The singing duo of Yarbrough & Peoples burst on to the music scene with the… Read Full Bio ↴The singing duo of Yarbrough & Peoples burst on to the music scene with the million-selling single "Don't Stop the Music," a sinewy slab of synth-based R&B/funk that was ahead of its time and had a far-reaching influence in the years following. The sizzling track held down the number one R&B spot for five weeks and hit number 19 pop on Billboard's charts in the spring of 1981. Calvin Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples first met when they were small children, growing up in Dallas, TX; he was six-years-old and she was four. They were both taking lessons from the same music teacher and attended the same neighborhood church, where both sang solos in the church choir. After their college years, Peoples worked a regular job while Yarbrough played keyboards and sang in a band called Grand Theft. Tulsa, OK, musicians Robert, Ronnie, and Charlie Wilson were in the audience for one of the band's shows and offered the keyboardist/singer a background vocals job on the Leon Russell tour that they were a part of. Once the tour was over, Yarbrough returned to Dallas, playing local gigs with Grand Theft. Around 1977, Peoples sang a song with the band during one of their club dates. Everyone there knew it was the beginning of musical magic. The Wilson brothers, then known as the Gap Band, were having hit after hit ("Shake," number four R&B, spring 1979, "Steppin' (Out)," number ten R&B, late 1979, "I Don't Believe You Want to Get up and Dance (Oops, Up Side Your Head)," number four R&B, early 1980). When the group came to Dallas to perform, Yarbrough had them listen to an audio tape he and Peoples had recorded. Impressed, Charlie Wilson enthusiastically woke up their manager/producer Lonnie Simmons in his hotel room. Wilson, followed by the singing duo, entered the room and stayed while Simmons listened to the tape. Simmons was taken by the couple's humble, genteel manner and good attitudes. Exchanging phone numbers, he bid them all a good night. One day while in the lobby of his Los Angeles-based label Total Experience Records, Simmons was surprised to see Yarbrough & Peoples. He suggested that the duo make a record demo and teamed them with staff producer Jonah Ellis. They recorded seven songs, the last of which was "When the Music Stops." Ellis felt the song was a filler; if they had enough studio time left, they would record it on the demo, if not it was no big deal. Yarbrough liked the song, so Ellis recorded a track with both a drum machine and drummer Jonathan Moffett. Retitled "Don't Stop the Music" and co-written by Peoples (producers Jonah Ellis and Lonnie Simmons, issued on Mercury), the song inherited the number one R&B spot from the Gap Band's "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" during February 1981. Their debut album The Two of Us went gold, peaking at number 16 on Billboard's album charts. The follow-up, The Third Degree, peaked at number 74 R&B, summer 1981. The next LP, Heartbeats, was issued on Total Experience as part of a distribution deal producer Simmons had with Polygram in spring 1982. Two singles were released with strong "Don't Stop the Music" leanings: "Heartbeats" (number ten R&B, late 1982) and "Feels So Good" (number 20 R&B, spring 1983). Their next album, Be a Winner, produced by Yarbrough, Ellis, and Oliver Scott, and released spring 1984, yielded another number one R&B single. Mixed by Nick Martinelli and David Todd (who co-mixed Evelyn Champagne King's "Shame" with Al Garrison), "Don't Waste Your Time" clocked in at number one R&B, spring 1984. The LP's title track climbed to number 20 R&B in summer 1984. Guilty was the name of Yarbrough & Peoples' best album, issued in late 1985. The title track "Guilty" — not to be confused with the Alexander O'Neal hit — went to number two R&B around the time of the LP's release. The track was written and produced by Jimmy Hamilton and Maurice Hayes of the band Prime Time, who had a hit on Total Experience with "I Owe It to Myself," number 21 R&B, fall 1984. The Hamilton/Hayes follow-up, the percolating "I Wouldn't Lie" went to number six R&B in spring 1986. The gentle ballad "Wrapped Around Your Finger" peaked at number 46 R&B, summer 1986. Although they're known for their up-tempo hits, "Guilty" proved that Yarbrough & Peoples could handle ballads. Listen to the airy, ethereal ballad "I'll Give Anything to Have You Back." Another standout track is the Oliver Scott-produced "Anytime," with its rumbling, tumbling, comin'-to-get-ya funk groove. The duo worked with the other acts signed to Total Experience including the Gap Band and Penny Ford. On the singer's Pennye LP, the singing duo co-wrote and produced the heart-tugging ballad "Never Let Go." Ford was featured on the Gap Band's "I Found My Baby," number eight R&B, spring 1985 (available on Smooth Grooves: Vol. 1-New Jack Ballads, Rhino, 1998), and was the lead vocalist on Snap's 1990 multi-platinum worldwide hit "The Power" and its gold follow-up "Ooops Up." Yarbrough & Peoples sang "Christmas Dreams" on the 1984 multi-artist LP A Total Experience Christmas on Total Experience/RCA. Sometime during the '80s, Yarbrough & Peoples became a married couple. Total Experience folded in the late '80s and the couple returned to Texas. PGD/Polygram Pop/Jazz issued Best of Yarbrough & Peoples (which includes the 12" version of "Heartbeats") in May 1997, and "Don't Stop the Music" is on the label's compilation Dance Funk, released November 1997.

