King Richard

When did R & B become southern soul? I suppose most people would cite the early 60s Stax sides of William Bell and Otis Redding, or the unsurpassed “Two Steps From The Blues” LP by Bobby Bland as key examples of the changing styles. But much earlier than that there were singers like Little Willie John and Lowman Pauling that were bringing gospel touches into their vocals and there were other isolated discs that foretold the coming era. “Didn’t We Fool Them” by the obscure King Richard & The Poor Boys is a splendid example. The vamping saxes and bluesy guitar and piano are pure R & B but the gospel based lead vocal is often much more in tune with the southern soul sounds that were to come. Astonishing to think that this was released in 1955.

Discography

Back to artist index