Another soul man who passed away recently was Lou Johnson, a singer whose gorgeous voice was perfect for the songs of Bacharach and David. His records included 'If I Never Get To Love You', 'Better Let Him Go', 'Reach Out For Me', the B side of which 'Magic Potion' was a big Northern soul hit. He recorded the first version of '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me' and 'Message To Martha' and other superb records included 'Please Stop The Wedding' and 'A Time To Love, A Time To Cry'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st2mVmy30LA

From the world of rockabilly we recently lost Texas singer Huelyn Duvall, whose 1950's records included 'Teen Queen', 'Little Boy Blue' and 'Boom Boom Baby'. Huelyn visited the UK several times and I caught him at Viva Las Vegas in 2015 (pictured above) where his set included 'It's No Wonder', 'Teen Queen', 'Pucker Paint' and 'Three Months To Kill'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDbRimaeD5I
Another fifties artist who has died is Preston Epps, who had a 1959 hit with 'Bongo Rock' He
continued the bongo theme with records such as 'Bongos in Pastel', 'Bongo Boogie', 'Bongo Bongo Bongo' and 'Bongola'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBZJlVeEVeI
Other recent deaths have included Luther Jennings of the Southern Jacksonaires, Scottish singer Jake Black of the Alabama 3, Leon Rausch, lead singer of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and Mike Wilhelm, guitarist and singer with San Francisco band The Charlatans who was later a member of the Flamin' Groovies.
Finally, I must pay tribute to Doris Day who has died aged 97. She was a regular feature of the big movies of my youth, including 'Love Me Or Leave Me', 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (which included her Oscar winning song 'Que Sera Sera'), 'The Tunnel Of Love', and 'Move Over Darling', which featured perhaps her biggest, and best, record. A true great of the movies, and not a bad singer.
RIP to them all.
He was such a sweet soul. I met him at Porretta and he was really the nicest, softspoken guy I met at the festival. May he rest his heart in the hands of God.
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