Solomon Burke – 21/03/1940 – 10/10/2010

The music world is mourning the loss of iconic singer Solomon Burke who died on Sunday 10th October. An acclaimed soul and blues singer, Burke died of natural causes at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, where he was scheduled to perform the following week.

Like many soul artists, his musical inspiration came from gospel and church music, as well as country and rock and roll. He was a preacher in his hometown of Philadelphia and had performed and released gospel standards from a young age. He later became involved in a gospel radio show, but it wasn’t until he signed to Atlantic Records in the 1960s that he had the opportunity to take his music to a wider audience. His biggest hits included Cry to Me, immortalised in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, and the classic Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. He continued to release music and perform live until his death, despite persistent ill health. An album of songs written by Dutch band De Dijk and performed by Burke, Hold On Tight, is out this month.
Although never gaining the widespread fame of his peers like Otis Redding, Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for 2003’s Don’t Give Up on Me. Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler once called him “the best soul singer of all time”, yet he was ultimately overshadowed by the very stars who he had once inspired.

His personal life often received as much attention as his music. His religious upbringing and beliefs played a big part in his life and he even received an invitation to perform at the Vatican in 2000. However, his private relationships were rarely straightforward and he was frequently unwilling to confirm the number of women with whom he had fathered his 21 children. Similarly, it wasn’t until 2002 that he finally cleared up the mystery of when he was born (21st March 1940, fact buffs). He claimed not to use cigarettes or alcohol yet spent most of his final years in a wheelchair because of his obesity problems.

Whereas many of his musical contemporaries, from Marvin Gaye to close friend Sam Cooke died young and thus secured a place in soul mythology, Burke’s contradictory life story and perhaps peripheral role in music leaves a more complex legacy. But without doubt, his death has robbed us of one of the most intriguing characters, charismatic performers and memorable voices in soul music.