Solomon Burke

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.Template:Sfn He has been called "a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was known for his "prodigious output".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

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 referred to honorifically as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", "Bishop of Soul", and the "Muhammad Ali of Soul".<ref name=r1>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Jet2001>Jet (9 April 2001):35.</ref><ref name=birthday>Template:Cite news</ref> Due to his minimal chart success in comparison to other soul music greats 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.<ref>David Cantwell, "Editorial Review"</ref> Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler referred to Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time".<ref name=birthday/><ref name=Jet2001/>Template:Sfn

Burke's most famous recordings, which spanned five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B.<ref name=r46>Template:Cite news</ref> Burke was "a singer whose smooth, powerful articulation and mingling of sacred and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s."<ref name=r4>Ben Sisario, "Solomon Burke, Influential Soul Singer, Dies at 70", The New York Times (October 11, 2010).</ref> He drew from his roots—gospel, jazz, country, and blues—as well as developing his own style at a time when R&B, and rock were both still in their infancy.<ref name="bluesandsoul.com">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Described as both "Rabelaisian"<ref>Carlo Wolff, "Guralnick Studies Soul Music Roots," Schenectady Gazette (June 20, 1986):24.</ref> and also as a "spiritual enigma",<ref name=r8>Tony Cummings, "Solomon Burke: The '60s Soul Music Legend and a Spiritual Enigma", Crossrhythms (November 5, 2010).</ref> "perhaps more than any other artist, the ample figure of Solomon Burke symbolized the ways that spirituality and commerce, ecstasy and entertainment, sex and salvation, individualism and brotherhood, could blend in the world of 1960s soul music."<ref>Brian Ward, Just my Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (University of California Press, 1998):199.</ref>

During the 55 years that he performed professionally, Burke released 38 studio albums on at least 17 record labels and had 35 singles that charted on the Billboard charts, including 31 singles that made the Billboard R&B charts and 26 that made the Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a performer. His album Don't Give Up on Me won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003. By 2005 Burke was credited with selling 17 million albums.<ref name="bluesandsoul.com"/><ref name=r10>Charles Young, "King Solomon's Sweet Thunder", Rolling Stone (October 10, 2010).</ref><ref name=r11>Jonny Whiteside, "Black in the Saddle", LA Weekly (April 7, 2005).</ref> Rolling Stone ranked Burke as No. 89 on its 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".<ref name="Jonathan Lethem 2008">Jonathan Lethem, "89: Solomon Burke", Rolling Stone (November 27, 2008).</ref>

Early life and career

Burke was born James Solomon McDonald<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on March 21, 1940<ref>"Solomon Burke", Britannica.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022</ref> (sometimes listed as 1936<ref name="r31" /> or 1939<ref name="bare">Template:Cite book</ref>) in the upper floor of his grandmother Eleanor Moore's home,<ref name=r31>Solomon Burke, in David Cantwell, "Solomon Burke: Pennies from Heaven: Thirteen Ways of Looking at the King of Rock 'n' Soul" Template:Webarchive, The Long Way Around 66 (November–December 2006).</ref> a row house in West Philadelphia.<ref name=birthday/><ref name=r8/><ref name="a1"/><ref>"King Solomon Philly Soul Star Still Hopes to Make it in Home Town," Philadelphia Daily News (January 6, 1994).</ref> On his headstone, his birth year is 1940.

Burke was the child of Josephine Moore<ref name=r30>Ralph Cipriano, "Pastor Josephine M. Burke, 70", The Philadelphia Inquirer (August 31, 1990):C09 LOCAL</ref> and an absentee father. His mother Josephine was a nurse, schoolteacher, concert performer and pastor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957">Ruth Rolen, "Singer Solomon Burke Lives the Lyrics; Pastors at 13," The Washington Afro-American (August 17, 1957):18.</ref> Burke was consecrated a bishop at birth by his grandmother in the Solomon's Temple, a congregation of the United House of Prayer for All People, which she founded at her home in Black Bottom, West Philadelphia.<ref>Red Kelly, "Solomon Burke – What Am I Living For (Bell 783)" (Monday, May 1, 2006).</ref><ref name=r12/> When Burke was nine, his mother married rabbi and butcher Vincent Burke<ref name=r8/> and had his name changed to Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke.<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> Burke's friends and family called him "Sol".<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> Burke was the godson of Daddy Grace.<ref>George Lipsitz, Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music (University of Minnesota Press, 2007):xx.</ref>

Burke credited his grandmother as his main spiritual and musical influence.<ref name="citypaper.net">Solomon Burke in A. D. Amorosi, "Soul Mining" Template:Webarchive, Philadelphia Citypaper (July 18–24, 2002).</ref><ref>Solomon Burke, in Travis Atria, "Solomon Burke: 1940–2010", Wax Poetics (October 2010).</ref> He learned how to sing all forms of music from his grandmother's coaching him to listen to music on the radio.<ref name=r11/><ref name=r12>Nigel Williamson, "King Solomon", The Sydney Morning Herald (December 27, 2002).</ref><ref name="citypaper.net"/> Burke began preaching at the age of seven at the Solomon's Temple.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> He was described in his young preaching years as a "frantic sermonizer" and "spellbinding in his delivery",<ref>Lee Cotten, The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll: Reelin' & Rockin': 1956–1959 (Popular Culture, Ink., 2002):107.</ref> and was soon nicknamed the "Boy Wonder Preacher" for his charismatic preaching in the pulpit.<ref name="obits.dignitymemorial.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Burke became a pastor of the congregation at the age of 12, appeared on the radio station WDAS,<ref name=nige>Nige Tassell, "Solomon Burke" Template:Webarchive, The Word (October 10, 2010).</ref><ref>Radio-History.com|WDAS Timeline Template:Webarchive. Angelfire.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> and later hosted a gospel show on WHAT-AM, mixing songs and sermons in broadcasts from Solomon's Temple.<ref name=r56>Terence McArdle, "Grammy-winning R&B singer was also Pentecostal preacher", The Washington Post (October 11, 2010).</ref> On weekends he traveled with a truck and tent, to Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas to carry on the spiritual crusade of his church.<ref name=r8/> Influenced by Superman,<ref>Bil Carpenter, Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (Backbeat Books, 2005):60.</ref> "the first sign of a royal persona was evident in the cape that he wore only on Sundays, made from his "blankie"<ref name="obits.dignitymemorial.com"/> by his grandmother.<ref>"Blessed," Pittsburgh-Post Gazette (August 11, 2005), WE-4.</ref>

