Original version

BBC Four

BBC 4

Paul Spencer

Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody

Documentaries

Factual: Life Stories

Music: Soul & Reggae: Soul

BBC Four logo

31/03/2006

BBC Four - Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody

Documentary tracing the life of the late, great soul singer, Solomon Burke.

Documentary tracing the late, great soul singer Solomon Burke's journey from his humble Philadelphia roots to New York, Hollywood and the music industry's highest accolades.

Fifty years after his first record - Christmas Presents from Heaven, a song dedicated to his grandmother - sold a million copies, the late soul singer Solomon Burke's life story reads like the rollercoaster ride she predicted for him.

He was the 'wonder boy preacher' who had his own gospel radio show at the age of twelve, then had his early success blighted by a crooked manager -  a descent that left him in the gutter, with a distrust of the music business that would never completely leave him. 

A spell working for his aunt's funeral home, his unlikely qualification as a licensed mortician and his seduction back into recording by the promise of a red Lincoln Continental followed. Then came a record deal on Atlantic Records alongside his heroes Ivory Joe Hunter, Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown, making hit records, only to have his business venture with label mates Wilson Pickett and Joe Tex sabotaged by the very record company he had helped keep afloat.

Paul Spencer's film follows his journey from a humble Philadelphia neighborhood to New York and Hollywood, and the music industry's highest accolades - induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy for his 2002 album Don't Give Up on Me. His music is traced back to its gospel roots and we learn how faith in God sustained him, his 21 children, 79 grandchildren and 17 great grand children, the family he thought he would never have.

Bill Wyman tells how the Rolling Stones covered three of his songs in their formative years, Tom Jones admits that, for him, Solomon left all the other soul singers in the shade, and Jools Holland explains how his powerful voice and magisterial presence guaranteed him appearances on Later and one of Jools's own records.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Solomon Burke: Everybody Needs Somebody

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC Four

About BBC Four