A musical hero…R.I.P.

I have a dozen early Solomon Burke LPs and CDs. I played him occasionally on The Blue Note–whenever I thought the mix needed a dose of big-barreled soul and lustiness. On the early live recordings, women in the audience are screaming his name with love and, well, lust. The groupies were definitely passionate.

But it wasn’t until the 2002 release of his “Don’t Give Up On Me” cd that I joined the legions of Solomon Burke groupies. Not because of the lustiness (‘tho that’s certainly wonderful), but because of the power of his interpretation of songs by a roster of great song writers, including Van Morrison and Tom Waits. The album went on to win a Grammy. Here’s one of my favorites from it:

A few years later, Burke released “Nashville,” teaming up with some of the great talents of the country music scene. One of the songs from that album, by Tom T. Hall,  became the song that my husband and I used at our wedding celebration and still think of us “our” song.

You can find out more about Solomon Burke and his music at his official website or check out the Wikipedia entry on him. Burke died on Saturday at a European airport en route to a sold-out gig.

Earlier today a listener emailed to ask if I was planning a tribute edition of The Blue Note. Yes, tomorrow’s show will showcase Solomon Burke, for at least the first hour. Tune in at 3:00 pm.

You’ll always be a diamond in our minds, Solomon Burke. Thank you.

Tags: Solomon Burke