Burke had six younger siblings – a sister, Laurena Burke-Corbin (born June 23, 1946),<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> and five brothers: Elec Edward "Alec" (born February 16, 1948),<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Vladimir H. "Laddie" (born July 31, 1949),<ref>Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2.</ref> Mario "Chuck" (born September 13, 1953),<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Daniel S. "Danny" (born March 10, 1955),<ref name="ReferenceB"/> and Jolester R. M. Burke (born September 24, 1958).<ref name="a1">Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Vol. 2.</ref><ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/><ref name="ReferenceB">Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Vol. 1.</ref><ref>Gene Keys Burke, "Who's in your family"</ref> From an early age Solomon Burke worked to supplement his family's income. He recalled: "I used to deliver grocery orders in a little wagon I made out of fish boxes. When I was seven, I sold newspapers out of my own newsstand on the corner of 40th and Lancaster. I had the first 99-cent car wash, which was located at 40th and Wallace outside Al's Barber Shop. We had it there because he was the only one who would let us use his water. We could wash your car in 20 minutes. I had four or five guys, gave 'em each a nickel for each car."<ref name=birthday/> Another briefly held early job was as a hot dog seller at Eddie's Meat Market, where his friend Ernest Evans, later known as Chubby Checker, also worked.<ref name=birthday/> Burke eventually graduated from John Bartram High School.<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/><ref name="spencer2007">Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody, 2007 documentary for BBC Television, produced and directed by Paul Spencer.</ref><ref name="The Philadelphia Inquirer">Tom Moon, "Soul Striver", The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 17, 2002):E01.</ref> He first became a father at 14.<ref name=r21>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

During high school, Burke formed and fronted the quartet, the Gospel Cavaliers.<ref name=r5/> He received his first guitar from his grandmother, later writing his first song, "Christmas Presents".<ref name=birthday/><ref name=r50>Ashyia N. Henderson, ed., Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 31 (Gale Research Inc., 2002):19; "Solomon Burke", The Daily Telegraph (October 21, 2010).</ref> The Cavaliers began performing in churches. It was around this time that Burke met Kae "Loudmouth" Williams, a famed Philadelphia deejay with help from Williams' wife, Viola, who saw Burke and the Cavaliers perform at church.<ref>The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, Broadcastpioneers.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref><ref name="classicurbanharmony.net">Charlie Horner, "The Silhouettes" Template:Webarchive</ref> Before entering a gospel talent contest in which a record deal was first prize, the group split up.<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/>

Burke entered the contest, held at Cornerstone Baptist Church, as a solo artist and won the contest against eleven other competitors.<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> Soon, several labels including Apollo, Vee-Jay Records and Peacock Records pursued the 15-year-old.<ref>Jerry Zolten, Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music (Oxford University Press, USA, 2003):265.</ref> Before pursuing the deal, Burke signed Kae Williams as his manager.<ref name="Ruth Rolen 1957"/> Williams then took him to Apollo Records introducing him to Bess Berman, who signed him to the label.<ref name=r8/> The move was made after Williams added four years to Burke's age, which led to confusion from the press about his age.<ref name=r8/>

Career

Early recordings

Burke signed with Apollo Records in late 1955, following the departure of gospel singer and the label's primary star Mahalia Jackson to Columbia.<ref>Ed Ward, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker, Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll (Rolling Stone Press, 1986):235.</ref><ref>Horace Clarence Boyer, The Golden Age of Gospel (University of Illinois Press, 2000):91.</ref> After he signed with Apollo, the label's founder Bess Berman and its handlers were reportedly trying to make Burke "the next Harry Belafonte".<ref name=r8/>

Burke recorded nine singles for the label during his two-year tenure,<ref name=r5>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=r7>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> releasing his first single, "Christmas Presents", on Christmas Eve of 1955.<ref name="spencer2007"/><ref>Billboard (December 24, 1955):34</ref><ref>Sherry Sherrod DuPree, Biographical Dictionary of African-American, Holiness-Pentecostals, 1880–1990 (Middle Atlantic Regional Press, 1989); Ashyia N. Henderson, ed., Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 31 (Gale Research Inc., 2002):19.</ref>

He recorded with musicians including King Curtis and Lester Young.<ref>Solomon Burke, in A. D. Amorosi, "Soul Mining" Template:Webarchive, Philadelphia Citypaper (July 18–24, 2002).</ref> His other Apollo recordings during this early period included "I'm in Love",<ref>Billboard (February 25, 1956): 63–64.</ref> "I'm All Alone"<ref name="globaldogproductions.info">45 discography for Apollo Records. Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> and "No Man Walks Alone",<ref name="globaldogproductions.info"/> later collected as his first long-player, Solomon Burke. These early records did not sell well, although the self-titled album was re-released in 1964 after Burke had experienced some chart success.Template:Citation needed

Burke gained some notoriety for the Apollo single, "You Can Run (But You Can't Hide)", which he wrote with Charles Merenstein.<ref>Merenstein was the husband of Bess Berman's daughter, Harriet. See "Last Rites for Ike Berman," Billboard (February 16, 1956):19.</ref><ref name=r52>Gary James, "Interview With Solomon Burke" (January 27, 1992).</ref> Due to the song's title borrowing from Joe Louis' quote, "he can run, but he can't hide", Louis was credited as co-writer.<ref>Billboard (December 15, 1956):64.</ref> Louis helped promote the song by having Burke appear on the Steve Allen Show in early 1957.<ref>Los Angeles Times (January 4, 1957):A10; Gary Kramer, "Rhythm-Blues Notes," Billboard (January 12, 1957):48.</ref> Burke was abruptly dropped from Apollo following a violent argument with manager Kae Williams over performance royalties;<ref name="spencer2007"/> Burke claimed Williams had him "blackballed" from the industry following this move.<ref name="Robert Hilburn 2002"/> After releasing a few singles for other labels, Burke briefly returned to Apollo under the pseudonym "Little Vincent", releasing one song in 1961,<ref name="ReferenceC">Solomon Burke discography at Soul Express</ref> and the label issued a self-titled album in 1962.<ref>David Edwards and Mike Callahan, "Apollo Album Discography, Part 1 (1947–1962)" (October 31, 2009); and David Edwards and Mike Callahan, "Apollo Records Story" (December 29, 2007).</ref>

Following his initial Apollo departure, Burke struggled to record or get club dates,<ref name="Robert Hilburn 2002">Robert Hilburn, "Burke Returns to Recapture Soul Throne," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (August 27, 2002):E1, E3.</ref> and an argument with his mother left him homeless.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r10/><ref>"SOLOMON BURKE SINGS BOB DYLAN – Maggie's Farm", (October 29, 2010).</ref> He later moved into a home owned by Ohella Thompson, after Thompson accidentally hit him with her car outside a club.<ref name=r10/><ref name="vibrationsmusic.com">[1] Template:Dead link</ref><ref name="Kurt B. Reighley 2005">Kurt B. Reighley, "Solomon Burke: The Return of the King: Solomon Burke's Grand Comeback Becomes a Whole New Beginning" Template:Webarchive, The Long Way Around 57 (May–June 2005).</ref>

