The King Of Rock`n´Soul

Solomon Burke

Wo wir gestern das wundervolle Video von Solomon Burke hatten, fiel mir das Buch Sweet Soul Music von Peter Guralnick wieder ein. Dort gibt es zirka 20 Seiten über Solomon Burke zu lesen, voller schräger Geschichten (zB wie er und seine Band vor 30.000 Ku-Klux-Klannern spielten) oder die, wie er im Vorprogramm von James Brown auftrat. Oder nicht auftrat - aber lest selbst.

Die englischen Sätze sind Originalzitate aus dem Buch, das deutsche fasst einiges zusammen, wäre sonst zu lang geworden. Here it goes:

1964 wurde Solomon Burke vom Radio DJ Rockin' Robin (WEBB) zum King Of Rock`n´Soul gekrönt. Ein Titel, den Solomon ernst nahm, sodaß er fortan mit Krone und Robe auftrat. Ein paar Jahre später meinte James Brown, er wäre eigentlich der King Of Soul und engagierte Solomon für das Vorgrogramm...

Now he hired me to perform with him one time in Chicago. And he paid me $ 10.000 for one night, great date... and when we got there, we found out he didn't even want the band to work, his band was going to play. So I said `Great!´cause he had a bigger band. I was only carrying seven or eight pieces at the time, and he had a big sixteen-piece orchestra. So I said `Fantastic. No problem´.

Dann fragten James' Leute Solomon, ob er seinen roten Teppich, die Robe und die Krone parat hätte, jawoll, hätte er. Gut, dann wäre er in 5 Minuten dran. Dann verlangte Solomon erstmal sein Geld. Nein, er würde nachher bezahlt. Dann würde er nicht auftreten...

So it goes back and forth, it was not for real. The next thing I know James comes over with all the money and threw it on the table and says`, `I got your money, I got your money, you just be out there. I'm gonna show you something tonight."

`Ladies and gentlemen´- a big fat guy - `the man you've all been waiting for...´- and they rolled my carpet out. And I say, `Sounds like they gonna introduce me just like they do James.´And I'm standing in the wings, you know, with my robe and my crown on. `James -dadedade- Brown, the new King of Soul!´ And James came on with his cape, dancing on the carpet. That was funny, man. He says, `Your job, just watch me. Watch the real king.´ And they kept trying to tell me, `Mr. Brown wants you to go out now and take your crown off and put it on him.´ I say, `Man, you´re crazy! Y'all are crazy!"

They would not let me go on. He did the whole show, and the people holler `Solomon! Solomon! Solomon!´, and he says, `Solomon Burke cannot perform because he's been decrowned!´

I never did find out what `decrowned´ meant. But it was, as I say, very amusing, and the one thing I said to James after that, I said, `James, I want to tell you something. I enjoyed watching you perform. Really great. If you got another little job for us to do tomorrow night, we'll do it. And for only $ 8.000.´