R.I.P. Lou Pride 1944-2012
Helaas moeten we alweer droevig nieuws melden van het muziekfront; Op 5 juni j.l. is Chicago Blues-Soul zanger Lou Pride overleden op 68- jarige leeftijd.
Pride had al jaren problemen met zijn gezondheid en had o.a. enkele hart-aanvallen.Desondanks trad hij nog regelmatig op, waaronder b.v. eind vorig jaar nog op het vermaarde Zwitserse Luzern Festival. Wij mochten Lou 1 keer live meemaken, op de Blues-Estafette in Utrecht en hij maakte een enorme indruk, zowel qua stem als persoon. Iemand met heel veel Soul en humor, een warme persoonlijkheid! Hij bekende onlangs nog dat hij, iedere keer als hij het podium opstapt, nog steeds vlinders in z’n buik voelt.
Zijn laatste CD “Ain’t No More Love In This House” zal dit najaar nog uitgebracht worden.
Muziek-clipje Nog een clipje
Like countless other soul and blues singers he had gospel roots; he attended First Baptist Church pastored by Reverend E.J. Cole, the father of Nat King Cole. But after watching a BB King performance with his mom, blues singing became a career goal. Nothing much happened until a two year stint singing with The Karls on service shows in Germany; upon returning home he formed a duet with a female singer who went by the initial’s JLC; the pair had a Sam & Dave-type act and got along so well they married and settled in El Paso, TX. It was while living in El Paso that Pride cut the classic single “I’m Com’n Home in the Morn’n” b/w “I’m Not Thru With You” on Seumi Records in the early ‘70s. Other 1970s’ singles include: “Look Out on Love,” “We’re Only Fooling Ourselves,” “You’ve Got to Work for Love,” and “Been Such a Long Time”. He cut his first album, “Very Special” (reissued as “Gone Bad For A Very Special Reason” in 1988), in 1979 while living in Albuquerque, NM, for Black Gold Records. He was introduced to Curtis Mayfield and cut an album (“Gone Bad Again”) for the Curtom label. Ichiban Records released a CD on Pride in 1997 and Ice House Records produced “I Won’t Give Up” in 2000. His best work began being released on Severn Records in 2002. Two terrific new studio albums, “Words Of Caution” (2002) & “Keep On Believing” (2005), were released, in addition to a collection of Lou’s early 70’s material (“The Memphis/El Paso Sessions 1970-1973”).