During this time, Burke studied the Islamic faith<ref name=r1/><ref name="Jet 1958">"New York Beat", Jet (August 7, 1958): 63.</ref> and married, but the marriage was annulled.<ref name=r1/><ref name="Robert Hilburn 2002"/><ref name="Jet 1958"/> Soon afterwards, he married Delores Clark, Thompson's niece, and soon had seven children.<ref name="spencer2007"/><ref name="vibrationsmusic.com"/>

As his family grew, Burke trained for a while to be a mortician at Eckels College of Mortuary Science, graduating from mortuary science, and finding work at a funeral home.<ref name="vibrationsmusic.com"/><ref>H.S. Eckels History Template:Webarchive, Eckelsandcompany.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref><ref>Naomi Rogers, An Alternative Path: The Making and Remaking of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital of Philadelphia (Rutgers University Press, 1998): 191.</ref> Burke later had his own mortuary business in Los Angeles.<ref>[2] Template:Dead link</ref>

Burke was briefly signed to Herb Abramson's Triumph Records.<ref>"Abramson Starts," Billboard (December 15, 1958):85.</ref><ref>Charlie Gillett, Making Tracks: Atlantic Records and the Growth of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Industry (WH Allen, 1975):122.</ref> However, Burke could not record for the label because his contract with Apollo had not yet been dissolved.<ref>Herb Abramson. Rockabilly.nl. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref>

In 1959, Philadelphia businessman Marvin Leonard "Babe" Chivian (1925-1972), a "body-and-fender man"<ref name="The Philadelphia Inquirer"/> and real estate speculator,<ref>Eric Konigsberg, Blood Relation (HarperCollins, 2005):99–101, 105, 108–109.</ref> offered Burke a red Lincoln Continental convertible if he would agree to a management contract with him.<ref>"Masco Young Notebook", Washington Afro-American (October 17, 1961): 16.</ref> Chivian arranged for Burke to be signed to Singular Records,<ref name=birthday/><ref name=r10/><ref name=dahl>Bill Dahl, "Solomon Burke 1940–2010" Template:Webarchive, (October 11, 2010).</ref> a Philadelphia-based label that was owned by WPEN disc jockey Edwin L. "Larry" Brown and vocal coach Arthur "Artie" Singer, who had a distribution deal with Chess Records.<ref>"Chess in Deal With Singular," The Billboard (March 10, 1958): 3.</ref> Burke released just two singles for Singular,<ref name=r7/> "Doodle Dee Doo" and "This Little Ring", written by Delores Burke and Marvin Chivian"; neither song charted.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

Work with Atlantic Records

In November 1960, he signed with Atlantic Records. According to Burke, he signed with the label within ten minutes of entering Jerry Wexler's office,<ref name="Kurt B. Reighley 2005"/><ref>Solomon Burke in Billboard (February 24, 2007): 44.</ref> reportedly signing a "handshake deal" with Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun.<ref name=r38/><ref name="Gerri Hirshey 1994">Gerri Hirshey, Nowhere To Run: The Story of Soul Music (Da Capo Press, 1994): 85.</ref>

At the time of Burke's signing, two of Atlantic Records' major stars, Bobby Darin and Ray Charles, had left the label for better deals with Capitol and ABC respectively.<ref name=r31/><ref name="Kurt B. Reighley 2005"/> According to Alex Halberstadt, "Salvation arrived in the person of Solomon Burke, a soul singer of overwhelming charisma and remarkable stylistic range. ... Wexler and Burke created a string of hits that carried the label financially and represented the first fully realized examples of the classic soul sound."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Burke reportedly helped keep Atlantic Records solvent from 1961 to 1965 with his steady run of hit records.Template:Citation needed

Burke recorded thirty-two singles with Atlantic, most of which hit both the pop and R&B charts. Burke's second single for the label was the country single, "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)", which became his first charted single, reaching No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at No. 7 on the R&B charts. The song also became Burke's first million-seller.<ref>David Hatch and Stephen Millward, From Blues to Rock: An Analytical History of Pop Music (Manchester University Press ND, 1989):89.</ref> His next hit came with "Cry to Me", which reached No. 5 on the R&B chart in 1962 and was described as one of the first songs to mix country, R&B and gospel.<ref>International Masters Publishers, Stand by Me (Vol. 3 of Roots of Rhythm Series) (International Masters Publishers, Incorporated, 1999):26.</ref> After the release of "Cry to Me", Burke was one of the first artists to be referred to as a "soul artist".<ref>Jeff Wallenfeldt, ed., The Black Experience in America: From Civil Rights to the Present (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010):127.</ref><ref>Arnold Shaw, Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues, 2nd edn (Collier Books, 1978):441.</ref>Template:Sfn Other hits included Wilson Pickett's "If You Need Me"; "You're Good for Me"; his co-written classic, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love";<ref name=r48>Robert Hilburn, "His Legacy on the Line" Template:Webarchive, Los Angeles Times (August 11, 2002).</ref> his only number-one single, "Got to Get You Off My Mind";<ref name=r38>Red Kelly, "Solomon Burke – What Am I Living For (Bell 783)" Template:Webarchive (May 1, 2006).</ref><ref name=r53>Solomon Burke, in The Independent (2002), quoted in "Got to Get You Off My Mind by Solomon Burke"</ref> and "Tonight's the Night".<ref name=r1/><ref name="David Cantwell 2006">David Cantwell, "Solomon Burke: Pennies from Heaven: Thirteen Ways of Looking at the King of Rock 'n' Soul" Template:Webarchive, {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}, The Long Way Around 66 (November–December 2006).</ref> Burke became the first R&B artist to cover a Bob Dylan song with his cover of "Maggie's Farm", which became the B-side of "Tonight's the Night".<ref name=r47/><ref>Chris Hutchins, "London", Billboard (June 12, 1965):16.</ref> In 1965, Atlantic released his fifth album, The Best of Solomon Burke, which peaked at No. 22 on the US charts.<ref name=r53/>

Branding

Almost immediately after signing to Atlantic, Wexler and Burke clashed over his branding and the songs that he would record. According to Burke, "Their idea was, we have another young kid to sing gospel, and we're going to put him in the blues bag."<ref name="Kurt B. Reighley 2005"/> As Burke had struggled from an early age with "his attraction to secular music on the one hand and his allegiance to the church on the other,"Template:Sfn when he was signed to Atlantic Records he "refused to be classified as a rhythm-and-blues singer" due to a perceived "stigma of profanity" by the church,Template:Sfn and R&B's reputation as "the devil's music". Burke indicated in 2005: "I told them about my spiritual background, and what I felt was necessary, and that I was concerned about being labeled rhythm & blues. What kind of songs would they be giving me to sing? Because of my age, and my position in the church, I was concerned about saying things that were not proper, or that sent the wrong message. That angered Jerry Wexler a little bit. He said, 'We're the greatest blues label in the world! You should be honored to be on this label, and we'll do everything we can – but you have to work with us.'"<ref name="Kurt B. Reighley 2005"/>

