basement jukebox
Willie Mitchell, record producer, March 1, 1928–January 5, 2010
O. V. Wright (1939-1980), “A Nickel and a Nail,” 1971
*****
Syl Johnson (1936-), “Take Me to the River,” 1975
*****
Otis Clay (1942-2016), “Trying to Live My Life Without You,” 1972
*****
Ann Peebles (1947-), “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” 1973
*****
Al Green (1946-), “Let’s Stay Together,” 1971
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Kankakee, Ill.
basement jukebox
O.V. Wright, “I’m Going Home (To Live With God)” (Willie Mitchell, prod.), 1973
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
basement jukebox
O.V. Wright, “A Nickel and a Nail” (Willie Mitchell, prod.), 1971
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
old school
Sunset Travelers (feat. O.V. Wright, 1939-1980)
“Lazarus,” 1962
***
“You Are Blessed,” 1963
***
“On Jesus’ Program,” 1964
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Ireland (outside Dingle)
Soul?
Gospel?
Whatever the idiom, this guy kills me.
The Sunset Travelers, featuring O.V. Wright (1939-1980), lead vocals
“Sit Down and Rest Awhile,” late 1950s
***
“Ain’t That Good News,” 1964
***
“On Jesus’ Program,” 1964
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), New York, 1966
more
O.V. Wright (1939-1980)
“God Blessed Our Love,” “When A Man Loves A Woman,” live, Japan, 1979
*****
“I’d Rather Be Blind, Crippled, And Crazy” (Back Beat, 1973)
*****
“A Nickel And A Nail” (Back Beat, 1975)
old school
O.V. Wright (1939-1980), “Into Something (Can’t Shake Loose)”
Live, Japan, 1979
*****
No other soul singer—not Otis Redding, not Al Green, no one—gives me such chills.
basement jukebox
Bobby “Blue” Bland, “That’s the Way Love Is” (Duke 1962)
***
O.V. Wright, “That’s How Strong My Love Is” (Goldwax 1964)
***
Jimmy Ruffin, “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” (Motown 1966)
**********
lagniappe
found words
You’ve got [Cubs left fielder] Alfonso Soriano out there with Mickey Mantle’s knees. I’m not talking metaphor here. I think he really has Mickey Mantle’s knees.
—Jim Memolo, WGN Radio, Sunday’s post-game call-in show, following the Cubs’ third straight loss to the White Sox
Yesterday he sang gospel; today he sings soul music.
O.V. Wright
“I Feel Alright,” live, Memphis, 1975
*****
“I’d Rather Be Blind, Crippled, And Crazy” (Back Beat Records, 1973)
*****
“Drowning On Dry Land” (Back Beat Records, 1973)
*****
“A Nickel And A Nail” (Back Beat Records, 1975)
**********
lagniappe
Soul is church. Just changing ‘Jesus’ to ‘baby.’ That’s all it is.
—O.V. Wright
*****
Somehow, someway, O.V. Wright continues to be a mystery. Though he spent his entire life in Memphis, recorded with [producer] Willie Mitchell and was a contemporary of everyone from Otis Redding to Al Green, Wright remains a largely unheralded figure.
Hardcore soul enthusiasts and R&B historians have consistently ranked him among the most evocative and powerful singers of all time, yet his troubled life and tragically early death at the age of 41 in 1980 have consigned him to the margins of music history.
“I remember Willie Mitchell saying, after we lost O.V. — and I never will forget this — Willie said he was the greatest singer that was ever on the planet,” recalls drummer Howard Grimes.
***
Wright was revered by his peers, including a young Al Green. “Al used to come in and try and listen to O.V. record,” recalls Willie Mitchell, laughing. “And O.V. would see him and say, ‘Al, what you doing here? Get out of my session!'”
***
“He just had more church in him,” says Howard Grimes. “That’s what touched people.”
[Otis] Clay recalls being in the audience when Wright turned a Miami nightclub into a revival meeting. “Man, he whipped that audience into a frenzy like I’ve never seen,” says Clay. “You would’ve thought he was a preacher passing out blessings. He’d say, ‘If you love the blues, come up and shake my hand.’ And, man, people lined up, just like they would in church. That was typical O.V.”
—Bob Mehr, Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 11/13/08
