Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller want you to know how much fun soul blues can be. In their collaboration this summer, Tribute to Soul, the two put together a celebration of the music that hits the mark.
Rawls has been a fixture on the blues festival circuit for decades. Once a sideman for the great O.V. Wright, Rawls has carried the torch. Soul blues, as performed by Rawls, is an entertaining and sometimes intoxicating form of blues usually featuring a horns section, but it also seems an anachronistic throw-back to an earlier era as some of its most prominent performers have passed on. Rawls’ own mentor Wright died of a heart attack in 1980 at age 41. Rawls also worked with Z.Z. Hill, who died in 1984, also of a heart attack. Ike Turner died in 2007 and Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland passed away in 2013. Of the great Holmes Brothers, only Sherman Holmes survives (and has a record coming out in October). Rawls and just a few other artists, including Keller and Roomful of Blues, continue as standard bearers to carry the form into the future. Highlights from Rawls’ back catalog include Here We Go in 1996, Soul Survivor in 2012, Remembering O.V. in 2013, Tiger in a Cage in 2016, and Walking Heart Attack in 2023.
Having worked with Rawls and Ronnie Earl, the Vermont-based Keller’s soul blues pedigree is well established. In 2009, Keller composed with Ronnie Earl the song “Love, Love, Love,” which appeared on Earl’s Living in the Light, and he frequently tours with Rawls. Keller has released a handful of albums, including Play for Love in 2007, Soul Changes in 2013, Every Soul’s a Star in 2018, and the genre-bending LaBrea last year. His work evidences a deep love for Southern soul and blues, and he is known for passionate performances.
Tribute to Soul, which was quietly released in June, places the skills of mentor and protege in the spotlight. As one Blues Blast reviewer noted, the cover is aptly reminiscent of the great B.B. King-Eric Clapton collaboration some 26 years ago, Riding with the King, which also featured the two great guitarists cruising in a convertible. All the songs are great, but among the best are Joe South’s “Walk A Mile in My Shoes,” Huey Meaux’s “Neighbor, Neighbor,” and Gorge Jackson and Robert Alton Miller’s “Bad Risk.” For Tribute to Soul, the two headliners are backed by Keller’s excellent band, including Ira Friedman on keyboards, Alex Budney on bass, and Jay Gleason on drums, with additional contributions from saxophonist Paul Johnson, Ben DeLong on trumpet, and and Travis Gelman on trombone.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.