Album of the Day

No less an authority than Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler described Solomon Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time," and the Philadelphia-born performer is in a class with James Brown, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett in all but chart success. One of Burke's final recordings for Atlantic, 1968's KING SOLOMON, displays not just his peerless vocals but his consummate wisdom when it came to choosing songs; the dozen tracks here were penned by some of the top R&B writers of the 1960s, Don Covay, Bert Berns and the team of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham among them. Like labelmate Percy Sledge, Burke had a knack for country-flavored material (“It's Been A Change,” “Detroit City”), but he gave everything he sang a down-home seasoning that was irresistible. As the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was born on this day in 1940, we'll give this fine album another spin in tribute to KING SOLOMON.