Pat Brown and Jimmy Johnson RIP

There have been two deaths of note in the soul world in the last couple of days which I cannot allow to pass unmentioned.
Pat Brown, who was 69, was originally from Meridian, Mississippi, but was a regular performer at and host of Hal and Mal's Monday night Blues Jam in Jackson. She is perhaps best known for a duet with Willie Clayton on one of the greatest southern soul songs, 'Equal Opportunity'. Early in her career she joined a group called the Dynamics, which became the Commodores. Her idols were Al Wilson and David and Jimmy Ruffin, also from Meridian, and after moving to Jackson had great success with the Willie Clayton duet, which became her signature song. Later albums included 'Woman's Thang' in 1998, 'Burning Hot and Heavy', 'New Tricks' and 'For Your Information Only'.
I first saw her at Hal and Mal's in 2013 and was knocked out by her soulful renditions of 'I Was Stepping Our' and 'Let The Good Times Roll'. plus a couple of duets. Hal and Mal's became a regular stop on our Mississippi road trips and I last saw her in 2017 when she did a duet on 'Since I Fell For You' and 'Daddy's Home. It's fair to say that Hal and Mal's won't be the same now Pat has gone. She will be missed. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAEMcgWPVC0

Another death, at the age of 76, is that of guitarist Jimmy Johnson, one of the Muscle Shoals Swampers, who played on dozens of great soul records by the likes of Percy Sledge, Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces, Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Candi Staton. I was in two minds about whether to go to Porretta in 2014, which featured the Muscle Shoals sound and included many of the musicians who made the place famous, but when I heard Jimmy being interviewed on 'The Right Track' radio show I knew I had to go. Jimmy's stories about the great records that he had a hand in making were fascinating and the Muscle Shoals guys didn't let us down. As ever, it was a great festival.