More lost souls

A couple more music deaths to report.
Southern soul singer Floyd Taylor, the son of Johnnie Taylor, was just 60 and was pencilled in to
sing at the Porretta Soul festival this year. Floyd followed in his father's footsteps by recording his 2002 Malaco album at Muscle Shoals and later albums No Doubt and You Still Got It were also recorded there. Floyd, one of several sons of Johnnie Taylor, was born in Chicago and raised by his mother Mildred Singletary. He played with many southern soul artists including Marvin Sease, Tyrone Davis and Bobby Rush before making his first recording Legacy, which was well received. Sadly I never got to see him. The Vinyl Word raises a glass.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aUS3jAC6-Y
Another singer to pass away, at the age of 72, is Duffy Power, who was probably best known for his recording of Lennon and McCartney's I Saw Her Standing There on Parlophone with the Graham Bond Organisation in 1963, one of the earliest, and best, Beatles covers. Duffy (real name Raymond Howard) was discovered and renamed by Larry Parnes. After recording unsuccessful cover versions of Dream Lover, Kissin' Time, Starry Eyed and Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On for Fontana he left Parnes in 1961 and became part of the London R and B scene a couple of years later. Other records for Parlophone included a great version of It Ain't Necessarily So and Hey Girl. LPs were released on the GSF and Spark labels in the early 1970s before his career went into decline.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GE9d9u1iCY
* I was sad to see that the Ponderosa Stomp will not take place this year. It's an awful long time to wait until the next one in autumn 2015. Still, there's the Long Island Doowop festival and Viva Las Vegas to look forward to, and Porretta looks reasonable, with several Muscle Shoals related acts on the bill.