SOUL CLONES (RR)
SoulOnIce
13,027 Posts
One thing I've noticed when you talk to olderheads about music, especially soul music, they'lloften dismiss so many acts as just rip-offs of more popular artists "he was alright but he wasjust trying to sound like Wilson Pickett ..."We all know that hundreds of artists bit James Brown'sstyle, especially in the heavy funk era, but how many really sounded like the man himself? Wayne Cochranspent 20 years trying, although I don't know if ever reallypulled it off...from the top of my head I get Bobby Newsome,but that's just memory and could be fuzzy. Lee Fields comesto mind, although he may be too talented to be seen as a "clone."Do you think Otis Clay became an Al Green clone when hesigned with Hi? There can be no doubt that he, Syl Johnson,and O.V. Wright all adapted to the "Hi Sound" when brought tothe label in the wake of Green's success, but did any of themactually become undeniable Al Green imitators? I started thinking about all this while listening to theDeidre Wilson Tabac album - the vocalist on there is trying sohard to sound like Otis Redding he could be auditioning for apart in Otismania! coming soon to off-off-Broadway near you.Otis Redding himself started out as a Little Richard sound-alike!There are a few Otis imitators - anybody heard the Jimmy Weiss &the Upsetters album We Remember Otis on ABC? - but themost-imitated vocalist of the R&B/Soul era has to be Sam Cooke.I just picked up a 45 on Cadet by James Phelps that shows him tobe a Cooke impressionist of undeniable ability, but the most prolificand successful Cooke clone has to be Louis Williams, Jr of the Ovations: 
Not only did their mid-60's singles on Goldwax feature Willams' pitch-perfectCooke impression over arrangements cribbed from the Keen sessions, butthey had an early 70's renaissance sparked by a hit medley of Cooke tracksbased around "Having a Party!"So, there are countless imitators out there, I've named a couple -let's hear some more ... what artists based their careers around soundingjust like far more popular artists? who was the Wanna-Be Aretha? Whatgroup could be picked as the Temptations in a blindfold test? Who was King of the Joe Tex replicants?
Not only did their mid-60's singles on Goldwax feature Willams' pitch-perfectCooke impression over arrangements cribbed from the Keen sessions, butthey had an early 70's renaissance sparked by a hit medley of Cooke tracksbased around "Having a Party!"So, there are countless imitators out there, I've named a couple -let's hear some more ... what artists based their careers around soundingjust like far more popular artists? who was the Wanna-Be Aretha? Whatgroup could be picked as the Temptations in a blindfold test? Who was King of the Joe Tex replicants?
Comments
Freddie Wilson = James Brown (this is the most letter perfect JB clone I've heard and I can't stand to listen to him because of that)
When I used to work in a record store and was spinning a Don Covay disc, some older stepper's DJ dismissed him as "a poor man's Bobby Womack"...well, they're both singer/songwriter/guitarists in a southern soul vein, but apart from that, I don't see how one necessarily bit off the other.
No way. The only thing both artists had in common was that they recorded with the Hi Rhythm section. That's all it is. People have said that Ann Peebles sounded like a female Al Green, but that was just that Hi connection again, otherwise no comparison. And even though Clay has done some mean versions of Al Green songs, I can't see Green covering "Trying To Live My Life Without You."
Nope, not to me. For one thing, Wright, Clay & Johnson were bluesier. Al's first few Hi albums were in that same vein, but by the time he got to I'm Still In Love With You(1972), the rough edges were smoothed out. If you recall from the book Sweet Soul Music, producer Willie Mitchell and the Hi gang intentionally experimented with jazz chords and getting Al to sing softer so they could cross over pop.
I don't know, man...Aretha and Joe are so singular I can't think of any vocalist who spun off from their styles. The Tempts, too, although the Chi-Lites (ca. '69-71) tended to get on a "Cloud Nine" jag whenever they speeded up the tempo ("Are You My Woman," "I Like Your Lovin'").
By far, the most imitated of the soul era to my ears was not JB or Pickett, but a familiar Soul Strut hero...Curtis Mayfield. With and without the Impressions.
IMPRESSIONS COPIES:
- "Let Her Love Me," Otis Leavill
- "The Jerk," Larks
- "I'll Always Love You," Festivals
- "First Impressions" (get it?), Hi-Lifes (from the Design label comp, Soundsville!)
CURTIS KNOCKOFFS:
- "Be Thankful For What You Got," William DeVaughn
- "Super People," Notations (although this was on a Curtis-owned label, so should it even count?)
Jackson 5/Jacksons - too many to list - the closest to come?
Stevie Wonder - too many too list - the closet to come?
Sam Cooke is the roux of soul vocals.
If that analogy makes sense.
Lewis Taylor does a good Marvin Gaye.
U should check Natalie Cole Live LP and I bet you'll add 200 more pounds.
Just like Stevie Wonder, too many try but never come close.
I have Taylor albums and he never really comes close to Marvin IMO.