Walter Scott, founding member of the R&B group the Whispers

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MIAMI – Walter Scott, co-founder of the R&B group the Whispers featuring Scott and his twin brother Wallace who climbed the music charts with hits like Rock Steady, And the Beat Goes On, and My Heart, has died.

He was 81.

According to news reports, Scott died following a brief illness that kept him from performing.

The Whispers, which debuted in 1963 in Watts, California, featured the Scott brothers and Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson and Nicholas Caldwell.

After being invited to perform with Sly Stone in San Francisco in 1966, the group relocated to that area where they began developing a reputation as a show-stopping live act. 

Walter Scott was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War for 18 months, returning to the group in 1969 after he was discharged. 

After Harmon injured his larynx in a driving accident in 1973, he was replaced by former Friends of Distinction band member Leaveil Degree. 

Hutson left the group in 1992 due to prostate cancer and succumbed to the disease in 2000.

The group voted to never replace him and started performing as a quartet.

In 2014, the Whispers were inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.