Thursday, December 04, 2008

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Solomon Burke

Artist:Solomon Burke
Song:Cry To Me
Album:Ultimate Dirty Dancing




Though Solomon Burke has never had a top 20 pop hit, he is widely acknowledged as one of the all time greats of soul and R & B. He is known as the King Of Soul and as you'll see in the video clip, he frequently sits on a throne while performing. Not surprisingly, Burke's roots are in the church. He was born Mar. 21, 1940 in Philadelphia and was preaching in his family's church and hosting a gospel radio show before he was in his teens. He recorded some singles in the 50s but got his big break in the early 60s with Atlantic Records. And as they did with gospel singers like Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin, Atlantic took Burke's raw style and secularized it with hits like Cry To Me and Everybody Needs Somebody To Love. Burke never had the pop success of some of the other soul singers but musicians like The Rolling Stones listened and frequently covered his songs. Cry To Me is just one of many oldies that were revived by the 1987 film Dirty Dancing and you can get them on this soundtrack CD. Solomon Burke was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and he continues to make great music today. His 2002 CD Don't Give Up On Me included contributions from Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe and won a Best Blues Album Grammy. He is currently signed to Shout! Factory and his most recent CD Like A Fire was released in June 2008. Here's Solomon Burke performing Cry To Me with Jools Holland on Dec. 31, 2002.

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