Calvin Scott -- "I've Made A Reservation"

A couple years ago, I was posting a series of songs by singers with creamy, soft and velvety voices. Included were Brenton Wood, Eddie LeVert, Percy Sledge and other singers with unforgettably warm voices.
When I listened to Calvin Scott the other day, I was reminded of these posts and how much fun it was to find images to match the texture of the voices. Joe Simon's voice, for example, reminded me of whipped cream. Calvin Scott's voice reminds me of creme brulee. It's soft and smooth qualities lie hidden under a crunchy surface ... almost as if he was trying to hide them.

What do you think?

Before Calvin Scott went solo, he had partnered with Clarence Carter. In the early sixties, the duo Clarence and Calvin, released several 45's of which the ballad “Step by Step” seems to be the best known. (Sorry can't find it.) I only have  "I Don't Know" and "Somebody Better Get Here Quick" on file. I like the latter one better, so I post it here. It was the B-side of I Like It" released in 1963 on the Duke label.

"Somebody Better Get Here Quick," Clarence and Calvin

The two met at the school for the blind they attended. Calvin played piano since he was 5 years old. By the time he met Clarence Carter he played several instruments and was a member of the school band. They formed a band of their own and played together until Calvin got seriously injured in an accident on the way home from a show. He sued Clarence Carter for assisting him to pay the medical bills he had incurred following the accident. Well -- and that was the end of the duo.

Once recovered, formed his own band and between 1968 and 1969 recorded four singles for Atlantic Records. In 1971, he signed with Stax where he released his only full-length album "I’m Not Blind, I Just Can’t See." Today's pick is from this album. 

Discouraged by the lack of promotion for the attendant singles “Shame on the Family Name” and “A Sadness for Things,” Scott quit the music business and returned to Alabama, where he took a job with the state government and continued to perform on a local basis. Scott’s son, Calvin Scott Jr., went on to become a smooth jazz saxophonist. (allmusic.com)

"I've Made A Reservation" Calvin Scott