To mollify Burke, it was decided to market him as a singer of "soul music" after he had consulted his church brethren and won approval for the term.<ref name=r12/> When a Philadelphia DJ said to Burke, "You're singing from your soul and you don't want to be an R&B singer, so what kind of singer are you going to be?", Burke shot back: "I want to be a soul singer."<ref name=r2/> Burke's sound, which was especially popular in the South, was described there as "river deep country fried buttercream soul."<ref name=r39>"Solomon Burke" (July 5, 2010).</ref> Burke is credited with coining the term "soul music",<ref>Richard Younger, Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues: The Arthur Alexander Story (University of Alabama Press, 2000):108.</ref> which he confirmed in a 1996 interview.<ref>Roger Catlin, "Newport R & B Fest is Just Delightful", Hartford Courant (July 29, 1996): A4.</ref>

Despite his initial reluctance, shared with several former gospel singers including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, Burke was "molded into a more secular direction when he signed with Atlantic in the '60s",<ref name="itunes.apple.com">Richie Unterberger, "Biography", itunes.apple.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.</ref> and became one of "the "backsliders", artists who "preferred a secular acclaim to the gospel obscurity".<ref>Robert Sacré, ed., Saints and Sinners: Religion, Blues, and (D)evil in African-American Music and Literature: Proceedings of the Conference Held at the Université de Liége (October 1991) (vol. 5 of Etudes & éditions) (Société liégeoise de musicologie, 1996): 16.</ref>

He decided eventually that "secular music was not the antithesis of the church but, rather, 'a new avenue, a new dimension to spread the gospel.'"Template:Sfn Despite this, "leaving gospel for secular music, as well as integrating secular music into gospel performances, was controversial."<ref>Glenn Appell and David Hemphill, American Popular Music: A Multicultural History (Thomson Wadsworth, 2006): 317.</ref>

Noted blues scholar Paul Oliver maintains that when Sam Cooke and Burke "turned from gospel singing to the blues",<ref name="Paul Oliver 1989">Paul Oliver, Screening the Blues: Aspects of the Blues Tradition (Da Capo Press, 1989): 88.</ref> unlike others who had done so previously, "they took the gospel technique with them"; "even the words often secularized gospel songs", and this was coupled with a "screaming delivery, the exploitation of emotional involvement, [and] the frenetic displays of dancing singers."<ref name="Paul Oliver 1989"/>

For Burke, "gospel influences were pervasive. Gospelly chord progressions, organ accompaniment and a style of singing which can only be described as "preaching" have now spread widely into much black popular music."<ref>Bill Millar, The Drifters: The Rise and Fall of the Black Vocal Group (Macmillan, 1971):20.</ref> Music critic Mark Deming described Burke as having: "one of the finest voices in popular music, that possessed a churchly authority that was the ideal match for his material which balanced the pleasures of the flesh with the price of the transgression."<ref>Mark Deming, in All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (Backbeat Books, 2003):101.</ref>

"Burke sounded like a Baptist preacher in a country church, and for [Jerry] Wexler he was the first and possibly the greatest of all '60s soul men."<ref>Barney Hoskyns, Ragged Glories: City Lights, Country Funk, American Music (Pimlico, 2003):78.</ref> Wexler, who considered Burke to be "the greatest male soul singer of all time",Template:Sfn pronounced him a "vocalist of rare prowess and remarkable range. His voice is an instrument of exquisite sensitivity."Template:Sfn Wexler also described the young Burke's vocal style as "churchy without being coarse."<ref name=r1/>

In 2000, Wexler indicated: "Solomon was beautiful, baby. He sounded just like Dean Martin."<ref>Jerry Wexler, in Alex Halberstadt, "Jerry Wexler" Template:Webarchive, Salon (September 5, 2000).</ref> In 2003 Wexler assessed Burke: "I rate him at the very top. Since all singing is a trade-off between music and drama, he's the master at both. His theatricality. He's a great actor."<ref name=r40>Jerry Wexler, in Rebecca Leung, "King Solomon: Singer Solomon Burke Making A Comeback In The Music World", 60 Minutes (December 7, 2003).</ref> Despite his admiration for Burke, Wexler also described Burke as "a piece of work: wily, highly intelligent, a salesman of epic proportions, sly, sure-footed, a never-say-die entrepreneur",<ref name=r1/> while also branding him "a card-carrying fabulist. Solomon has told so many versions of the same happening that it's unreal."<ref name=r1/>

Impact

File:Solomon Burke (1967).png

Burke in 1967

After a string of a dozen hit records,<ref name="Peter Guralnick 1984"/> by November 1963 Burke had agreed to be crowned the "King of Rock 'n' Soul" in a ceremony at the Royal Theatre in Baltimore by local deejay Fred Robinson, known professionally as "Rockin' Robin", who also gave him a cape and crown that he always wore on stage.<ref name=birthday/>Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Burke accepted the appellation the "King of Rock 'N' Soul", indicating "without soul, there'd be no rock and without rock, there'd be no soul."Template:Sfn The ceremony was repeated each night during the week Burke performed in Baltimore.<ref>Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody, 2007 documentary for BBC Television produced and directed by Paul Spencer.</ref>

According to Gerri Hirshey: "Title agreed upon, Solomon added the trappings: a crown, a scepter, a cape, robe, dancing girls, and colored lights."Template:Sfn Burke's crown was an exact replica of "the crown jewels of London" and the cape was trimmed with real ermine.Template:Sfn Burke, whose shows were tours de force of riveting soul and unashamed hokum", "ticked every box from low comedy through country pleading to the kind of magisterial rock'n'roll that brought the house down",<ref name=r45>David Hepworth, "Farewell to a Heavyweight From the Golden Age of Soul", The Independent (October 11, 2010).</ref> and he "became known as much for his showmanship as he did his voice. He would often take the stage in a flowing, 15-foot-long cape and bejeweled crown, his stage theatrics predating those of such legendary showman as James Brown. According to David Hepworth, Burke "once employed a midget who was secreted under his cape. When it was thrown off the cape would disappear stage left as of its own volition."<ref name=r45/>Template:Sfn

After the success of his "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" in late 1965, James Brown, believing he deserved to be crowned "King of Soul", hired Burke to perform for one night in Chicago, but ended up paying not to perform but rather to watch him perform instead, expecting Burke also to surrender his crown and title to him.<ref name="a1984">Peter Guralnick, "Song of Solomon", The Boston Phoenix (March 6, 1984), Section 3:3.</ref> According to Burke, "He paid me $7,500 to stand onstage and hand him my robe and crown. It was a great gig: I got paid and I didn't have to sing a note."<ref name=r46/><ref>However, according to another source, it was $10,000. See Peter Guralnick, "Song of Solomon", The Boston Phoenix (March 6, 1984), Section 3:3.</ref> Burke accepted Brown's money, but retained his title and regal paraphernalia.<ref name="a1984"/>

