User:Sirshambling

GEORGE SOULÉ – MUSICIAN

George Soulé (born November 12th 1945 ) is a drummer, singer, record producer, studio engineer and writer, whose songs have been recorded by some of the biggest names in soul music. He is not to be confused with his ancestor George Soulé, who was a signatory of the Mayflower compact, or his grandfather, also called George Soulé who founded the Soulé Steam Feed Works in Meridian. Mississippi, US.

Biography
George Soulé (pronounced “Soo-lay”) was born in Meridian, MS and showed musical talent at an early age. He became a DJ at the local WOKK radio station as a teenager and recorded his first discs for Carol Rachou’s La Louisianne and Tamm labels in the mid 60s. He started plugging his songs, often written with his friend Paul Davis, to music publishers in Memphis and Nashville, before joining the Malaco Records studio as a writer and producer very shortly after it was constructed. His greatest artistic successes from this period were the songs he wrote and co-produced for local singer Eddie Houston, whom he introduced to Malaco after meeting him at the family’s steam works.

In 1969 Soulé joined the recently opened Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, AL as a song writer and singer. With Don Covay he wrote “Shoes” which reached No 16 in the Billboard R & B charts when recorded by Brook Benton. Geroge cut his own version as “George Glenn” for Great Western. He also wrote “I’ll Be Your Everything” for Percy Sledge, which reached no 15 in the same chart. As a singer he recorded for Tetragrammaton and Bell Records at this time.

But his most productive writing partnership was with Terry Woodford, who was contracted to Muscle Shoals Sound Publishing. Among their best songs were “How Many Times” recorded by Mavis Staples, “What I Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Me” (William Bell), “Catch Me I’m Fallin’” (Esther Phillips), “After The Feeling Is Gone” (Lulu), and “We’re Into Something Good” (Roy Orbison). “Can’t Stop A Man In Love” was recorded by the Temptations, Bobby Womack and by Carl Carlton. A CD of his song demos from this period entitled “Let Me Be A Man” has been released in 2011 by Soulscape Records.

During this time George played drums on recording sessions produced by Swamp Dogg for artists like Brook’s O’Dell and ZZ Hill, as well as sessions for other artists such as Ernie Shelby. He was also in demand as a demo singer for other writers and backup vocalist. In 1972 he sang on a demo by Memphis writer George Jackson called “Get Involved” originally written for Wilson Pickett. Fame owner Rick Hall liked Soulé‘s version so much he recorded George for his own label and the song reached no 35 in Billboard’s R & B chart the following year. Follow up singles on Fame and United Artists didn’t fare so well.

In 1975 George Soulé joined the Music Mill organisation in Muscle Shoals, writing songs for Arthur Alexander among others and operating the studio’s recording process as engineer. He received Country Music’s song of the year for his engineering and mixing of Narvel Felt’s hit “Reconsider Me”.

George Soulé left music as a fulltime occupation in the late 70s, to work in the family iron smelting business. Returning to Muscle Shoals in 1987 he worked as a an announcer on WQLT FM radio for a couple of years. During his time in Alabama he continued to write songs, often with the late Ava Aldridge or Eddie Struzick, contributing “Poor Boy Blue” for Johnnie Taylor and “A Woman Without Love” for Dorothy Moore, both on the Malaco label. He also recorded a duet with Aldridge released on MCA. In 1996 Soulé was back in Mississippi working at a casino.

In 2004 he was part of the newly formed Country Soul Revue who recorded a CD entitled “Testyfing” for Casual Records and performed with other members of the Revue on stage a year later at London, England’s Barbican Theatre in a highly acclaimed return to performing for the first time in 20 years. He followed this with the first CD in his own name “Take A Ride” for Zane Records which included both new material and also his own interpretations of songs he had written in the 1970s.

George Soulé now resides in Meridian, MS

External References

 * Interview
 * Take A Ride CD
 * Let Me Be A Man CD
 * Shindig appearance
 * Quinvy Studio musicians