Updated: We’re saddened to hear of Solomon Burke’s passing. He died yesterday in the Netherlands of natural causes at age 70, and left behind 21 children, 90 grandchildren, and a legend as big as his personality. He cut some of his 1990s albums for Rounder Records here in New Orleans, and recorded two albums – Soul of the Blues and Live at the House of Blues – for Louisiana’s Black Top Records.
Besides numerous album reviews, OffBeat also published two feature interviews with Burke, both very entertaining. Scott Jordan talked to the King of Rock and Soul for the July 1997 Backtalk, and Christopher Blagg wrote about him in this October 2002 feature, Soul Searchin’ with Solomon Burke.
Paste online posted its choices for the 10 best Burke tracks, which is as good a way to remember him as any.
At RollingStone.com, Charles M. Young’s obituary is linked to the magazine’s last interview with Burke along with links to songs from later in his career.
David Wild remembers Burke at HuffingtonPost.com.
Recently, our own Andrew Hamlin reviewed Burke’s last album, Nothing’s Impossible.
At 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Tom Moon remembers conversations with Burke:
Once, he got going about the offers he repeatedly declined to perform on “Soul Revue” stages on the oldies circuit. Starting in the 1970s, he almost always turned these gigs down, he explained, because he’d watched some of the singers of his peer group burn themselves out playing state fairs. Years before his return to secular stages, he realized that his market value would be lower if he’d traveled all those oldies-circuit miles. “When I present myself in public, I want people to see Solomon Burke at his best,” he said. “I knew that if I dedicated myself to singing the same handful of old songs every night I would wind up with no voice left, and to me that spelled trouble – I watched too many people lose their gifts over the years….I know I’m old. But I also know I’m still good.”
Updated 12:23 p.m.
The Tom Moon blurb was added.
10/12/10, 4 p.m. – Links to two old OffBeat articles added.