As he increased in weight, "Burke's sheer bulk meant that he could never be a dancer like James Brown, but like Brown, his act was full of showmanship."<ref name=r47>Spencer Leigh, "Solomon Burke: The 1960s 'King of Rock and Soul' Who Enjoyed a Modern Renaissance", The Independent (October 11, 2010).</ref> Consequently, over the years Burke "evolved a fervently demonstrative stage act",<ref name=r8/> that were often compared with religious revival meetings.Template:Sfn Burke and black performers like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, "would adopt the 'house-wrecking' tactics of black preachers, and their shows functioned in much the same way as black religious events in that performer and audience became immersed in the music, arriving together at an ecstatic state that allowed them to feel a deep intensity of experience."<ref>Martin Munro, Different Drummers: Rhythm and Race in America (University of California Press, 2010):189, based on Brian Ward, Just my Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (University of California Press, 1998):202.</ref> According to Weldon McDougal, Burke "turned theatres like the Apollo and the Uptown into churches, he had folk running down the aisles to be saved by his music."<ref name=r8/> Cliff White described a show in the UK where "with head thrown back and one hand cupped to his mouth like an Alpine yodeller he cried out with such overwhelming passion that he left the spellbound audience wrung out and exhausted like so many limp rags."<ref name=r8/>

Decline with Atlantic

After 1965, the "biggest year of his career", Burke settled as "at best a middle-of-the-pack chart performer".<ref name="David Cantwell 2006"/> Due to failing chart numbers and the rise of several performers including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding, Burke was described by David Cantwell in this period as "a King without a kingdom".<ref name="David Cantwell 2006"/> Burke's position in Atlantic dropped by 1968 as other Atlantic artists replaced him as the label's primary artists.<ref name=r38/> Burke tried to regain his early Atlantic success by recording at Memphis, working on the album I Wish I Knew at Chips Moman's American Sound Studio.<ref name="Red Kelly 2527">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album included the songs "Get Out of My Life Woman" and a cover of "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", his first recording that provided social commentary.Template:Sfn It was later dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.,<ref name="glide">Template:Cite news</ref> and Atlantic gave up 5% of royalties on the single to King's family.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It reached only No. 32 R&B and No. 68 pop. Burke later met his next manager Tamiko Jones at the Memphis studio.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Burke and Jones recorded several duets on Jones' album, I'll Be Anything for You. Following a failed collaboration with other soul artists as the Soul Clan, Burke decided to leave the label. His reasons for leaving Atlantic were for not "being treated properly" and that Atlantic "just wasn't home anymore, wasn't family".<ref name="bluesandsoul.com"/><ref name="David Cantwell 2006"/>

Later recordings

After leaving Atlantic, Burke signed with Bell Records where he released five singles in the next eighteen months.<ref>45 discography for Bell Records. Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> In 1969 he had a small hit with his second release for Bell, a reworking of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" b/w "What Am I Living For" (Bell 783). This was co-produced by Tamiko Jones,<ref name="discogs.com">John S. Wilson, "CAREER RESUMED BY TAMIKO JONES; Recent Polio Victim Presents Songs at Rainbow Grill", The New York Times (January 14, 1971): 43; "Solomon Burke – Proud Mary"; "Tamiko Jones: The Collection (1963–1986)" (November 18, 2009); "Original Soul Man Cared for Spiritual and Temporal Needs Right to the Grave", The Age (October 13, 2010). For more regarding Tamiko Jones, see "Tamiko Jones" Template:Webarchive</ref> who was being rehabilitated after a bout of polio,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and was at the time Burke's manager.<ref name=r5/> Burke recorded a cover of "Proud Mary" prior to Ike & Tina Turner's version, and according to Burke was the one who convinced the duo to record it.<ref name=r2>Solomon Burke, in James Porter, "Songs of Solomon: Solomon Burke Interview", Roctober 33 (2002).</ref> The song became a brief hit reaching No. 15 R&B and No. 45 pop.<ref name=r38/> All but four of the tracks Burke recorded during an 18-month stay with Bell Records were packaged on the Proud Mary LP. After this album and the two following singles—his own "Generation of Revelations", and the Mac Davis song "In the Ghetto", which had previously been a hit for Elvis Presley—failed to chart, his contract was not renewed.

Through the efforts of his manager, Buddy Glee, by November 1970 Burke signed with Mike Curb's MGM label,<ref name=r38/> and formed MBM Productions, his own production company.<ref name="Billboard 1973">"Soul Sauce", Billboard (April 28, 1973):23.</ref> Burke's record debut for MGM, "Lookin' Out My Back Door", another Creedence Clearwater Revival song, had disappointing sales.<ref name=r8/> His first MGM album, Electronic Magnetism, also failed to chart. In 1972 Burke had a No. 13 R&B hit for MGM with "Love Street and Fool's Road" (MGM 14353).<ref name=r8/> In 1972, he recorded the soundtrack to two films, Cool Breeze and Hammer. He left MGM for ABC-Dunhill Records in 1974, recording the album, I Have a Dream,<ref>"Soul", Billboard (May 18, 1974):58.</ref> which produced the No. 14 R&B hit, "Midnight and You".<ref name=r8/> By 1975 Burke was signed to Chess Records. He recorded two albums for Chess: Music to Make Love By and Back to My Roots, and had a top 20 R&B hit in 1975 with "You And Your Baby Blues".<ref name=r8/> However, his follow-up single "Let Me Wrap My Arms Around You" reached only No. 72 on the R&B chart. In 1978 Burke released an album Please Don't Say Goodbye To Me, which was produced by Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams, though Amherst Records.<ref name=r38/> On September 23, 1978, Burke charted for the 31st and last time when "Please Don't Say Goodbye to Me" reached No. 91 on the R&B chart.<ref>45 Discography for Amherst Records. Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> He released the album Sidewalks, Fences and Walls on Infinity Records in 1979 (reissued as Let Your Love Flow in 1993 by Shanachie Records).<ref name=r38/><ref name="dallasobserver.com">Robert Wilonsky, "Soul Survivor: Four decades After His First Record, Solomon Burke is Still in the Studio and in God's Arms", Dallas Observer (March 20, 1997).</ref>

Between 1979 and 1984, Burke recorded four gospel albums for Savoy Records, starting with the album, Lord I Need a Miracle Right Now.<ref>"Solomon Burke Makes Comeback with Gospel LP", Jet (December 3, 1981):61.</ref> He was nominated for his first Grammy in the Best Male Gospel Soul category for his rendition of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand",<ref name=r8/><ref>"Complete List of the Nominees for 26th Annual Grammy Music Awards", Schenectady Gazette (January 9, 1984):12.</ref> but complained later that he did not receive royalties from his Savoy work.<ref name=r6>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He then recorded for smaller labels such as Rounder, MCI/Isis, Bizarre/Straight, Black Top, Point Blank and GTR Records. Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 19, 2001, in New York City by Mary J. Blige, after eight previous nominations since 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Final recordings

