“Sweet Soul Music”
Guest Writer: Bishop Hartsel Clifton Shirley
To this day, Arthur Lee Conley was the biggest thing to come out of McIntosh County, Georgia. Born on January 4, 1946, Conley performed gospel music with an all-girl group called The Evening Smiles until his voice changed around age 13. He then joined a group called Arthur and The Corvettes in Atlanta where they recorded a few singles.
Conley later reunited with his father (who had moved to Baltimore) and joined saxophonist Harold Holt’s band. Between 1963-64, the group released three unsuccessful singles; as a result, the singer decided to go solo.
Conley’s timing was just right. He scored a contract with Ru-Jac Records, a small label based in Baltimore. He recorded a song called “I’m A Lonely Stranger;” however, Ru-Jac’s owner passed the song on to none other than Otis Redding.
The music icon was so impressed by Conley that he invited him to record the song for Stax Records. However, Redding was rumored to be unhappy as part of the Stax family. Therefore, he established Jotis Records, which released “I’m A Lonely Stranger” in 1965. Next, Redding became Conley’s manager and signed him as the first artist on his label.
The duo began collaborating on other projects, including a rewriting and recording of Sam Cooke’s “Yeah Man” at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This studio also was responsible for Aretha Franklin’s “RESPECT,” her signature song that became a colossal hit.
In 1967, Conley released “Sweet Soul Music,” which became an immediate smash! It climbed to number two on the U.S. charts and entered the Top Ten in many European countries. Selling over a million copies, it earned Conley a gold disc. An album titled “Sweet Soul Music” followed.
Tragedy struck when Otis Redding died in the infamous Wisconsin plane crash on December 10, 1967. This left Conley without the guidance his career needed. That month, Billboard ranked the soul singer as the Number 11 Pop Artist and Number 18 Male Artist for R&B singles.
Conley recorded a tribute song to Redding called “Otis Sleep On.” He released a few more songs that didn’t do as well as “Sweet Soul Music;” but in 1968 recorded “Aunt Dora’s Love Soul Shack.” The song received good play and is the direct predecessor to The Temptations’ “Psychedelic Shack.”
The artist would score one more blazing hit titled “Funky Street,” which became a Top 5 R&B hit and soared to Number 14 on the Pop Charts. In 1969, he collaborated with Joe Tex and Ben E. King for an album called “Soul Meeting,” following that up with a triumphant European tour.
Afterward, success eluded him for a while: he scored just one R&B Top 40 hit in 1970 with a song called “God Bless.” A few more songs were released in the ’70s; however, despite heartfelt deliveries, none made a big impact. Poor management and inferior material were factors in the artist’s downturn.
By 1975, Conley moved to England, then Belgium, and legally changed his name to Lee Roberts. In 1977, he moved to the Netherlands and formed a band called Lee Roberts and The Sweaters, touring Europe.
By 1980, the sublime soul performer settled in the Dutch town of Ruurlo, and he became quite an entrepreneur. He formed a reported nine companies, including Sweat Records, Happy Jack Publishing, and New Age Culture Exchange Radio. In 1988, he and The Sweaters recorded a live concert album that can be found under Arthur Conley and The Sweaters OR Lee Roberts and The Sweaters and is most times titled “Soulin’”.
The most troubling part of Conley’s life was his secret; one that would’ve been death to his career had it become known. Arthur Conley was a gay man. Unfortunately, the sweet soul singer died after a long battle with intestinal cancer on November 17, 2003.
Arthur Conley was one of those rare treasures who gave his best in every effort and proof that…
I invite you to witness this dynamic soul in performances and an interview:
INTERVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64hzjY1ojSY
PERFORMANCE: “A Whole Lotta Woman” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrf1ctdIyI
“Funky Street”
Bishop Hartsel Clifton Shirley is an author, writer, singer/songwriter, and bishop from Waterloo, Iowa. He received his master’s degree in business from the International Business Management Institute in Berlin, Germany.
Currently residing in Atlanta, Mr. Shirley is a National and International Social Action bishop, part of New Direction Overcomers’ International Fellowship (based in Richmond, Virginia).
A multi-faceted talent, Hartsel is a writer, author, and singer/songwriter. A bronze International Society of Poets prize winner, he has penned editorials for the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier. His best-selling novel is Three Words, Four Letters, published by Ishai Books. Additionally, Hartsel has charted at #1 several times on the ReverbNation pop music charts.
Inspired by Langston Hughes, Bishop Shirley states, “I write what moves me. There is nothing I can’t write. I just have to care about it so I can write truthfully.”
Hartsel’s current book, The Night Eddie Sallis Died, is based on factual information he uncovered in 2002 about a 1966 jail cell “suicide” in Waterloo, Iowa (his place of birth). This revealing and riveting book pulls back the curtain on racism and police brutality. The author emphasizes, “These truths make Iowa a state not to be taken lightly–nor forget.”
Hartsel’s upcoming works include Three Words and Four Letters, the second and third installments of his first novel, and his third music project, Rebel With A Cause.
Email Bishop Shirley at hartselshirley@gmail.com
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