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Southern Soul Corner June 2015

All artists, promoters, label execs, DJs, fans etc. that follow Southern Soul realize what a loss has occurred in the genre with the recent passing of Mel Waiters. The Texas native has been one of the major male artist influences in the Southern Soul arena for 20 years. From his first albums in the mid-'90's on Serious Sounds through his many releases on Waldoxy to current works on his own Brittney label, Mel has been a solidifying force in the industry with a continuous list of hit tunes. He specialized in self-composed material, charters like Got My Whiskey, Hole In The Wall, Swing Out, Ice Chest, Smaller The Club, Throw Back Days and Friday Night Fish Fry. More recent Waiters produced hits Everything's Going Up, I Ain't Gone Do It ,  Got No Curfew, My Check Is Spent and Pouring Salt  rocked the charts for months at a time. Mel Waiters was voted the 2010 Best Southern Soul/R&B Album (I Ain't Gone Do It) and 2011 Record Producer of the Year by the readers of Blues Critic and the 2010 Southern Soul Artist of the Year by the Blues Critic staff. It is ironic that Mel combined with the late Floyd Taylor on the monster hit It's On Me just prior to Floyd's passing in early 2014.   Mel's latest (and unfortunately his last) release on the Brittney label, True Love, embodies traditional Waiters compositions with the complimentary rhythm tracking. Stick To Your Drink was the advance single already charting here as well as on many DJ lists. Going Out Tonight will likely be our next tune from the album to hit the chart - it has a strong radio groove. Shake A Plenty and Contact have that classic 'hole in the wall' club sound that made Mel famous. The theme of the title track as well as Southern Soul Love and Not Suppose To Love You cast aside a man's nefarious ways to get serious about true romance. 11 tracks in all, another great album but it also sadly stirs the emotion of a farewell chapter for an outstanding career that has concluded much too soon. May the music of Mel Waiters live on forever!

Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp "The Mississippi Blues Child", hails from the small town of McComb, MS. He took to music right away as a child, beginning to play the guitar at the age of 6. With hard work and perseverance, Castro has honed his craft not only as a vocalist but also as a songwriter, musician, composer, producer and entertainer. Castro has contributed to and provided studio work for over 50 national recordings, particularly in the Gospel arena. His credits include working with The Williams Brothers, True Believers, Dottie Peoples, Jackson Southernaires, Tim Rogers & The Fellas and Alabama Boys. He has won several recent awards for his efforts, including the 2014 International Blues Challenge Winner by way of The Vicksburg Blues Society, the 2014 Gibson Best Guitarist Award Winner and the 2014 Jus' Blues Bobby Rush Entertainers Award. As Mr. Sipp, his transition to Blues music has been a smooth one. He released It's My Guitar in 2013, eleven tunes that emphasizes instrumentation, upbeat rhythm tracks and original lyrics. Sipp also provided guitar work on last year's smash album Bootleg Whiskey from Grady Champion. His latest album release, The Mississippi Blues Child, is part of his new moniker. Like Grady, Mr. Sipp is billed as a Blues artist but has enough Soul licks in his music to be part of this genre as well.   I immediately picked up on V.I.P, a sensual tune with a solid groove. Another one that is off the chain is Hold It In The Road, which will eventually chart here at the Corner. Also an awesome joint is Nobody's Bisness (What I Do With My Check). Try telling that to the lady of the house! I hear some strains of Keb Mo in Sipp's Jump The Broom. Both Hole In My Heart and What Is Love slow the tempo way down and get serious with the phrasing. 14 tracks in all, this is really good stuff ya'll from a relatively new artist to Southern Soul who is young enough to make a real difference in the future of the music!