Don't Waste Your Time
Yarbrough & Peoples Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't waste your time
She's my friend
I tell you
She ain't no good

Ooh, ooh, ooh
Yeah, yeah

I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you
Knowing I care about you
The way I do

So don't waste your time
She's my friend
And I tell you she ain't no good
Don't waste your time
She's my friend
And I tell you she ain't no good

She calls me on the phone
Each and every night
Bragging how she takes love
But never gives it back

So don't waste your time
She's my friend
And I tell you she ain't no good
Don't waste your time
She's my friend
And I tell you she ain't no good

She told me that she loves me
She told me that she needed me
(No good)
She said I was the only one
(Don't waste your time)
And now you're saying
She's only out for fun

She don't love you
She don't love you
She don't love you like I do

She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do

(Don't waste your time)
But she told me that
She loved me, oh, yeah
(Don't waste your time)
But she told me
That she needed me
(Don't waste your time)

Ooh, ooh

Don't waste your time

(Are you sure)
She don't love you
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do

(Are you sure)
She don't love you
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do

Do you love me
And do you want me
Do you need me
(Don't waste your time)

I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you
I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you, yeah

I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you
I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you

(Don't waste your time)
And you say she's only out for fun
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)

She told me that she loved me
(Don't waste your time)
(Don't waste your time)

She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you
(Are you sure) like I do

(Are you sure)
She don't love you
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do
(Are you sure)

Don't waste your time
(She said that she loves me)
She's my friend and I tell you
She ain't no good

Don't waste your time
(She said that she needs me)
She's my friend and I tell you
She ain't no good

(Don't waste your time)
She said that she loves me
And now you're telling me
She ain't no good

Don't waste your time

I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you
I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you, yeah

I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you
I can't stand to see someone
Take advantage of you

She's my friend
(She said she loved me)
And I tell you
She ain't no good
(Are you sure)

She don't love you
She don't love you
(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do
(Are you sure)

She don't love you
She don't love you

(Are you sure)
She don't love you like I do

Overall Meaning

In Yarbrough & Peoples' song "Don't Waste Your Time", the singer seems to be warning a friend about a woman who is not good for him. The singer seems to care deeply for the friend and cannot stand the thought of this woman taking advantage of him. The lyrics describe how the woman in question has lied to both the friend and the singer, telling both of them that she loves them and needs them, but it is clear that her motives are not sincere. The singer repeats the phrase "Don't waste your time", urging the friend to stay away from her and assuring him that she is not good for him.

The song seems to be cautionary tale about the dangers of falling for someone who is not genuine. The singer's repeated insistence that the friend should not waste his time on this woman suggests that he has been hurt before, and perhaps he sees his friend making the same mistakes he did. The powerful vocal performance in the song conveys a sense of urgency and concern, which makes the message even more impactful.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't waste your time
I am warning you not to spend your time on her

She's my friend
I have a personal relationship with this woman

I tell you
I am informing you with certainty

She ain't no good
She is untrustworthy and has negative intentions

I can't stand to see someone
It is unbearable for me to witness

Take advantage of you
Exploit your kindness and make use of you for her own benefit

Knowing I care about you
I have feelings of concern and affection for you

The way I do
In the manner that I do

She calls me on the phone
She contacts me by telephone

Each and every night
Consistently and without fail every evening

Bragging how she takes love
Boasting about how she manipulates romantic relationships