Howard Peters
Another of those Southern soulmen whose recording career was very short,
Howard Peters cut these sides in Nashville in 66/67, probably at 1 session,
for local producer Jerry Crutchfield, who leased the product to Decca subsidiary
Coral. Peters had a pleasant well modulated baritone, without ever being
able to set the world on fire, but his voice was very well suited to the
heavily countrified flavour of the excellent The
thrill will still be new. This deep beauty has much the same feel that Crutchfield brought
to his more famous productions for Percy Wiggins on Atco, with the guitar
fills particularly impressive. The other ballad Peters recorded
Tell
me it’s alright wasn’t quite in this class but is still
well worth a listen. The uptempo “Tighten up the slack” is a
splendid toe-tapper featuring a pounding beat and some excellent horn work.
Nashville soul of this period often featured bigger horn sections than Memphis
cuts – me likee! Especially the way the baritone sax is brought up
out of the mix. Note also the very early involvement of Harrison Calloway
here.
![]() |
![]() |
Discography
The
thrill will still be new / Soulville ~ CORAL 62546 (1967)
Tighten up the slack / Tell
me it's alright ~ CORAL 62533 (1967)