Solomon Burke Net Worth, Income, Salary, Earnings, Biography

As one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s, Solomon Burke (born March 21, 1940, died October 10, 2010) was an American recording artist and singer who helped to shape the sound of rhythm and blues. He is regarded as a “key transitional figure in the development of soul music from rhythm and blues.” With songs such as “Cry to Me,” “If You Need Me,” “Got to Get You Off My Mind,” “Down in the Valley,” and “Everyone Needs Someone to Love,” he established himself as a successful recording artist. As a result of his renown, Burke was dubbed “King Solomon,” “King of Rock ‘n’ Soul,” “Bishop of Soul,” and the “Muhammad Ali of soul” among other titles. 

Burke is often referred to be the “most unjustly ignored vocalist” of the genre’s golden era due to his lack of chart success in contrast to other soul music greats such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding. Burke was been described to as “the finest male soul vocalist of all time” by Atlantic Records president Jerry Wexler. Burke’s most renowned records, which lasted five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B. Burke was born in New Orleans and raised in New York City. According to the New York Times, Burke was “a vocalist [whose] smooth, forceful articulation and mixing of holy and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s.” He took inspiration from his musical origins – gospel, jazz, country, and blues – while also creating his own distinctive sound at a period when R&B and rock were still in their infancy, respectively. 

Solomon Burke has been described as “Rabelaisian” as well as a “spiritual enigma,” and “perhaps more than any other artist, the ample figure of Solomon Burke symbolised the ways in which spirituality and commerce, ecstasy and entertainment, sex and salvation, individualism and brotherhood, and the world of 1960s soul music could blend.” While performing professionally for 55 years, Burke recorded 38 studio albums on at least 17 different record companies and had 35 singles that reached the top of the charts in the United States, including 26 songs that reached the Billboard R&B charts. Burke was elected into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 for his work as a performer. In 2003, his album Don’t Give Up on Me was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, which he received at the 45th Grammy Awards. Burke was credited with selling 17 million records by the year 2005. Burke was rated #89 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” list, which was published in 2008.

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