Songs of Solomon

No doubt you've heard this story, but let me tell it one more time:

I was once staying the weekend at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. As my wife and I headed downstairs to catch Neko Case at The Derby, we ran into Solomon Burke. Mr. Burke was being wheeled down (apparently, his generally enormous size requires the use of a wheelchair most of the time) by three striking young ladies in sequins, and I more or less blurted out, "Hey, you're Solomon Burke!" (clever, eh?). We chatted in the elevator and he said I had a good radio voice (kinda like the voice of God telling me that). Only later did I discover that he was attending the ASCAP awards at the hotel, where he presented an award to Elvis Costello and performed with Joe Henry (kind of my own personal "hero summit"). Anyway, it was one of the coolest (and only) encounters I've had with a true musical legend.

So that little walk down memory lane was a preface to this note in Billboard today, discussing Mr. Burke's new record. It is somewhat fitting that his stab at a country album was produced by one of my all-time heroes Buddy Miller and includes contributions from Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Patty Griffin. Since Miller's work has always been infused with more than a dash of '60's soul, the pairing seems positively inspired.

Due later this year on September 23.