The Tavares brothers — Arthur Tavares, Ralph Vierra Tavares, Perry Lee Tavares, Antone Tavares, and Feliciano Tavares nicknamed "Pooch," "Tiny," "Chubby," and "Butch" — started the group in 1964 as Chubby and the Turnpikes in New Bedford, MA. Their grandparents taught them traditional Cape Verde folk songs, while their older brother John schooled them on doo wop singing. In 1969, the group became Tavares. They began singing in New England clubs and were signed to Capitol Records in 1973. Their debut album, Check It Out , was issued in early 1974. The title track slow jam single went to number five R&B on Billboard's charts in summer 1973. The next single, the ballad "That's the Sound That Lonely Makes," hit number ten R&B in early 1974. Check It Out was followed by Hard Core Poetry in summer 1974, helmed by songwriting/production duo Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter (the Four Tops' "Aint No Woman Like the One I Got"). It listed the soaring number ten hit "Too Late," the number one hit "She's Gone," and "Remember What I Told You to Forget," which hit number four in 1975. Lambert & Potter produced In the City (summer 1975), which yielded the driving number one hit "It Only Takes a Minute," "Free Ride" (a 1973 pop smash for the Edgar Winter Group), and "The Love I Never Had." Take That's 1993 cover of "It Only Takes a Minute" was a U.K. hit.
Tavares' album Sky High (spring 1976) was the group's first collaboration with producer Freddie Perren. Perren seemed to have an affinity for family singing groups, having had hits with the Jackson 5 ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save") as a member of the Motown arrangers/songwriters/producers collective The Corporation, and would later go to have hits with the Sylvers ("Boogie Fever"). Sky High boasted the sparkling number three R&B hit "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel (Part 1)" from summer 1976. Their fifth LP, Love Storm was issued in spring 1977 and included the clever number one R&B hit "Whodunit" in spring 1977.
"More Than a Woman" was specifically written for Tavares by the Bee Gees and was issued as a single from the 11-million-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. "More Than a Woman" was also on their Future Bound LP released in spring 1978. A greatest hits set, The Best of Tavares, was released in fall 1977. On 1979's Madame Butterfly LP, the group worked with Philly soul arranger/producer Bobby Martin (the Manhattans, LTD). The sweet ballad "Never Had a Love Like This Before" went to number five R&B in early 1979.
In 1994, Canadian label Unidisc released The Best of Tavares Revisited, which had re-recordings by the group of their past hits.
The Ghost Of Love
Tavares Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The ghost of love keeps haunting me
Although you're gone, I can't get free
Just when I think (When I think) I'm over you (I'm over you)
The ghost of love says, "peek-a-boo"
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
May all your nights be full of fright and all your days be blue
Night and day she shared my world
Just when I thought I had forgot
That loving spell you weave so well
Suddenly that look comes on my face
And I start staring way out of space
I know why the girl stopped coming round
The ghost of love has done run her out of town
[Chorus]
Your love has died, but mine won't rest
This feeling for you is jumping in my chest
No one else can fill the bill
I'll wait for your return and pray that you will
Round about the midnight hour
I start to feel your loving power
Right away I'm tossing in my sleep
Daybreak finds me wrapped up in my sheets
The ghost of love (Ghost of love)
Is haunting me {Is haunting me} (Haunting me)
The ghost of love (Ghost of love) keeps haunting me (Haunting me)
Although you're gone (Although you're gone), I can't get free (Can't get free)
Just when I think (When I think) I'm over you (I'm over you)
The ghost of love (Ghost of love) says, "peek-a-boo"
The ghost of love (Ghost of love) keeps haunting me (Haunting me)
Although you're gone (Ghost of love), I can't get free
Just when I think (When I think) I'm over you (I'm over you)
The ghost of love (Ghost of love)
The ghost of love)
Keeps haunting me)
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
May all your nights be full of fright
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
And all your days be blue
The ghost of love (Ghost of love) (Ghost of love)
Is haunting me (Haunting me) (Haunting me) (Haunting me), oh...
Can't get no sleep, wrapped up in my sheets
Full of fright every night
That loving spell
You weave so well
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
May all your nights be full of fright
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
And all your days be blue
The ghost of love {Ghost of love} (Ghost of love)
Is haunting me (Is haunting me) (Haunting me) (Haunting me) (Haunting me), hey
The ghost of love is haunting me
Although you're gone, I can't get free
Just when I think I'm over you
The ghost of love says, "peek-peek-a-boo"
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
The ghost of love (Ghost of love)
Is haunting me (Haunting me) (Haunting me)
The Tavares song, "The Ghost of Love," is a bittersweet ballad about a man who is haunted by memories of a past lover. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "the ghost of love keeps haunting me," conveying the idea that the memory of his former lover continues to linger and haunt him, preventing him from moving on. The singer explains that he believed he had forgotten about his past lover and moved on when he met a new woman, but he soon found himself still thinking about his former partner.
