got his start at the First Baptist Church of Chesterfield, singing in the choir, where his father was the minister. For years he performed solo in clubs and restaurant until 1995 when his big break came. He was performing at the Majestic Hotel when one of the Temptations just happened to be in the audience.
Ron Tyson, who had been the first tenor for the Temptations heard Peoples and the rest was history. He played with the Temptations for six years and was involved on two of the group’s most popular albums in the groups contemporary era.
As he went on tour with the Temptations he had to learn the precise choreography, and he concentrated more on his dancing, which paid off, making him more versatile as an entertainer. In 1998 he left the Temptations to join the Four Tops. Long-time lead singer Levi Stubbs had been diagnosed with cancer and had been unable to perform after having a stroke and Peoples found himself being the lead singer for the Tempts!
“It’s an unbelievable blessing to be a part of two legendary groups that the entire world knows and has heard,” said Peoples from his home in Chesterfield. “The icing on the cake is, I'm the only man, to date, that can lay claim to being the lead vocalist for BOTH The Temptations, and The Four Tops!”
The Four Tops gave Peoples one of the highlights of his career when he was featured on their 50th Anniversary album, From The Heart, in 2004, singing “Always and Forever.”
He still performs with the Four Tops but has recorded several solo albums including Down Time (2000), Listen 2 Your Heart (2002) and Chemistry…You and Me (2004). He is gearing up for a major “TNT” Tour (Tempts & Tops) which begins in February and will have him traveling the globe. The tour starts out in New Zealand goes through Australia to the UK and on to France.
Currently the Four Tops are Peoples, Ronnie McNeir, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, and Lawrence Roquel Payton, Jr. They perform all the hits including I Can't Help Myself, Reach Out I'll Be There, Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got), It's The Same Old Song, and Baby I Need Your Loving. Besides the major tours, they perform about 80 corporate.
Peoples' wife Daphne is also his personal manager, booking him for private functions like the corporate parties and charity fundraisers in St, Louis, and out of state. It’s a tricky balancing act she has to follow because all of his appearances are based on his availability surrounding the Four Tops schedule. Daphne is also a singer and entertainer and she has teamed up with her husband on a number of occasions to do shows.
They met at the Downtown St. Louis Centre when he was performing as a duo act with a pianist named Ken Charles
“I heard this awesome baritone voice as I was shopping, and wondered, who in the world this was that had three levels of people surrounding the mall's railing,” Daphne remembered. Theo noticed her too, looking over the railing and motioning her to come down, but she continued shopping.
Later, when he was on his break from singing, he caught up with her and asked her to go listen to him that evening at “Just Jazz” on Pine Street. She decided she’d go and after a couple of years they were married and have been married for 16 years- pretty impressive for an entertainer. They have children but prefer to keep their family life private.
Daphne is musical herself, playing the clarinet and singing. She and Theo sometimes perform together at Donatelli's Piano Bistro in Lake St. Louis.
“Theo even plays the piano when we perform there,” said Daphne. “We haven’t been able to perform there as often as we would like, but I continue to personally book entertainment , duo acts, each week on Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays. It’s so close to home, that it became our home away from home for a while.”
“My favorite quote of Theo’s is, ‘It takes a special person to marry an entertainer.’ I have truly learned and I believe it's a mindset as a couple, a focus as a couple, and lots of confidential talk and communication between a couple of best friends.”
They are each others' best friends. They have been able to achieve the close marriage they have today through hard work and the fact that they are both from St. Louis and are very grounded people. Because they met in downtown St. Louis, those early days have special feelings in their hearts.
“It’s great to think of those days, I remember Mel Friedman, a music producer and proprietor of Edith Walden Cleaners at the time, as well as, my friend and Personal Manager for years He opened lots of doors to places in St. Louis, the most memorable one being Just Jazz at The Hotel Majestic on Pine Street...it was there I was first heard by The Temptations & information exchanged..the rest is history!”
Even though they are planning for the big tour to start, Daphne is busy rolling out a company she has started.
“It’s called BIO Exclusive Events,” said Daphne. “BIO stands for By Invitation Only This company is very special because it's has what I call, my ’personal touch’ and we roll out the red carpet for the events.”
They had an event in late November at "Quintessential Dining and Nightlife" in Downtown Historic St. Charles.
“If you haven't been there thus far, you need to go!” she says enthusiastically. “It truly is a phenomenal & classy restaurant! This is the place we've chosen to feature a few of the many wonderful people—some of them could be superstars-- we've met in the midst of our travels in the entertainment field. We will periodically feature a few nationally known artists who are personal friends of ours that have so graciously agreed to perform in support of our endeavor.”
Bringing big names to St. Louis or introducing new talent that they have found on the road is their way of thanking the many friends and family members in St. Louis.
“So many people have supported Theo on his journey,” said Daphne.
Comments
Marko (anonymous) says...
I was one of the fortunate ones to see Theo at "Q" a few weeks ago. Theo never sounded better and the placed sparkeled because of Daphne's hard work. Like the article says, Theo is a smile factory!!!!! He just makes them keep coming over and over!
A pair of true professionals.
December 15, 2009 at 12:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )