Syl Johnson (July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American soul singer from Holly Springs, Mississippi, who grew up in Chicago and worked first as a guitarist behind blues acts. He recorded for Federal before Twinight gave him his main Chicago run, including “Different Strokes,” “Dresses Too Short,” and “Is It Because I’m […]
Denise LaSalle (1934–2018) was an American soul singer and songwriter from Northeast Mississippi who debuted (at 33) with the 1967 single “A Love Reputation.” She scored a breakout hit with her 1971 single “Trapped by a Thing Called Love” on Westbound Records, followed by the 1972–73 R&B hits “Now Run and Tell That,” “A Man […]
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, and producer from Hattiesburg, Miss., who initially emerged as a collaborator with Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson. The pair worked on material for the band’s ill-fated Smile project. As a recording artist in his own right, Parks released the album Song Cycle on Warner Bros. in 1967, […]
Mississippi was an Australian rustic harmony-rock band from Melbourne that released a self-titled album in 1972 on Bootleg. They cut three prior singles as Alison Gros, which masqueraded as Drummond on the 1971 novelty hit “Daddy Cool.” Guitarist–singer Graeham Gobel and post-album members Beeb Birtles (ex-Zoot) and Derek Pellicci achieved subsequent stardom in the Little […]
Dorothy Moore is an American soul singer who released twenty albums between 1976 and 2020. She first appeared in The Dolletts, an R&B girl group that morphed into The Poppies, which cut four singles and one 1966 album. As Dottie Cambridge, she cut two 1968 singles on MGM, followed by a one-off with Dorothy & […]
Ruby Andrews is an American soul singer who released fifteen singles on Zodiac Records, including the 1967 R&B hit “Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over).” She released the 1970–72 Zodiac albums Everybody Saw You and Black Ruby. Her subsequent run on ABC Records generated four singles and the 1977 album Genuine Ruby. Background Ruby Andrews […]
General Crook is an American soul singer who released a 1974 Wand album and scored R&B hits with “Gimme Some,” “Tell Me What’Cha Gonna Do,” and “Fever in the Funkhouse.” Background General Crook was born General Columbus Crook on February 28, 1945, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He grew up in Greenville and moved to Chicago […]
Sam Cooke (Jan. 22, 1931 — Dec. 11, 1964) was an American soul singer, songwriter, and record producer from Clarksdale, Mississippi, raised in Chicago. He first gained national recognition as lead singer of the Soul Stirrers before moving into secular recording with “You Send Me,” a No. 1 pop and R&B hit in 1957. Cooke […]
William S. Fischer is an American jazz-funk pianist and arranger who made the 1970 album Circles on Embryo Records, followed by the 1972 Edsiga/Arcana titles Akelarre and Omen. In 1973, he collaborated with Spanish songwriter Fernando Unsain on the Herri Gogoa release Akelarre Sorta Hiru. Background William Samuel Fischer was born on March 5, 1935, […]
Paul Davis (April 21, 1948 — April 22, 2008) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter from Mississippi who made seven albums between 1970 and 1981, charting with “Ride ‘Em Cowboy,” “I Go Crazy,” “Sweet Life,” “Cool Night,” and “65 Love Affair.” Background Paul Davis was born Paul Lavon Davis on April 21, 1948, in […]
Wynd Chymes were an American soul-funk band that made the 1982/83 RCA albums Arrival and Pretty Girls, Everywhere. Background Wynd Chymes formed in 1973 in Jackson, Mississippi, when musicians at Jackson State University converged as The Family. The group included members of the university’s Sonic Boom of the South marching band. They later replaced the […]
Ernie Hines (1938) is an American soul singer from Mississippi who released the 1972 album Electrified on We Produce Records, a division of Stax. Background Ernie Hines was born Earnest Lee Pickford-Hines in 1938 in Braxton, Mississippi, and grew up in Jackson. Hines sang in school glee and choral groups and in a family quartet […]
The Patterson Twins were an American soul duo of twin brothers Estus and Lester Patterson. The pair began in gospel before recording as the Soul Twins in the early 1970s. They later worked under the Patterson Twins name and recorded Southern soul singles for King, Ronn, Malaco, and Commercial before the 1978 album Let Me […]
Mississippi is the singular album by the namesake Australian rustic-rock trio, released in 1972 on Bootleg. Tracklist: A1. “Save the Land” (5:15) A2. “Mr. Moondog” (2:48) A3. “Three Days” (3:50) A4. “All Through the Day” (2:53) A5. “Sweet World” (4:37) B1. “Feel Alone” (3:38) B2. “Do I” (3:53) B3. “Kings of the World” (2:30) B4. “City […]
