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Otis Clay & Johnny Rawls Are Still Delivering As 'Soul Brothers'

Catfood Records

Otis Clay is known as Chicago's King of Soul, even though he was born in Mississippi, raised in Indiana and recorded most of his best known work in Memphis. Chicago's desire to claim him is easy to understand when you hear him.

Johnny Rawls is a singer in his own right but has a long list of credits writing, arranging and producing for other artists.

Born in 1942, Otis Clay grew up in a musical family and, like so many Blues and Soul artists, he sang in church and Gospel groups before switching to Soul and Blues. Unlike most, he did have a successful career on both side of the 'Saturday night, Sunday morning' rift.

http://youtu.be/X8Rx0Z9W2pY

Nine years Clay's junior, Johnny Rawls is also a Mississippi product who learned to play guitar by age 15 and was a song writer from an early age. By the 1970s he was touring with many top artists and recording under his own name by the 1980s.

http://youtu.be/yPLTEwmUn-E

Otis Clay recorded and performed for several years with the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded in Nashville in 1964 and also worked with the Sensational Nightingales. After setting out on a secular career his biggest commercial success came early on, however he has built a solid following and continues to tour and occasionally record. His main centers of popularity these days are in Europe and Japan.

http://youtu.be/ZTP322AhAdI

I think both men's audience base will expand again with the release of a new collaboration called Soul Brothers. It's a nice example of later day Soul music and I think both Rawls and Clay have made a good move by teaming up.

http://youtu.be/oW7PC5M3sb0

Soul Brothers opens with a nice version of Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know." Also nicely covered on the album are "Momma Didn't Raise No Fool," "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted," "Turn Back the Hands of Time" and several others. The original tracks are equal to the covers and all together it's a nice effort from these two venerable artists. This album will appeal to many Soul fans, but I think a number of Blues fans will enjoy it too.

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