Search - Bobby Powell :: Into My Own Thing

Thorough Compilation Of An Underrated Soul Artist

08/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you speak of blind singers the first names to usually pop into mind are, of course, the late great Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Some may recall Jose Feliciano, Ronnie Milsap and, well before their time, the legendary Al Hibbler. Rarely will anyone mention Bobby Powell. And that's sad because this man, born around 1941 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, could really wail. Like many from the southern portions of the U.S. he could best be described as a soul singer whose roots went deep into gospel music, performing with church groups even while attending Southern University For The Blind.



However, working solidly against national recognition when he launched his professional career was hooking up with one of the many small southern- based labels which, truth be told, simply did not have the financial means to push their artists. In Bobby's case, that was Lionel Whitfield's operation out of Shreveport, Louisiana, Whit Records.



However, it says much for Powell's talent that, even with the handicap of a small indie, his 1965 rendition of the song made famous 40 years earlier by Ma Rainey as See See Rider Blues, went to # 1 on the Cash Box R&B charts, # 12 on the Billboard R&B charts, and crossed over to the Billboard Pop Hot 100 at # 76 in December as C.C. Rider [track 9]. The flipside, That Little Girl Of Mine, is also in this set at track 26.



The following spring he turned to the funky side with Do Something For Yourself [track 4], which peaked at # 21 Cash Box R&B, # 39 Billboard R&B, and also made the Hot 100 "bubble under" charts at # 120 b/w It's Getting Late In The Evening [track 16]. After that hits were hard to come by, although in 1966 I'm Gonna Leave You, highlighted by one of the best blues guitar licks you will ever hear, along with a rousing gospel chorus in the background, did make it to # 34 Cash Box R&B.



In 1967 Why (Am I Treated So Bad) made it to # 91 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100 [but was inexplicably shut out on the R&B charts) b/w Thank You [tracks 5 and 18], and in 1969, In Time received critical acclaim if not chart success. His last hit, still with Whit, came in 1971 when a cover of the 1959 Baby Washington R&B hit, The Bells (On Our Wedding Day), topped out at # 14 Cash Box R&B and # 45 Billboard R&B [the flip was an instrumental version].



These results are, you must keep in mind, quite different from having Columbia, Capitol, or RCA Victor releases reach those same levels, and the success on Whit is a sure sign that, with the machinery of a large company behind him, he would have scored much higher on both the lucrative pop charts, as well as those devoted to R&B.



Later in that decade Powell tried his luck with other small labels, but nothing worked, and so during most of the 1980s he became THE opening act for major artists making appearances in his home town. At the start of the 1990s he went back to his gospel roots.



A very nice effort from Westside which, I was surprised to see, had not been reviewed to date despite hitting the market in 2001. Just one more indication that this soul artist had been generally lost in the sea of small operations."