| Solomon Burke |
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Solomon Burke (born March 21 , 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ) is a Soul and Country music pioneer and member of the prestigious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame . He began his adult life as a preacher in Philadelphia , and soon moved on to hosting a Gospel radio show. In the 1960s , he signed with Atlantic Records and began moving towards more secular music. His first hit was "Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms", a cover of a country song. Though well-received by both peers and critics, and attaining a few moderate pop and several major R&B hits, Burke never could quite break through into the mainstream as did Sam Cooke or Otis Redding . Burke's biggest hit was a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival 's "Proud Mary". In 1964 he wrote and recorded " Everybody Needs Somebody To Love ," Burke's most prominent bid for an enduring soul standard. Almost immediately covered by the Rolling Stones the same year, other well-known versions include one by Wilson Pickett and another a decade and a half later in the 1980 feature film by '' The Blues Brothers ''. His career was to some degree revived in 2002 , with the release of '' Don't Give Up On Me '', where he sang songs written specifically for the album by various top-rank artists, including Bob Dylan , Brian Wilson , Van Morrison , Elvis Costello and Tom Waits . He is featured in the 2004 movie ''Lightning in a Bottle'' singing "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Down in the Valley" In 2005 he appeared as a guest with Jools Holland on his autumn tour of the UK. As of October 2002 Burke was the father of 14 daughters and 7 sons with 64 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Several of his children and grandchildren have had successful careers in various facets of the music industry, though none as much so as their patriarch. DISCOGRAPHY
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