Solomon Burke (Born 21/03/1940, Died 10/10/2010)

Throughout the period 1961-68, he had a number of R&B hits, but Burke was not just one of the finest singers of this or any other era, he was also one of the great showmen of popular music. A minister of the church, father of 21 children, he thought nothing of setting up his own franchise, hustling sandwiches and grills outside his own venues! He was a superb live act, a fine performer who liked to do whatever it took to please the audience (as well as selling bibles from the back of his car as he moved from city to city).
Jerry Wexler, luminary of Atlantic Records, described his voice as "an instrument of extreme sensitivity", which just about sums it up. All his great Atlantic sides can be heard on the 2CD collection "Home In Your Heart: The Best Of Solomon Burke" on Rhino 8122-70284-2. This is an absolutely essential purchase and includes, among others, 'Cry To Me', 'Just Out Of Reach', 'Got To Get You Off Of My Mind', 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love' and 'If You Need Me'.

When he left Atlantic, he did have a hit with 'Proud Mary' on Bell Records but eventually he stopped selling and although he recorded the fine "We're Almost Home" for MGM in 1971, he made little impression on the record buying public of the time.
In the 80s he recorded more frequently and often went back to his gospel roots with albums such as "Into My Life You Came" for the Savoy label. In 1986 he switched back to country soul with "A Change Is Gonna Come" and it was Burke's idea to record a blues album, something he had apparently wanted to do for a while. He contacted Hammond Scott at Black Top Records and the result was the superb "Soul Of The Blues" (Black Top CD BT-1095) in 1993. A fine album of blues standards and lesser known material sung in Burke's distinctive and inimitable style.
In 2002, he came back seemingly as strong as ever with the excellent "Don't Give Up On Me" release. Full of songwriting contributions from Burke fans such as Elvis Costello, Van the Man, Nick Lowe, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson, it's a long overdue 'comeback' and strong contender for essential purchase status. He followed this up with the fine "Make Do With What You've Got" in 2005 - produced by Don Was, if anything this album is a little more diverse and more generally appealing than its predecessor. And for a man who helped forge the country-soul hybrid and has such an affinity for country music, the recording values of the genuinely country release "Nashville" in 2006 should have come as no surprise. "Like A Fire" (2008), "Nothing's Impossible" (2010) and "Hold On Tight" (released after his untimely death) all followed. "Nothing's Impossible" has added interest in that I believe it was the last production project from the great southern soul writer, arranger and producer Willie Mitchell; apparently, Mitchell had wanted to record Solomon for many years; anyway, there are gems on all of them, but none to beat the first two albums that began the "comeback" from 2002 onwards.

He had the ability to sing a wide variety of material, largely avoiding the vocal trickery of lesser talents - a full bodied voice of incredible warmth and an essential listen. He died on October 10, 2010 on arrival at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam where he was scheduled to perform at a sold-out show at the city's Paradiso concert hall.