McComb native Robert “Squirrel” Lester of the Chi-Lites passed Sunday, January 22, 2010. A nephew to community leader, Mr. Theodor Bullock and born in McComb, he is a piece of McComb’s legacy and will be remembered and appreciated for his contributions to music.

Representatives for the family of Robert “Squirrel” Lester of the Chi-Lites confirmed that he died from cancer. He was 67 years old. The veteran vocalist was one of the founding members of the Chi-Lites, the group that penned hits like “Oh Girl”, “The 12th of Never” and most notably “Have You Seen Her.”

The Chi-Lites’ music is continuing to be sampled to this day. Beyonce and Jay-Z sampled part of the group’s hit “Are You My Woman” for “Crazy in Love,” and Jay-Z’s “December 4th’’ samples “That’s How Long.” Fantasia also sampled their song “There’ll Never Be Any Peace” on “Baby Mama.”

Robert ‘Squirrel’ Lester, of the Soul vocal group, the Chi-Lites, was the second tenor in the Chicago based singing group. He was included in the recent Chi-Lites line-up, along with group leader Marshall Thompson, lead vocalist Frank Reed, and backing vocalist, Tara Thompson.

An inductee at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, Lester was 67 years old at the time of his death. The Chi-Lites were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 2000 and fellow founding member Eugene Record joined them on stage for the first time in 10 years.