Walter Scott, a co-founding member of the R&B group the Whispers, has died, the Los Angeles Sentinel reports. Scott had been living with cancer for six months, and he died in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to the report. Scott was 81 years old.
Scott and his twin brother, Wallace “Scotty” Scott, co-founded the Whispers, in California, with Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson, and Gordy Harmon in the early 1960s. The group released its first singles in 1964 through Doré Records, but an album did not materialize until 1969 in the form of Planets of Life, released via Soul Clock.
Despite a prolific output, the Whispers did not find commercial success until the late 1970s when they joined Dick Griffey’s SOLAR Records. The group’s 1979 self-titled album, in particular, was hugely popular and contained the band’s signature song, “And the Beat Goes On.” Subsequent albums, like 1980’s Imagination, 1982’s Love Is Where You Find It, and 1987’s Just Gets Better With Time, solidified the Whispers as a reliable force in the worlds of soul, R&B, and disco.
The Roots’ Questlove eulogized Walter Scott on Instagram, calling him “one of the most trusted voices in 70s soul music.”