Feliciano Vierra Tavares
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October 29, 1920
Feliciano Vierra Tavares | |
|---|---|
| Born | Feliciano Vierra Tavares Senior October 29, 1920 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S |
| Died | December 17, 2008 (aged 88) Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, guitarist |
| Known for | Father of the Tavares Brothers |
| Children |
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Feliciano Vierra "Flash" Tavares Sr. (October 29, 1920 – December 17, 2008) was a Cape Verdean American musician, singer and guitarist based in Massachusetts. He was the patriarch of the musical Tavares family, which included the Tavares Brothers, a successful Grammy-winning R&B band in the 1970s and 1980s. The band was made from five of Tavares' sons.[1] Tavares was known professionally as Flash.
Tavares was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 29, 1920.[2] He was a self-taught musician who learned by listening to the radio and Cape Verdean music at an early age.[2] Tavares, a long time resident of Hyannis, Massachusetts, was considered to be an influential cultural figure within the Cape Verdean American community in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.[1] The father of all five members of Tavares, whose hits included "It Only Takes a Minute" and "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel", Tavares advocated for the traditional Cape Verdean music.[1] Following his death in 2008, it was noted that "Flash inspired a lot of kids to play music, and he kept the Cape Verdean musical heritage alive."[1] Tavares remained active within the musical community in his 80s despite an early diagnosis of prostate cancer.[1] He was able to travel to Cape Verde and continued to perform solo until he was 84 years old.[1] In 2007, Tavares and his sister, singer Vicki Vierra, were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Cape Verdean museum in East Providence, Rhode Island.[1]