Francine Barker born 28 April 1947

Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker (April 28, 1947 – August 13, 2005), was the original "Peaches" of the American vocalist duo Peaches and Herb.

Born in Washington, DC, in 1947, Francine Hurd earned the childhood nickname "Peaches" because of her genteel manner. As a schoolgirl she sang in numerous groups before joining the Keynotes as lead vocalist. Later, she formed her own trio, the Darlettes, with Dyanne Stewart and Nancy J. Johnson. Their recording debut, 1965's "Lost", written and produced by Van McCoy, was released on Mira, a subsidiary of the Mirwood label of Los Angeles. Later that year the group landed a contract with Columbia's new Date offshoot, who changed their name to the Sweet Things, issuing "You're My Loving Baby" early in 1966.

The Keynotes

At the group's next session, Van McCoy decided to also have Francine cut two duets with Herb Fame, another DC-based singer from his Daedalus Productions stable - Peaches & Herb were born. While the Sweet Things' second Date 45, the Motown-ish "I'm In A World Of Trouble", crept out unnoticed,

Peaches & Herb's revival of the oldie, "Let's Fall In Love", swept into the Top 20, at which point Francine quit the Sweet Things to form a full time duo with Fame. 

                             

They  had a string of successful singles and albums over the next two years such as "Let's Fall in Love", "Close Your Eyes", "For Your Love", and "Love Is Strange". Within two years they had 
notched up a total of ten hits.Despite burgeoning success and a media image as the "Sweethearts of Soul", Barker chose to semi-
retire from the duo after two years because of the rigors of touring. Marlene Mack (aka Marlene Jenkins) replaced Barker on stage, but Barker remained on all of the duo's recordings for Date Records.

During this period, the semi-retired "Peaches" also worked as a solo artist using her married name, Francine Barker. She released three singles in total on the Columbia Records label, including "Angels in the Sky" and "Mister DJ" before marrying in 1970 and retiring from the record biz to raise a family. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1942) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches",

During 1995 Francine suffered from a brain aneurysm and stroke, and for the rest of her life was cared for by her husband and daughter. She died 13 Aug 2005 (aged 58) at Hyattsville, Prince George's County, Maryland.

(Edited from Wikipedia, Soulwalking and mainly from  bio by Mick Patrick@ Spectropop)