File:Solomon Burke HagenU.jpg

Burke in 2010

In 2002, Burke signed with Fat Possum Records and released the album, Don't Give Up on Me. Many of the songs were previously unreleased tunes, some written for him by top writers including Tom Waits, with whom he had a discussion over whether to sing about a mint julep, which was against Solomon's principles at the time. Burke agreed to sing the line. The album became critically acclaimed and later resulted in Burke's first Grammy Award win.<ref>Jet (Mar 10, 2003):56.</ref><ref>Solomon Burke, in Nekesa Mumbi Moody, "Newcomer Jones Sweeps Major Grammys", Hartford Courant (February 24, 2003).</ref> In 2004 Burke appeared on the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari's Zu & Co., a duets album. He also performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the beginning of the Zu & Co. Tour, from which Zu & Co live at the Royal Albert Hall was recorded.

Burke later signed with Shout! Factory to release the album Make Do With What You Got, which became another critically acclaimed success. In 2006, Burke returned to his country roots with the album, Nashville. In 2008, he received another Grammy nomination for the album, Like a Fire.Template:Citation needed That year, Rolling Stone ranked Burke as No. 89 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2010, Burke came out with the Willie Mitchell-produced Nothing's Impossible for E1 Entertainment. Later in 2010, he released his final album, Hold on Tight, a collaboration album with De Dijk, a Dutch band.

Entrepreneurship

From an early age Burke was "always an enterprising personality".<ref name=r54>Patrick Doyle, "Soul Legend Solomon Burke Dead at 70", The Beat Patrol (October 10, 2010).</ref> In addition to his recording career, Burke ran funeral homes, owned two drugstores and a popcorn business in Philadelphia,<ref name=birthday/> and later had the first Mountain Dew franchise in Philadelphia.<ref name="Peter Guralnick 1984">Peter Guralnick, "Song of Solomon", The Boston Phoenix (March 6, 1984), Section 3:2.</ref>

Burke's entrepreneurial activities included cooking and selling barbecued chicken sandwiches backstage,<ref>George Lipsitz, Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story (University of Minnesota Press, 2010):45.</ref><ref>Peter Guralnick, Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke (Little, Brown, 2005):436–437.</ref> as well as sandwiches, soft drinks, and fried chickens at increasingly inflated prices to other performers who were refused service at restaurants on the Chitlin' Circuit in the "Jim Crow" South.<ref name=birthday/><ref name=r56/><ref>Peter Guralnick, Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke (Little, Brown, 2005):478–479</ref> According to Sam Moore of the soul duo Sam & Dave, "He gave me one pork chop, one scoop of macaroni and cheese, and one spoonful of gravy. I said, 'Is that it?' And he'd say, "That's it, brother. I'm doing you a favor, so take it or leave it."<ref name=r54/> Trombonist Fred Wesley was one who was critical of Burke's business practices.<ref>Fred Wesley, Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman (Duke University Press, 2002):128–129.</ref> Burke demanded and operated the concessions at the Apollo Theater when he performed there in 1966.<ref>Jack Schiffman, Uptown: The Story of Harlem's Apollo Theatre (Cowles Book Co., 1971):107. See Burke's version in Peter Guralnick, "Song of Solomon", The Boston Phoenix (March 6, 1984), Section 3:2.</ref> This was very profitable for him but so enraged the owner Frank Schiffman that he was banned from performing at the Apollo for life.<ref name=birthday/><ref>Brian Ward, Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (University of California Press, 1998):199–201; Gerri Hirshey, Nowhere To Run: The Story Of Soul Music, 86–88</ref><ref>Guralnick, 88–90. Burke headlined a Christmas concert at the Apollo in December 1965. See "New York Beat", Jet (6 January 1966):63.</ref> After playing at the reopening of The Cavern Club in Liverpool in July 1966, Burke said: "The Cavern was a great place to play. The groove was there, the people were there, and it was wonderful. I remember them selling hot Pepsis. What a mistake—you gotta put ice in those things. Think of how many more they could have sold with ice in them."<ref name=r47/>

Burke owned funeral parlors in California, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, and two of his children have turned the mortuary business into a franchise.<ref name=r50/> Additionally, Burke owned and operated a limousine service.<ref name=r2/> Burke continued to operate companies that supplied theaters and stadiums with his own brand of fast food—Soul Dogs and Soul Corn until at least 2004.<ref>Ted Drozdowski, "Solomon Burke Hits a New Peak" Template:Webarchive, The Phoenix (July 18–25, 2002).</ref><ref name=r60>Grant Britt, "Fat Possuming with Solomon Burke", Indy Week (September 8, 2004).</ref>

Bishopric and community work

From the early 1970s, after having moved to Los Angeles, Burke concentrated on his episcopal duties, preaching from a crimson throne on the third Sunday of the month at the Prayer Assembly Church of God in Christ, his church at 226 North Market St., Inglewood, California.<ref name=r12/><ref name=blagg>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Within three decades his church grew to have about 170 missions and 40,000 members.<ref>Peter Guralnick, Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom (Back Bay Books, 1999):78.</ref> By 2000, Burke's Solomon's Temple: The House of God for All People had over 300 ordained ministers whose job is to "feed the hungry, educate the uneducated and be God's workers in the vineyard", and 40,000 parishioners in close to 200 churches across the USA, Canada, and Jamaica.Template:Citation needed At the time of his death, there were about 180 churches that were established under the charter of his denomination, with Burke indicating: "We're non-sectarian, non-denominational. Ours is an open door."<ref name=nige/> In 2008 Burke acknowledged his Christian methodology differed from that of his maternal uncle, Pastor Harry R. Moore (1933–1982), the founder and pastor of Our First Temple of Faith, at Front and Susquehanna Streets, Philadelphia: "Mine was more: God, money and women, hey hey hey; truth, love, peace and get it on."<ref name=r1/> While pursuing other interests, Burke was also deeply involved in community work, assisting The Crippled Children's Foundation for blind and underprivileged children, while personally being responsible for more than 120 adopted children.<ref name=r8/>

Burke was also a mentor to up-coming Soul and Blues musicians, including a young Reggie Sears.<ref name="Reggie Sears on Artist Direct">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Burke was married four times. In total he fathered 21 children (fourteen daughters and seven sons).<ref>Some sources indicate Burke had 23 children. For example, see Randy Lewis, "POP BEAT; Hail the King of Rock 'n' Soul", Los Angeles Times (February 5, 2005):E1; and Beverly Corbell, "Meet the 'Grammy dude'", The Daily Sentinel (March 9, 2007).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Alt URL</ref> He had seven step-children, 90 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren at the time of his death.<ref name=r8/>

Burke was married to Doris P. Williams for two months; the marriage was annulled by August 1958,<ref>"New York Beat", Jet (August 7, 1958): 63; "PA United States BURKE MICHELLE D., on Feb. 28, 2008. Survived by her father Thomas Dawson, her mother Doris Williams and stepfather Solomon Burke; two daughters, Ebony and Danah; one sister, Valerie; one brother, Charles", see "Death Notice: Michelle D. Burke", The Philadelphia Inquirer (March 4, 2008).</ref> though it resulted in the birth of one child, Valerie Doris Gresham (born 1957).<ref>Charles Burke; Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Vol. 1 "Valerie D. Gresham."</ref>

Burke's second wife was Delores Clark Burke,<ref>Forever & always, & lyrics for 2 other selections, I been laying for you, girl, Honey, do ya wanna love me? – song, music – Copyright Info. Faqs.org. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref><ref>2012 Social Security indicates her legal name is Delores Burke. See Michael Futch, "Dreamgirl Reborn: The Daughter Of Rhythm And Blues Singer Solomon Burke Is Making A Name For Herself With A Show-Stopping Role On The Local Stage", The Fayetteville Observer (March 13, 1992): "For years Melanie Burke has thought about writing a book and calling it Million Dollar Baby. That's what her mother used to call her. Sister Delores was an evangelist who came to live in Fayetteville in 1969 before her death she moved to Silver Springs MD where she passed. In February Delores Burke was Laid to rest in Fayetteville NC alongside her mother. Another article indicates: "Melanie Burke who resides in Fayetteville is one who Physically, she favors both her father and her mother, the late evangelist Delores Clark Burke of Fayetteville." See Michael Futch, "Blessed Family of Soul", The Fayetteville Observer (April 8, 2001); "Day by Day"; "New York Beat", Jet (January 30, 1964):63.</ref> with whom he had seven children, including Eleanor Alma (born 1958),<ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref>Eleanor Alma Burke (born December 27, 1958);</ref><ref>"Songwriter/Composer: Eleanor Alma Burke" name after Burke's grand mother, Current Affiliation: BMI CAE/IPI #: 597955274</ref> Dr. Melanie Burke-McCall (born March 1960), Solomon Vincent Jr. (born 1961), Carolyn J. Burke (born 1962), Prince Solomon (JFK) Burke, Gemini C. Burke (born 1964),<ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref>Gemini Burke served as a US Marine for eight years. See Gary James, "Interview With Solomon Burke", (January 27, 1992); Burke graduated from EE Smith Senior High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1984; attended the University of Hawaii (1990–1993), see [3], where he played US Football; was one of the American Gladiators, see "Once Filmed, Twice Acted", Popular Science (June 2001):26; starred in two episodes of Pacific Blue in 1999; was involved in making Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, see [4]</ref> and Lillian (born 1966).

Burke's third wife was Bernadine Burke.<ref>"ELECTRONIC MAGNETISM (Legal Title)", BMI Work #368877</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012 Court documents BP Case 126258 (Solomon McDonald Burke) it proved that Burke had never divorced Arch Bishop Bernadine Turner Burke in 1970 before marrying Frances Szeto, Court records shows no divorce from Bernadine McDonald Burke or Delores Burke. Burke's fourth wife was Frances Szeto Burke McDonald (born 1951), Marriage License dated December 1977;<ref name="dallasobserver.com"/> she was living with Burke and live in lover/manager and caregiver Jane Margolis Vickers when Burke died, Frances had three children with Burke.<ref name=r1/>

In a 2006 interview Burke admitted having his first child at age 14: "being a father at age 14 maybe been a little early, but I don't regret one moment, one second, one day, or one hour. My only regrets are the loss of my twins and my first son."<ref name=r21/> Burke's twin sons were James and David, who both died in infancy. By 1961, Burke had "three kids on the outside, and about four at home",<ref name=r10/> including Eleanor A. H. Burke (born 1958) Melanie Burke (born 1960),<ref name="703area.com">Bands, DJs, Live Music Performers in Northern Virginia Virginia, VA. 703area.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> Solomon Vincent Burke Jr. (born 1961).<ref name="ReferenceB"/> In an open letter to his children, Burke wrote:

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Family members

Several of Burke's family have had successful careers in various facets of show business. In the mid-1960s two of Burke's younger brothers, Alex (born 1948 in Philadelphia).<ref name="ReferenceB"/> and Laddie (born 1949 in Philadelphia),<ref name="a1"/> joined with fellow Germantown High School students, brothers Earl and Timmy Smith to form The Showstoppers,<ref>The Showstoppers Page. Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> who had a couple of local hit singles in Philadelphia on Showtime Records in 1968,<ref>[5]Template:Dead link</ref> including a No. 11 hit on the UK Singles Chart with "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty" b/w "How Easy Your Heart Forgets Me" (Heritage HE-800),<ref name="Frank W. Hoffmann 2006">Frank W. Hoffmann, Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop, Vol. 6 (Infobase Publishing, 2006):239.</ref> which peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard chart in 1968,<ref name=r39/> which was later a discothèque hit (No. 33) in 1971, just before the group disbanded after a series of flops.<ref name="Frank W. Hoffmann 2006"/>

Burke's daughter Melanie Burke-McCall, a neo soul singer is an artist as well as a freelance background recording artist with companies including Daxwood Records,<ref>Daxwood Records Template:Webarchive, SoulDiscovery. Retrieved April 7, 2011.</ref> Casablanca, A&M and Rawkus Records. She is a studio artist for groups Billy Preston, Peacock (Anna Gayle group), and Leslie Uggams, and toured with Chaka Khan, and wrote and produced Trouble Don't Last Play and LP with Family, & FriendsTemplate:Clarify, a 14-song original soundtrack, which was released in 2003, she opened for Jocelyn Brown, Jaheim, Norman Connors, and Angela Bofill, as well as for her father at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia in 2006. In 1972 Burke-McCall was signed along with her siblings The Sons & Daughters of Solomon to MGM Records.<ref name="703area.com"/> Her son is Novel,<ref>Michael Futch, "Ready to Be Heard", The Fayetteville Observer (NC) (May 7, 2003).</ref> who released his first studio album The Audiobiography in October 2008,<ref>"Novel: The Audiobiography", SPIN (April 2009):82; Gail Mitchell, "Rhythm, Rap, and The Blues", Billboard (Nov 9, 2002):25.</ref> and wrote movie soundtracks for Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Step Up, and 21. Her youngest son, Solomon, also has started recording.<ref name="703area.com"/>

Burke's granddaughter Candy Burke (born 1977) was a backing singer at many of Burke's performances, including the July 2008 Juan-les-Pins concert, where she performed a rendition of "I Will Survive". She also appears in the 2003 North Sea Jazz Festival DVD with her grandfather who raised her as his daughter.

