Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called "a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul", and was known for his "prodigious output".
He had a string of hits including "Cry to Me", "If You Need Me", "Got to Get You Off My Mind", "Down in the Valley", and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". Burke was referred to honorifically as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", "Bishop of Soul", and the "Muhammad Ali of Soul".Jet (9 April 2001):35. Due to his minimal chart success in comparison to other soul music greats such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding, Burke has been described as the genre's "most unfairly overlooked singer" of its golden age.David Cantwell, "Editorial Review" Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler referred to Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time".
Burke's most famous recordings, which spanned five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B. Burke was "a singer whose smooth, powerful articulation and mingling of sacred and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s."Ben Sisario, "Solomon Burke, Influential Soul Singer, Dies at 70", The New York Times (October 11, 2010). He drew from his roots—gospel, jazz, country, and blues—as well as developing his own style at a time when R&B, and rock were both still in their infancy. Described as both "Rabelaisian"Carlo Wolff, "Guralnick Studies Soul Music Roots," Schenectady Gazette (June 20, 1986):24. and also as a "spiritual enigma",Tony Cummings, "Solomon Burke: The '60s Soul Music Legend and a Spiritual Enigma", Crossrhythms (November 5, 2010). "perhaps more than any other artist, the ample figure of Solomon Burke symbolized the ways that spirituality and commerce, ecstasy and entertainment, sex and salvation, individualism and brotherhood, could blend in the world of 1960s soul music."Brian Ward, Just my Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (University of California Press, 1998):199.
During the 55 years that he performed professionally, Burke released 38 studio albums on at least 17 record labels and had 35 singles that charted on the Billboard charts, including 31 singles that made the Billboard R&B charts and 26 that made the Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a performer. His album Don't Give Up on Me won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003. By 2005 Burke was credited with selling 17 million albums.Charles Young, "King Solomon's Sweet Thunder", Rolling Stone (October 10, 2010).Jonny Whiteside, "Black in the Saddle", LA Weekly (April 7, 2005). Rolling Stone ranked Burke as No. 89 on its 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".Jonathan Lethem, "89: Solomon Burke", Rolling Stone (November 27, 2008).
Early life and career Burke was born James Solomon McDonald on March 21, 1940"Solomon Burke", Britannica.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022 (sometimes listed as 1936 or 1939) in the upper floor of his grandmother Eleanor Moore's home,Solomon Burke, in David Cantwell, "Solomon Burke: Pennies from Heaven: Thirteen Ways of Looking at the King of Rock 'n' Soul" , The Long Way Around 66 (November–December 2006). a row house in West Philadelphia."King Solomon Philly Soul Star Still Hopes to Make it in Home Town," Philadelphia Daily News (January 6, 1994). On his headstone, his birth year is 1940.
Burke was the child of Josephine MooreRalph Cipriano, "Pastor Josephine M. Burke, 70", The Philadelphia Inquirer (August 31, 1990):C09 LOCAL and an absentee father. His mother Josephine was a nurse, schoolteacher, concert performer and pastor.Ruth Rolen, "Singer Solomon Burke Lives the Lyrics; Pastors at 13," The Washington Afro-American (August 17, 1957):18. Burke was consecrated a bishop at birth by his grandmother in the Solomon's Temple, a congregation of the United House of Prayer for All People, which she founded at her home in Black Bottom, West Philadelphia.Red Kelly, "Solomon Burke – What Am I Living For (Bell 783)" (Monday, May 1, 2006). When Burke was nine, his mother married rabbi and butcher Vincent Burke and had his name changed to Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke. Burke's friends and family called him "Sol". Burke was the godson of Daddy Grace.George Lipsitz, Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music (University of Minnesota Press, 2007):xx.
Burke credited his grandmother as his main spiritual and musical influence.Solomon Burke in A. D. Amorosi, "Soul Mining" , Philadelphia Citypaper (July 18–24, 2002).Solomon Burke, in Travis Atria, "Solomon Burke: 1940–2010", Wax Poetics (October 2010). He learned how to sing all forms of music from his grandmother's coaching him to listen to music on the radio.Nigel Williamson, "King Solomon", The Sydney Morning Herald (December 27, 2002). Burke began preaching at the age of seven at the Solomon's Temple. He was described in his young preaching years as a "frantic sermonizer" and "spellbinding in his delivery",Lee Cotten, The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll: Reelin' & Rockin': 1956–1959 (Popular Culture, Ink., 2002):107. and was soon nicknamed the "Boy Wonder Preacher" for his charismatic preaching in the pulpit. Burke became a pastor of the congregation at the age of 12, appeared on the radio station WDAS,Nige Tassell, "Solomon Burke" , The Word (October 10, 2010).Radio-History.comWDAS Timeline . Angelfire.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011. and later hosted a gospel show on WHAT-AM, mixing songs and sermons in broadcasts from Solomon's Temple.Terence McArdle, "Grammy-winning R&B singer was also Pentecostal preacher", The Washington Post (October 11, 2010). On weekends he traveled with a truck and tent, to Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas to carry on the spiritual crusade of his church. Influenced by Superman,Bil Carpenter, Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (Backbeat Books, 2005):60. "the first sign of a royal persona was evident in the cape that he wore only on Sundays, made from his "blankie" by his grandmother."Blessed," Pittsburgh-Post Gazette (August 11, 2005), WE-4.