Throughout the song, the singer describes how the memory of his ex-girlfriend causes him to lapse into a dreamy state, staring off into space or tossing and turning in his bed at night. He admits that the memory of her is so powerful that it has even driven away a new woman in his life who had been sharing his world. Despite this, he cannot let go of his former lover and continues to wait for her return, praying that she will come back to him.
Overall, "The Ghost of Love" is a poignant and relatable song about the lingering emotions that can haunt a person after a relationship has ended. It speaks to the pain of lingering feelings, despite the passage of time, and the difficulty of letting go of love.
Line by Line Meaning
The ghost of love keeps haunting me
The lingering feelings of love even after the person has left is haunting me.
Although you're gone, I can't get free
Even though the person has left, I cannot seem to move on from the love we shared.
Just when I think (When I think) I'm over you (I'm over you)
I convince myself that I have moved on from you, but it does not last long.
The ghost of love says, "peek-a-boo"
The memories of the love we shared tend to resurface and catch me off guard, making it impossible to forget you.
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
The memories of our love keep coming back to me.
May all your nights be full of fright and all your days be blue
I hope the person who left me will experience the same pain and heartbreak that they caused me.
You went away, I met this girl
After you left me, I met someone else.
Night and day she shared my world
The new person in my life was always around, and we shared many experiences together.
Just when I thought I had forgot
I thought I had forgotten about you and moved on.
That loving spell you weave so well
The love you had for me was so strong and magical that it is still affecting me even though you are gone.
Suddenly that look comes on my face
I get a sudden expression of longing and pain on my face when I think about you.
And I start staring way out of space
I lose focus and get lost in my thoughts when I think about you.
I know why the girl stopped coming round
The new person in my life stopped coming around because they sensed that I was still in love with you.
The ghost of love has done run her out of town
The memories of our love have driven her away from me.
Your love has died, but mine won't rest
You may have stopped loving me, but my love for you is still alive and strong.
This feeling for you is jumping in my chest
My heart still beats for you, and I cannot control the feeling.
No one else can fill the bill
No one else can replace you or take away the love I have for you.
I'll wait for your return and pray that you will
I am still hoping that you will come back to me, and I am praying for it.
Round about the midnight hour
Late at night when I am alone and our memories come to haunt me again.
I start to feel your loving power
I feel the power of the love we shared and how it still affects me.
Right away I'm tossing in my sleep
The memories of our love keep me awake at night, and I toss and turn in bed.
Daybreak finds me wrapped up in my sheets
I wake up feeling lost and alone, still wrapped up in the memories and feelings of our love.
The ghost of love (Ghost of love)
The lingering memories and feelings of our love.
Is haunting me {Is haunting me} (Haunting me)
The memories and feelings of our love are constantly haunting me and affecting me.
Can't get no sleep, wrapped up in my sheets
The memories of our love keep me up at night, and I am trapped in my thoughts and feelings.
Full of fright every night
The memories of our love scare me and cause me pain every night.
Peek-a-boo (Peek-a-boo), I see you (I see you)
The memories of our love keep coming back to me and will not leave.
The ghost of love {Ghost of love} (Ghost of love)
The memories and feelings of the love we shared.
Hey
An exclamation of emotional pain and longing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KENI ST. LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SOUL STALGIA RECORDS
One of the Best Soul Groups of All times. Super Talented.
Luciene Esteves
Época que era show, dancei muito esse ritmo de música épica das discotecas.Era bom demais
Keesh
I love these brothers so much. They are so gifted and born to perform.I can't believe Ralph is gone😢 he was my favorite, chubby and Butch. He's in a better place now. #ripralphtavares
Christine Tyler
He was mine too. I live these songs now more than ever!!
eric bush
Great voices Choreography mice song Tavares severely underrated group
944gemma
I could listen to these guys sing and watch them dance ALL DAY LONG!
Evelyn Davis
Me too they on my playlist
giovanni poggi
Me too.....honey.
Elle
Me toooooooo!
Kim Malone
All day long at my job, omg i love Taveras,