Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called “a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul” and was known for his prodigious output. He had a string of hits including “Cry to Me,” “If You Need Me,” “Got to Get You Off My Mind,” “Down in the Valley,” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.” Burke was honorifically referred to as “King Solomon,” “the King of Rock ’n’ Soul,” “the Bishop of Soul,” and “the Muhammad Ali of Soul.” Due to his relatively modest chart success compared to contemporaries such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding, Burke has been described as the genre’s “most unfairly overlooked singer” of its golden age. Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler called him “the greatest male soul singer of all time.” Burke’s most famous recordings, spanning five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B. He was “a singer whose smooth, powerful articulation and mingling of sacred and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s.” He drew from his roots — gospel, jazz, country and blues — while developing his own style at a time when R&B and rock were still in their infancy. Described as both “Rabelaisian” and a “spiritual enigma,” Burke embodied the way spirituality and commerce, ecstasy and entertainment, sex and salvation, individualism and brotherhood could blend within 1960s soul music.
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Letter From My Darling
My Rose Saved From The Street
& De Dijk – Hold On Tight
Perfect Song
Het Moet En Het Zal
No One
Cry To Me
Proud Mary
When A Man Loves A Woman
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