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Archives:
Southern Soul Corner
With The Soul Dog
Corner Talk : Karen Wolfe had been holding steady at #2 for several weeks on the Soul and Blues
Report’s Top 25 with Man Enough until the last voting period, when the song
slid a notch to #3. Mel Waiter’s Everything Is Going Up just was not gonna move off #1!! Karen,
being referred to as ‘The Princess of Southern Soul’, has a new album (A Woman Needs A Strong Man) that includes this smash hit. Other potential future charters include Southern Soul Party Mood, Blues Me Up and You Make Me Feel Like I’m Wanted..............................
Gotta like Chuck Roberson’s latest CD For Real This Time on the CDS label. Georgia born Chuck is a
thirty-plus year veteran of singing and recording. This upbeat album has a whole passel of danceable tracks including I Want You To Rock Me, At The Hideaway, Temporary Sugar Daddy, Show Me What You Working With,
The Lollipop Man Can and We’re Gonna Have A Party.……..
More new album releases the past few months in Southern Soul: Transformation from Wilson Meadows on the M&M/Brimstone
label, Let’s Get The Party Started from Bertha Payne on Bertland Records, All About The Rhythm & The Blues from Latimore of the Latstone label, The Real Deal from Betty Padgett on Brimstone, I’m The One You Need from Ernie Johnson on Stairway Entertainment, Troubled Child from Charles Wilson on Severn Records, How Sweet Is Your Candy from Terry Wright on MacWright Records The
Evolution Of Soul from T.K. Soul on the Soulful Records label and Another
Level
from L.J. Echols on Neckbone Records………….
Veteran smooth singer Lenny Williams continues to make his mark
since entering the Southern Soul scene about five years ago. Although he has been a solo act for the major part of his long
career, he is still often most associated with his three year stint as the lead singer for Tower of Power back in the early
‘70’s. Lenny’s latest album Unfinished Business released at the first of this year is doing very well in the genre. Blues Critic currently has it at #4 on their Top 50 Albums chart. His single Cheatin On The Cheatin has been hot on the charts for several weeks………….
One of the greatest singers to ever grace the stage, he grew up
in Chicago to become a solidifying force in Soul music. The ‘Ice Man’, Jerry Butler turns seventy years old in
December – still as humble and as graceful an individual as you would ever want to meet. He and childhood friend Curtis
Mayfield formed the Impressions in the late ‘50’s, but Jerry soon left to launch his own solo career. It was a
little over forty years ago that he released an album on Mercury Records that became monumental in the world of Pop and Soul.
The
Ice Man Cometh set a standard that was a benchmark for all of music. It also marked the first album production effort from the now
legendary team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Six of the eleven tracks on the album made the Billboard Top 100 both Pop and
R&B charts over a two year period. Five of the tunes made the R&B Top 10 with Hey Western Union Man and Only The Strong Survive peaking at #1. Moody Woman hit #3, while Never Give
You Up made it to #4 and Are You Happy got to #9. Jerry would go on to release a total
of more than fifty albums during a career that is still active. A Southern Soul Corner salute and happy early birthday wishes
to Mr. Jerry Butler ………………….
One song in particular from the ‘60s/’70s era that reflects
the pure embodiment as a forerunner of today’s Southern Soul is Precious, Precious. The original version was released in 1970
on the Atlantic label by a little known singer (at the time) out of Florida named Jackie Moore. It registered strong on Billboard’s
Pop and R&B charts for several months. Horn laden riffs (the Memphis Horns that is) kick the song off as Jackie later
gets real personal on her man with…..’you’ve been
with every girl in this town, you’ve been dealing in dirt’. The powerful mid-tempo groove pulsates with down home rhythm
and scintillating blues. The tune was soon covered by Memphis’ Hi Records soulster Otis Clay in 1972 and in 1977 by
label mate O.V. Wright. Jackie later recorded a commanding extended version as a duet with Wilson Pickett. It is also interesting
that when Jamaican Reggae superstar Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals) travelled to Memphis in 1988 to record an album
of Soul classics, Precious, Precious was one of the first songs he chose to include………….........
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Spotlight On …..…..O.B. Buchana
Several years ago when I first became aware of a singer named O.B.,
I’m like ‘oh, yeah I know who he is, O.B. McClinton, right?’ Wrong!!! They were both born in Mississippi, but
McClinton’s main focus was Country music up until his passing in 1987. O.B. Buchana, however, is a sure-fired Soul and
Blues man, through and through. He is currently one of the hottest tickets going on the Memphis based Ecko Records label.
Growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, O.B. was destined to become
a singer. Clarksdale, of course, is famous for being right in the middle of what was either home or proving grounds at one
time or another to many Blues legends, including W.C. Handy, Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters
and John Lee Hooker. Little O.B. began singing in the church choir at the age of eight. While still a teenager, he became
the leader singer for a prominent local Gospel group, The Mighty Suns of God. His passion for secular music eventually took
over as he gravitated toward Soul and Blues.
Buchana released an upbeat R&B flavored single, Back Up Lover, in the early ‘90’s that caught
on quickly in the Southern Soul market. This became known as O.B.’s signature song as he began to gain regional attention
as a powerful singer and a dynamic performer. He signed with Paula Records, releasing an album entitled It’s Over in 1999. The title track and Two Steps Behind (later covered by Charles Wilson) made a strong showing. Back Up Lover, which was also included on the album, was covered by Chuck Roberson on Ecko Records that same year. Two
years later, I Got Caught dropped on the Suzie-Q label. The title
track was somewhat of a sequel to Back Up Lover with that same four step rhythm tracking.
Let’s Get Drunk and I Can’t Choose were the lead tunes receiving widespread radio
airplay in the South.
As his stature grew in the genre, O.B. was ready for bigger and
better things. He signed on with John Ward’s Ecko Records label in 2004, releasing Shake What You Got! The radio jocks jumped on the album - among
the tracks widely played were I’m In Love, That’s My
Bad and Both In The Wrong. The line dancer Booty Scoot was also a club favorite. Buchana would go on to release a new Ecko album each year
for the next three years. 2005’s I Can’t Stop Drinkin’, 2006’s I’m Gonna Sleep and 2007’s Goin’
Back Home all received critical acclaim, producing several hits including Stage In The Sky (a Tyrone Davis tribute), I Can’t Stop
Drinkin’, I Owe Everybody, Knock Three Times, All My Money’s Gone and Mississippi Swing. I’m Goin’
Back Home
had that down home smooth groove that took it to #1 on the Southern Soul charts in early 2008.
In terms of recording and performing, the last twelve months may
have been the busiest of Buchana’s career. Southern Soul Country Boy was released late last fall with Just Because He’s Good ToYou and You’re Just
Playin’ With It both becoming charters. For a solid boogie dance tune, it’s hard to beat She’s Got The Best Lovin’ That Ever Put On A Pair Of Drawers (what a song title!). Back Up Lover was released in May of this year, which was more about a retrospective look at O.B.’s
career than about new tunes. It includes some of his songs that are no longer in print, such as Back Door Tipper and I Can’t Choose. Just out of the gate is his latest album
release from Ecko entitled It’s My Time. Early favorites showing up on the DJ lists
include Look What You Did To Me, Did You Put Your Foot In It? (a duet with Mr. Sam) and You’ve
Been Good To Me.
O.B. is consistently rated each year as one of the hardest touring,
crowd pleasing artists in Southern Soul. His unique powerful voice serves to make him an annual headliner on the Blues Is
Alright tour, which is gearing up again to kick off in early 2010. His song You’re Just Playin’ With It recently was a winner as the Male Southern Soul
Song of the Year at the 2009 Jus’ Blues Foundation Awards. O.B. was also a nominee for the Male Southern Soul Artist
of the Year. As Southern Soul continues to grow and expand across the country, he is well positioned to carry on as one of
it’s brightest stars!
Soul Dog’s Top Southern Soul Songs
The Recipe – Big Robb
Woman’s Got To Have It – Calvin Richardson
Lose Sleep – Chandra Calloway
You Are Just What I Needed – Chuck Strong
Everybody Knows – The Revelations
Crazy ‘Bout You – James Payne
I’m All Good – James Morgan
Blues Me Up – Karen Wolfe
Jody’s Got My Problems – Luther Lackey
The Right Woman – Omar Cunningham
Old Skool Replay
Thank You Baby – Syl Johnson
We continue to focus on Southern (and Northern) Soul selections
new and old in the rotation along with Beach, Boogie and Blues on our 24/7 station Way Down South on live365.com. In addition, a new Southern Soul
radio stream will be loaded within the next week on the beachmusic45.com website. Guaranteed to be one of the best yet!
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