Solomon Burke, c 1940-2010 | reviews, news & interviews
Solomon Burke, c 1940-2010
Solomon Burke, c 1940-2010
Monday, 11 October 2010
He was the man who Jerry Wexler, co-founder of Atlantic Records, thought was the greatest soul singer of them all and "a salesman of epic proportions". Nearly 30 stone when he died, he fathered 21 children (and is reported to have had 90 grandchildren). He was born in Philadelphia in 1936, 1938 or 1940 according to differing reports and made his mark as a preacher before becoming a song-writer and performer. He also had a job as an undertaker and ran a mortuary business in Los Angeles having worked in his uncle's funeral parlour, and was a gospel radio DJ.
He was the man who Jerry Wexler, co-founder of Atlantic Records, thought was the greatest soul singer of them all and "a salesman of epic proportions". Nearly 30 stone when he died, he fathered 21 children (and is reported to have had 90 grandchildren). He was born in Philadelphia in 1936, 1938 or 1940 according to differing reports and made his mark as a preacher before becoming a song-writer and performer. He also had a job as an undertaker and ran a mortuary business in Los Angeles having worked in his uncle's funeral parlour, and was a gospel radio DJ.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more New music
Album: Floating Points - Cascade
High energy techno and rave from the synth craftsman needs your best speakers
Album: Snow Patrol - The Forest is the Path
Struggling to find the good in this hugely successful band's lovelorn stadium plod
Album: Tindersticks - Soft Tissue
More poetic heartbreak from Stuart Staples' mob
Album: Juniore - Trois, Deux, Un
Parisian trio showcase an elegant if deliberate retro-futurist garage-pop
Music Reissues Weekly: Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Friends - People Funny Boy: The Upsetter Singles 1968-1969
Meticulous investigation of the early self-determined years of the eminent sonic architect
The Allergies, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham review - funky hip-hoppers fire up the weekend
Breaks, funky basslines, horns and plenty of dancing
Album: LL COOL J - THE FORCE
OK you can call it a comeback
Gossip, SWG3, Glasgow review - powerhouse voice provokes only an intermittent party
Beth Ditto was on superb form, but her band's sound struggled to find a groove
Album: Fat Dog - WOOF
One of the year's word-of-mouth live sensations fires out their debut
Album: Boston Manor - Sundiver
A reflective and fun second chapter in this double album
Girl in Red, Barrowland, Glasgow review - rarely has vulnerability been so giddy
Marie Ulven was on chatty, lively form in front of an adoring audience.
Supersonic Festival 2024, Birmingham review - another fine musical celebration far away from the mainstream
Birmingham again welcomes the weird and the wonderful to town
Add comment