Burke had six younger siblings – a sister, Laurena Burke-Corbin (born June 23, 1946), and five brothers: Elec Edward "Alec" (born February 16, 1948), Vladimir H. "Laddie" (born July 31, 1949),Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2. Mario "Chuck" (born September 13, 1953), Daniel S. "Danny" (born March 10, 1955), and Jolester R. M. Burke (born September 24, 1958).Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Vol. 2.Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, Vol. 1.Gene Keys Burke, "Who's in your family" From an early age Solomon Burke worked to supplement his family's income. He recalled: "I used to deliver grocery orders in a little wagon I made out of fish boxes. When I was seven, I sold newspapers out of my own newsstand on the corner of 40th and Lancaster. I had the first 99-cent car wash, which was located at 40th and Wallace outside Al's Barber Shop. We had it there because he was the only one who would let us use his water. We could wash your car in 20 minutes. I had four or five guys, gave 'em each a nickel for each car." Another briefly held early job was as a hot dog seller at Eddie's Meat Market, where his friend Ernest Evans, later known as Chubby Checker, also worked. Burke eventually graduated from John Bartram High School.Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody, 2007 documentary for BBC Television, produced and directed by Paul Spencer.Tom Moon, "Soul Striver", The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 17, 2002):E01. He first became a father at 14.
During high school, Burke formed and fronted the quartet, the Gospel Cavaliers. He received his first guitar from his grandmother, later writing his first song, "Christmas Presents".Ashyia N. Henderson, ed., Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 31 (Gale Research Inc., 2002):19; "Solomon Burke", The Daily Telegraph (October 21, 2010). The Cavaliers began performing in churches. It was around this time that Burke met Kae "Loudmouth" Williams, a famed Philadelphia deejay with help from Williams' wife, Viola, who saw Burke and the Cavaliers perform at church.The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, Broadcastpioneers.com. Retrieved April 7, 2011.Charlie Horner, "The Silhouettes" Before entering a gospel talent contest in which a record deal was first prize, the group split up.
Burke entered the contest, held at Cornerstone Baptist Church, as a solo artist and won the contest against eleven other competitors. Soon, several labels including Apollo, Vee-Jay Records and Peacock Records pursued the 15-year-old.Jerry Zolten, Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music (Oxford University Press, USA, 2003):265. Before pursuing the deal, Burke signed Kae Williams as his manager. Williams then took him to Apollo Records introducing him to Bess Berman, who signed him to the label. The move was made after Williams added four years to Burke's age, which led to confusion from the press about his age.
Career Early recordings Burke signed with Apollo Records in late 1955, following the departure of gospel singer and the label's primary star Mahalia Jackson to Columbia.Ed Ward, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker, Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll (Rolling Stone Press, 1986):235.Horace Clarence Boyer, The Golden Age of Gospel (University of Illinois Press, 2000):91. After he signed with Apollo, the label's founder Bess Berman and its handlers were reportedly trying to make Burke "the next Harry Belafonte".
Burke recorded nine singles for the label during his two-year tenure, releasing his first single, "Christmas Presents", on Christmas Eve of 1955.Billboard (December 24, 1955):34Sherry Sherrod DuPree, Biographical Dictionary of African-American, Holiness-Pentecostals, 1880–1990 (Middle Atlantic Regional Press, 1989); Ashyia N. Henderson, ed., Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 31 (Gale Research Inc., 2002):19.
He recorded with musicians including King Curtis and Lester Young.Solomon Burke, in A. D. Amorosi, "Soul Mining" , Philadelphia Citypaper (July 18–24, 2002). His other Apollo recordings during this early period included "I'm in Love",Billboard (February 25, 1956): 63–64. "I'm All Alone"45 discography for Apollo Records. Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved April 7, 2011. and "No Man Walks Alone", later collected as his first long-player, Solomon Burke. These early records did not sell well, although the self-titled album was re-released in 1964 after Burke had experienced some chart success.