Solomon Burke - Rock 'n' Soul (1964)

Solomon Burke was a highly influential and successful American soul singer. 

The years 1961 to 1963 had been Solomon Burke's breakthrough years, as he signed with Atlantic Records and scored hits with "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)", "Cry To Me", "I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You" and "If You Need Me", followed by the If You Need Me album.

The hits kept on coming. Next was "You're Good For Me", written by Don Covay, which charted at #8 R&B. Through 1964 the R&B chart was temporarily discontinued, but his singles were getting onto the national pop chart anyway, the highest charting release of the year being "Goodbye Baby", which reached #33. Other singles which reached the pop chart in 1964 were "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" (#58), "The Price" (#57) and "He'll Have To Go" (#51). The latter was another country cover, originally having been a big hit for Jim Reeves back in 1960. By the end of the year he was without a doubt Atlantic's biggest R&B star, and at the height of his success was crowned 'King Of Rock & Soul' with an on-stage ceremony, after which he took to wearing a crown and cape when performing.

His second Atlantic LP came out the same year. It was pretty much a compilation album, bringing together most of (but not all of) his recent hits. Alongside "You're Good For Me", "Goodbye Baby" and "He'll Have To Go", it also included some of his hits the previous few years ("Just Out Of Reach", "Cry To Me", and "If You Need Me"). It just stopped short of being a complete collection of all of his Atlantic hits. Between the well-known songs were some equally strong album tracks, including a surprising cover of Woody Guthrie's "Hard, Ain't It Hard". It made for an excellent and diverse album, mixing different strains of R&B, gospel, pop and country to make up the distinctive soul sound of Solomon Burke.

If You Need Me (1963) <|> King Solomon (1967)
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Solomon Burke - If You Need Me (1963)

Solomon Burke was a highly influential and successful American soul singer.

Solomon Burke's first recorded work had been on the Apollo label in the late 50s, but he had seen little success at first and subsequently left the music business to start a family. However he was enticed back in 1960 and signed to Atlantic Records, who had an impressive track record as an R&B label, and were looking for a new star after parting ways with Ray Charles.

It was with Atlantic that Solomon Burke scored his first hits - "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)" was a #7 R&B hit in 1961, and also crossed over onto the pop chart at #24. The composition dated back to 1953, when it had orginally been a country hit for Faron Young (adapting country songs into soul songs became something of a habit for Burke). 1962 saw an even bigger success with "Cry To Me" (#5 R&B). Don Covay's "I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You" got to #15, and it's b-side "Down In The Valley" also charted at #20. These early hits saw him developing into one of the finest soul singers of the era under Atlantic's supervision.

In 1963 he had his biggest hit to date, the ballad "If You Need Me" charting as a #2 R&B hit. The song was written by one Wilson Pickett, and eclipsed the author's own version (though Pickett soon signed with Atlantic himself and came to see the same level of success as Burke). His first album for Atlantic came out the same year, focused around "If You Need Me". Most of the rest of the album consisted of singles which hadn't charted, and it didn't actually feature any of the '61-'62 hits. The album showed him to be an excellent soul singer with a wide range of R&B styles under his command, from raw gospel shouters to tender country-soul ballads.

Solomon Burke (1962) <|> Rock 'n' Soul (1964)
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Solomon Burke - Solomon Burke (1962)

Solomon Burke was a highly influential and successful American soul singer.

Born in West Philadelphia in 1940, Solomon Burke began preaching at his grandmother's church aged just seven. As a child he appeared on (and hosted) gospel radio shows, and travelled the south. He worked hard to support his family at an early age, and first became a father himself at age fourteen. When he was signed to Apollo Records in 1955 he had already lived a fascinating life and posessed wisdom and self-determination way beyond his years. Though he was raised on gospel, he was never adverse to any form of secular music, and released a number of low-selling R&B singles on Apollo.

In 1957 he withdrew from the record business, went to school and earned himself a doctorate in Mortuary Science, and joined the family funeral home business. During this time he got married, and was soon father to six children. He was lured back to music in 1960, when he signed with Atlantic Records, where he was to see a great deal of success over the next few years.

Apollo released this album in 1962, by which time he had already started to have hits on Atlantic. It compiled twelve songs from his years with Apollo, so some of them were six years out of date when the album was released. Together they presented a modest offering, somewhat uninspired in arrangements but showcasing the range and variety in Burke's voice even at this young age. It is with the few moments when the raw gospel stylings of his voice show through that the promise of great things to come becomes clear.

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