Walter Scott Jr. of The Whispers died at 81 in California after a most cancers prognosis, abandoning a legacy that helped form R&B and affect Hip-Hop.

Walter Scott Jr., co-founder of the legendary R&B group The Whispers, died Thursday in Northridge, California, after a six-month combat with most cancers, in keeping with his household.

He was 81.

The Texas-born vocalist helped form the sleek sound of late-Twentieth-century R&B, guiding The Whispers to fifteen prime 10 hits on the R&B charts, together with the enduring classics “And the Beat Goes On” and “Rock Regular.”

His demise marks the top of an period for a bunch whose music bridged generations and was later sampled by Hip-Hop artists like 50 Cent, J. Cole and Will Smith.

Scott handed away surrounded by family members, together with his spouse, Jan; two sons; three grandchildren; and his brother and longtime bandmate, Wallace “Scotty” Scott.

Born in 1944, Scott moved from Texas to Los Angeles together with his household, the place he and his brother teamed up with Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson and Gordy Harmon to kind The Whispers in 1963.

Scott briefly left the group to serve within the Vietnam Struggle however returned in 1969, simply in time to assist the band rise to nationwide prominence.

The group’s early years had been marked by modest success till their breakthrough single, “Appears Like I Gotta Do Unsuitable,” in 1970.

Their polished harmonies and stage presence made them staples of the R&B scene via the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties.

The Whispers continued performing into the 2000s and had been honored in 2014 with inductions into each the Vocal Group Corridor of Fame and the Nationwide Rhythm & Blues Corridor of Fame.

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