a pioneering singer-songwriter of so-called sweet soul music whose
powerful ballads in the 1960s were a major influence on a generation of
rock, R&B and pop vocalists, has died. He was in his early 70s.
Burke died early Sunday morning of natural causes at an
“He was the founding father of what was defined as soul music in America in the 1960s. He was a major player,”
“When I first saw him, I couldn’t believe that one
man could have a voice that big,” Moore said. “He could rock a house.
He was that good.”
That voice was responsible for some of classic soul
music’s most essential songs of the 1960s, prime examples of the sweet
soul music that harnessed the earnestness of the Southern gospel
tradition in which Burke was raised to create emotionally charged
R&B moments.
Among his career highlights were “Tonight’s the
Night,” an R&B and pop hit, and “Cry to Me,” an ode to loneliness
and desire that is remembered for its use in a seductive scene in the
1987 film “Dirty Dancing.”
His 1964 hit “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” was covered by the Rolling Stones and
When Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame in 2001, his rendition of the song stole the show from
Aerosmith, Steely Dan and other inductees, pop critic
His signature single was 1965’s “Got to Get You Off
of My Mind,” which stands as one of the premier soul hits of the 1960s,
according to the Hall of Fame. Written by Burke, it features his
smooth, solid voice lamenting the death of a love affair.
In 1961, he signed with Atlantic Records, which was
looking for church-trained singers with commanding voices. Over the
years, the label has been home to
Even with his talent-heavy roster, producer
Although Burke toured regularly in the U.S. and
Still, Burke consistently delivered new songs both
secular and gospel and received a late career boost with a comeback
recording, “Don’t Give Up On Me,” which received a Grammy Award in 2003.
Since he was 7, Burke had also been a preacher. He
was preparing to deliver a sermon in 2002 at the church he founded and
ran — the House of God for All People in
The singer, whose voice matched his more than
300-pound frame, responded by saying: “So what? I wasn’t born with a
microphone. I was born with a voice.”
He was born
His surname came from his stepfather,
who loved him “as his own,” the younger Burke later said. He had no
memory of his biological father, and he was always on the run from his
temperamental mother, Burke said in the Rolling Stone article.
He often ended up a few doors away at the home of his grandmother, a spiritual healer who had formed her own church.
In his youth, he was so charismatic in the pulpit
that he was known as the Boy Wonder Preacher. The first sign of a royal
persona was evident in the cape that he wore only on Sundays that was
made from his “blankie.”
By age 13, he was hosting a gospel program on
The power of his on-air voice caught the attention of the wife of a
When Burke realized that a business manager in the
1950s was pocketing some of Burke’s concert fees, the manager
threatened to blackball him, and the singer found it hard to get
concert dates.
To support his family, he went to mortuary school and worked in a
“
Burke’s family would grow to include 14 daughters,
seven sons, 90 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, according to
his website. He was married at least three times.
At his home in
Burke greeted visitors from a red velvet throne in his living room,
where he kept his Grammy and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards on a
nearby mantel.
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