Burke's grandson Novel Stevenson has written songs for numerous artists.

Rapper Raeneal T. Quann (known as Q-Don) (born about 1978), who was accidentally shot and killed by robbers on April 26, 2000, outside the Club Evolution in Philadelphia, was also a grandson of Burke.<ref>According to Quann's aunt: "He inherited his love of music from his family and from other sources. His grandfather is famed blues singer Solomon Burke. Quann grew up in West Philadelphia playing basketball with actor/rapper Will Smith." See "Promising Rapper Slain at Club", Philadelphia Daily News (April 27, 2000): 26 LOCAL.</ref><ref>"Perils Plague Strip Neighbors Hope Disaster Leads to Curbs on Rowdies", Philadelphia Daily News (May 22, 2000): 04 LOCAL.</ref><ref>"Nightclubbers to Be Tried in Holdup-Slayings", Philadelphia Daily News (September 23, 2000): 10 LOCAL.</ref>

Declining health

For many years Burke struggled with his health, with his "weight estimated somewhere between 300 and 400 pounds" in 2006.<ref name=r15>"Solomon Burke still regal at 65", Deseret News (February 24, 2006).</ref> New York Times writer Ben Sisario wrote of Burke: "Wide-shaped in his youth, he grew into Henry VIII-like corpulence, and in his later years had to be wheeled to his throne."<ref>Ben Sisario, The New York Times, in "Remembering Solomon Burke", (October 12, 2010).</ref> In the later years of his life, "arthritis and weight ... limited his mobility"<ref name=r15/> and made him reliant on a wheelchair.<ref>Luiza Sauma Solomon Burke, "Barbican, London", The Independent (July 9, 2008).</ref>

In an interview in 2008, Burke said that "God put me in this wheelchair", and that God's message to him was: "'You are too fat!'" Burke denied having an eating disorder: ... I guess God let me develop into what I am now and allowed me to live. It's not an eating disorder. If I had an eating disorder, I wouldn't travel."<ref name=r1/> In 2006 Burke acknowledged: "It's very rough. I love to eat and I love to cook—as you can see. But my hip has to be replaced and a knee has to be replaced and I've got to lose 150 pounds before they can do that. And that's a lot. But it's NOT! God knows I've enjoyed every kind of food there is, all around the world. It's not like I'm going to miss any of it. Because I've had it all!"<ref name=r15/> Despite his efforts, at the time of his death, Burke's weight still exceeded 350 pounds.<ref name=dahl/>

Death and funeral

On October 10, 2010, Burke died at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport while on a plane from Washington Dulles International Airport that had just landed. He had been due to perform with De Dijk in Amsterdam on October 12.<ref>Solomon Burke dies at Amsterdam airport at 70, Yahoo News, October 10, 2010</ref> The cause of death was not immediately clear; according to his family, Burke died of natural causes.<ref>Solomon Burke website Template:Webarchive: "Early this morning, Sunday, October 10, 2010, the legendary King of Rock & Soul, Solomon Burke, our father, passed away due to natural causes." Retrieved October 10, 2010.</ref> At a 2012 probate court hearing of Burke's will, Burke's manager/companion of 16 years, Jane Margolis Vickers, stated that doctors at Reston Hospital suspected that Burke had a pulmonary embolism and had urged him not to travel. Burke decided to leave the hospital "against medical advice" and proceed to Dulles for his flight to Amsterdam. There was no autopsy after his death, but the general assumption is that Burke died as a result of a pulmonary embolism.

File:Solomon Burke Grave.JPG

Grave of Solomon Burke at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

On October 21 a wake and meditation service was held at the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Griffin Mortuary at Westlake Village.<ref name="Red Kelly 2010">Red Kelly, "Homegoing Celebration for Solomon Burke" Template:Webarchive, (October 18, 2010).</ref> Burke's funeral was at 10:00 am on October 22, 2010, at the City of Refuge in Gardena, California and was open to the public. It was simulcast on the internet and at a memorial service held at the Sharon Baptist Church in Philadelphia,<ref name="Red Kelly 2010"/> that was led by Minister Lester Fields and Solomon's younger sister, Apostle Laurena Burke Corbin,<ref name="souldetective.com">Red Kelly, "Never Alone: The Gospel Legacy of Bishop Solomon Burke"</ref> the pastor of Our First Temple of Faith Mt. Deborah Pentecostal Church on Haverford Avenue in Philadelphia,<ref>Red Kelly, "Solomon Burke – Here's My Life" (February 20, 2008).</ref> and attended by Burke's extended East Coast family.<ref name="souldetective.com"/>

Joe Henry described the funeral, which was "2 and a half hours long, included many eulogies, some spontaneous gospel singing; some shouting, some wailing, a fainting, and a daughter who hopped on the balls of her feet and spoke in tongues as punctuation to her scripted remarks. The highlight for me was Rudy [Copeland]'s bluesy Hammond B-3 instrumental of Tommy Dorsey's "Precious Lord (Lead Me On)". He played it like Ray [Charles] would have, kicking it heavy on the bass foot pedals, and shouting his own encouragement: 'Tell the story, son!' The whole service climaxed with a rousing version of "When the Saints Go Marching In", which included the choir, a 2nd-line-style brass band marching through the isles Template:Sic, and everyone in the pews clapping and singing along."<ref>Joe Henry, "Flesh and Blood, This World and the Next: Solomon Burke's Funeral", houstonramblings.typepad.com, October 22, 2010.</ref>

Burke is buried at Lot 4037, Space 1, in the Murmuring Trees section of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California.

Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, praised Burke soon after his death: "GRAMMY-winning soul singer Solomon Burke was revered as one of music's greatest vocalists and a pioneer of the genre. A deeply spiritual man, his love and passion for his craft kept him touring and performing to sold-out audiences right up to his final days. Few artists have had careers as long, rich and influential as his, and he leaves a larger-than-life legacy as powerful and soulful as he was. The music industry has lost one of its most distinctive voices."<ref>Neil Portnow, facebook.com (October 10, 2010).</ref>

Discography

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References

Citations

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External links

• David Meeker, "Jazz on the Screen: A Jazz and Blues Filmography", (Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 2010)
• The Soul of the Net's Solomon Burke Discography
• Solomon Burke Albums Chart Performance
• BMI List of Burke's compositions
• BMI List of Songs Performed by Burke
• Songs and Lyrics by Burke
• Make Do With What You Got – TracksMusic review
• Make Do With What You Got – The Music Box review
• Solomon Burke photos at the Gospel Festival Chicago IL, 2005
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• Audio Interview with Ron Bennington
• Recent Live Review
• Template:Usurped
• The Complete Solomon Burke discography at Soul Express
• Solomon Burke Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection