Deaths of R&B greats bring to a close a golden era

The death of the King of Blues, B.B. King last week at 89 occurred at a time when the ink had barely dried on the obituaries of three other legends of soul music who have died in the last one month.

The first to bow out of the stage was The King of Slow Soul, Percy Sledge, whose death at 74 from liver cancer on April 14 brought an outpouring of emotion and nostalgia from those who grew up with his music especially the much loved ‘When a man loves a woman.”

Soundtracks

There was a similar reaction to the death of Ben E. King at age 76 on April 30 and just like Sledge, who was identified with one song, so too, despite his many achievements as a solo artist and with the group The Drifters, most people turned to the one song that defined King: “Stand by me.”

On May 6, came the news of the passing of another great, Errol Brown who died at his home in the Bahamas after suffering liver cancer at age 71. Brown was the voice behind one of the most popular British soul bands of the 1970s, Hot Chocolate. His clean-shaven face stared out of every one of those Hot Chocolate album sleeves and his voice was the magic in all those hit songs.

It is fascinating how the hit songs, in the case of all the three artistes, now deceased, remain relevant across generations, either through re-releases, cover versions, film soundtracks and even commercials.

Love songs

King, Errol and Sledge established their careers on songs that were inspired by the women in their lives. “When a man loves a woman” recorded in 1966 when Sledge was just 25 was his response to a woman who had left him for another man.

Ben E. King wrote a love song, “Stand by me” to a woman called Betty Nelson, with whom he would spend 50 years of marriage while in Brown’s case, “You Sexy Thing,” released in 1975 was also inspired by the woman who became his wife.

The Hot Chocolate song was revived in 1997 when it was used in the British comedy “The Full Monty and in other films like “Boogie Nights,” “Reservoir Dogs” and TV adverts.

Percy Sledge’s song “When a man loves a woman” was used in several movie soundtracks in the 1980s, jeans maker, Levis used the song for a TV advert in the U.K and it earned Michael Bolton a Grammy Award when he recorded his version in 1991.

“Stand by me” first released in 1961, was re-issued in 1986, thanks to a movie of the same name, and even re-entered the U.S charts after a 25-year absence.

Most reports after the death of King said that the song has been re-recorded no less than 400 times by everyone from John Lennon to Otis Redding.

The Jamaican-born Brown turned to singing after his mother’s death and his first hit was a reggae version of “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon which the former Beatle liked so much that he released it on their Apple label.

The band transitioned out of the 1960s into the disco 70s - their most successful spell when they scored hits like “You Sexy Thing.”

Hot Chocolate

While these were the international hits, the song that really caught on among Kenyan radio fans was “Man to Man” a 1976 poignant ballad about a man who confronts his cheating wife’s lover.

The song will be remembered for memorable lines: “If you’re just having fun, leave her alone/For the children’s sake don’t break up a home”.

Veteran radio DJ Larry Wambua says Hot Chocolate was very popular with radio fans because their music cut across musical tastes.
There were slower songs like “Man to Man” and “Emma” that played on V.O.K (now KBC) shows like Sundowner and Late Date and then there were the disco songs like “Don’t Stop it Now” that were huge dance favourites.

At the height of their fame, the band dominated the charts around the world and even performed at the pre-wedding reception for Britain’s royals, Prince Charles and Lady Diana at Buckingham Palace in1981.

After the rollercoaster 1970s and early 80s, the hits dried up and Brown left Hot Chocolate for a solo career in 1987 but he was clearly way past his best.

He was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 by Queen Elizabeth, for services to popular music.

Wide appeal

When he quit music in 2009 after 40 years in the business, Brown who was then 60 said he felt “silly” performing pop songs at his age. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ginette, the woman who inspired his best-known song, “You Sexy Thing, and two daughters.

Therefore the death of B.B. King last week was a reminder of the foundation he created for music genres like soul and the blues to be embraced by people outside just the black community in America.

Thanks to King, musicians like Percy Sledge, Ben E King and Errol Brown appealed to audiences far beyond their own communities.