Don Covay Special -- "It's In The Wind" Now That I Need You" and "There's Nothing A Young Girl Can Do"

I was visiting Feel It, one of my favorite blogs, yesterday which had a post about Don Covay up. All I can say is that I sure do love Don Covay's music.  And Don Covay's work has been hopelessly neglected .

For the longest time, the only song by him I knew was I Was checking Out ... Admittedly, that song deserved its fame; but after I got acquainted with more of his material, I realized how versatile this artist  actually was.

His real name is Donald Randolf. He was born  March 24, 1938 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. His father died when Don was only 8 years old. He began singing in his family's gospel group The Cherry Keys. He later joined The Rainbows, a secular group wich, it is said, included Marvin Gaye and Billy Stewart. 

Don began his solo career in 1957 as a member of the Little Richard Revue. As a singer, he had no success worth mentioning until 1964 although he was writing successful songs for Solomon Burke and Gladys Knight and The Pips, for example. 

Covay's singing career continued to falter until 1964, when he signed to the Rosemart label. His debut single there with the Goodtimers, "Mercy Mercy" (accompanied by a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar), established his earthy bluesy style. Atlantic bought his contract, but, while several R&B hits followed, it was a year before Covay returned to the pop chart. "See Saw", co-written with Steve Cropper and recorded at Stax, paved the way for more hits. Don Covay's songs still remain successful: Aretha Franklin won a Grammy for her performance of his composition "Chain of Fools". He is a legendary composer and singer, best known for his R&B classic compositions "Mercy Mercy", "Chain of Fools", "See Saw" and "Sookie Sookie". Covay had success as a singer as Don Covay and The Goodtimers, and his compositions have been recorded by such varied artists as Steppenwolf, Bobby Womack, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, The Small Faces, Grant Green, Peter Wolf and many more.  (Wiki)

In 1994, he received a well-deserved Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

So here are three  titles by Don  to give you a taste of this artist's talent. 

"It's In The Wind" 

"Now That I Need You" by Don Covay and The Goodtimers. This will be a joy for everyone who appreciates some fine harmonizing.

"Ain't Nothing A Young Girl Can Do" (I just love this song for the message ...  lol) 

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