The Chambers Brothers' George Chambers Dead at 88

George "Pops" Chambers, the singer and bassist for the Chambers Brothers, died Saturday, his brother said. He was 88. The cause of death is unclear.

"The best big brother you could ever have," Willie Chambers wrote on his Facebook page Saturday night. "I am so sad, and at the same time, I'm so glad to have had such a wonderful person in my life. Rest In Peace brother. We had lots of great times."

The band's Facebook page also announced the news, writing, "To all our fans, friends and loved ones, I was informed this morning at about 5:00 am, that my brother George, known as 'Pops' Chambers has passed. We thank you for all your years of Love Peace and Happiness."

(Photo: Frank Edwards / Contributor, Getty)

The Chambers Brothers, best known for their 1968 hit "Time Has Come Today," started performing together as a gospel group in the 1950s while breaking from their duties as sharecroppers in rural Lee County, Mississippi.

George Chambers, pictured above at far left, was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. Upon getting out, he urged the group to move to Los Angeles where they became part of the local folk scene at clubs like the Ash Grove. They rose to more national prominence in 1965, around the time that Pete Seeger put them on the bill at the Newport Folk Festival.

They were versatile enough to cover both Curtis Mayfield and Gershwin on the Vault label, but then signed with Columbia Records in 1966, where they first recorded "Time Has Come Today" as a two-and-a-half-minute single — and it flopped. However, an 11-minute-plus version recorded for the 1967 album The Time Has Come, which featured an extended psychedelic break, quickly became a radio staple. A four-minute single edit crossed them over to AM radio, with a No. 11 peak on the Billboard Hot 11.

"Time Has Come Today" has been licensed for dozens of films and TV shows, including the Vietnam-themed movies Coming Home and Casualties of War, as well as recent use in Cold Case, The Simpsons and On the Basis of Sex.

The Chambers family consisted of 13 siblings — eight boys and five girls. Four of the young men played in the Chambers Brothers band: George (born 1931), Willie (1938), Lester (1940) and Joe (1942) and were joined by one non-family member, drummer Brian Keenan.

Willie said in an interview with Songfacts published last year that George was the biggest holdout in recording the band's biggest hit. "He didn't want no part of 'Time Has Come Today.' He thought it was silly and ridiculous and every time we were to play he said, 'We're not going to do that song, are we?' We'd say, 'Yeah. We're going to do that song every chance we get.' Man, because all the screaming and all of the carrying on, it was unheard of, especially for black people," Willie said.

Three of the Chambers Brothers — Willie, Joe and George — reunited for a public performance for the final time at the Grammy Museum in March 2016.