Clarence Burke Jr. | R&B singer, 64

Clarence Burke Jr., 64, the lead singer of the Five Stairsteps, a sibling R&B group once regarded as "the first family of soul" for a string of hits that included "O-o-h Child," died Sunday in Marietta, Ga., where he lived, said his manager, Joe Marno. The cause was not released.

Formed in 1965 in Chicago, the group originally consisted of four young brothers and a sister who played their own instruments and sang. Mr. Burke, the eldest brother, also played guitar, wrote many of the group's songs, and served as a producer and choreographer. He penned their first single, the ballad "You Waited Too Long," that rose to No. 6 on Billboard's R&B charts in 1966 - when he was not quite 17.

Among the group's other hits were "World of Fantasy," "Don't Change Your Love," and their biggest, "O-o-h Child," released in 1970. The inspirational song of comfort and hope was the group's only top 10 pop hit.

It was "a pop-soul classic that rivaled the hits of another sibling gang, the Jackson 5," according to Rolling Stone magazine, which placed the song at No. 402 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

In the late 1960s, their 5-year-old brother joined them onstage so they renamed themselves the Five Stairsteps and Cubie in his honor. But when he left after two years, they reverted to their original name. They later dropped the "Five" altogether. - L.A. Times