R.I.P Soloman Burke

[Alex_UK]

Solomon Burke passed away today (of natural causes, at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport - having been there many times, I would suspect the catering...)

Aside from his music, most remarkable that he has 21 children (14 daughters and 7 sons), 90 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. I suspect "natural causes" actually means "worn out" ;)

Please ignore my flippancy - another sad loss to the world of music.

[Marco]

Excuse my ignorance, Alex, but who is/was he?

Yes I could look it up, but I'll get a better answer from your good self :)

Marco.

[Alex_UK]

I did a big long reply on this Marco, then the forum crashed, so here we go again! :)

Solomon Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter. During the half-century that he performed, he drew from his roots: gospel, soul, and blues, as well as developing his own style in a time when R&B, and rock were still in their infancy. Burke was considered a pioneer and was a member of the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In the 60s, under the influence of artists such as Little Richard, Burke signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)", a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, who covered Burke's "Down in the Valley" for 1965's Otis Blue. Burke's best known song is "Cry to Me", which was a hit twice: first in the 60's, and again in the 1980s when it was used in the film – and appeared on the soundtrack for – Dirty Dancing.

He was mentioned throughout the 1995 Nick Hornby novel High Fidelity, one of my favourite books, and how I got to hear about him - I'm not really a fan, but it was this that brought him to my attention, out of curiosity, really.

It was his propensity in the "bedroom department" that really got my attention, though - do you think he could remember all his kid's names - 21 is extraordinary, by any measure!

[colinB]

I remember he used to appear on Jools Hollands LATER and they would have to give him a chair to sit and perform in. Now i know why Alex.

[Alex_UK]

I suspect the chair had a big cushion too Colin! :D

[Barry]

It was his propensity in the "bedroom department" that really got my attention, though - do you think he could remember all his kid's names - 21 is extraordinary, by any measure!

Phah -that's nothing!

J. S. Bach had 30 children, though not all survived. There is an anecdotal tale that in a US record store Bach's compositions were sub-divided into various catagories: one being labeled "Bach's organ works" - underneath of which someone had written: "so does mine"! The anonymous graffito is probably more a comment on the record store's lack of grammar; it should have read "Bach - organ works".

I think our sympathies ought to lie with Mrs Burke; the father has the easy part to play.

Regards

[The Grand Wazoo]

Bugger, not another one............

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