{"title":"Joe Simon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoe Simon (born 7 September 1936, Simmesport, Louisiana, USA – died 13 December 2021) was an American soul and R\u0026amp;B singer, record producer, and songwriter. He began his professional career in Oakland, California with the release of \"My Adorable One\" in 1962. Joe met a Nashville-based disc jockey who guided his musical path and helped him find success on the R\u0026amp;B charts. His smooth delivery and poignant songs like \"Teenager's Prayer\" and \"The Chokin' Kind\" solidified his place in the industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early '70s, Joe moved to a new label where he continued to have hits with songs like \"Drowning In The Sea Of Love\" and \"Step By Step.\" However, as disco gained popularity in the late '70s, Joe shifted towards dance music which received mixed reviews. In 1980, he returned to Nashville and focused on local labels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the '80s, Joe made a return to country soul when he joined another label. He later signed with a different label in the mid-1980s. After losing his longtime collaborator Richbourg, Joe turned away from secular music and became an evangelist preacher devoted to Christianity.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"nine-pound-steel-the-best-of-joe-simon","title":"Nine Pound Steel - The Best Of Joe Simon","description":"\u003cp\u003e3 CDs\/ 61 Tracks: Call Joe Simon the reluctant soul star - despite his mountain of hits during the 1960s and '70s, his heart just wasn't into his work, aural evidence obviously to the contrary. You'd never know it from listening to the contents of this collection, culled from his fabulous hit-loaded 1966-1970 stint with Producer Richbourg at the helm for Sound Stage 7 Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis conviction sounds unshakable. Maybe that's a large part of the reason why Simon scored 16 R\u0026amp;B chart entries during that timeframe for SS7, including a #1 seller. 'I never wanted to sing rhythm and blues,' said Simon, who until his untimely death in December 2021, was a bishop and leader of his own ministries in south suburban Chicago. 'My heart was never in it, but yet I could sing rhythm and blues. John Richbourg was my producer. And he used to ask me, how could I sing these songs so great and never knew 'em? But I never had an interest to go in the studio and know a song. I just said, 'Man, I just sing 'em!' Sunset Blvd Records is proud to present the most comprehensive collection of Joe Simon's extraordinary work with Nashville Soul Label Sound stage 7.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sunset Blvd","offers":[{"title":"CD | x3","offer_id":50476109070667,"sku":"1148563","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d8d8996b-4e23-4936-9556-87cdae2d2d24_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727454326"},{"product_id":"two-sides-of-joe-simon","title":"Two Sides Of Joe Simon","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwo Sides Of Joe Simon takes us back to his 1960s career with John Richbourgs Sound Stage 7 label. He was Richbourgs most successful artist with no less than fifteen hit singles to his credit between 1966 and 1977. These included the million-selling The Chokin Kind (side two, track two) a No.1 hit record on the US Billboard R\u0026amp;B Chart, (#13 Hot 100). All of them were Nashville recordings, and mostly reflected a Southern Soul style which brushed up against Country Music on occasion. Simons later disco hits for the New York based Spring label have, over the years, erased his earlier style from popular memory. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn presenting this selection of Joe Simons hits, ballads, and even a certain amount of funk, we seek to readdress the balance and spotlight his status as a leading exponent of Sixties Soul. Side One shines the light on several up-tempo tracks that form a body of work recognized, particularly in the U.K., as Northern Soul. These have been largely ignored in the past and prove that Joe Simon could point to the dance floor years before his disco heyday! Taken as a whole, Two Sides Of Joe Simon reveals him to be a supreme talent with a fabulously soulful recording history hewn from the County capital of the world, Nashville, Tennessee!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charly","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50526623433035,"sku":"1094352","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2f361931-8ee3-4e2b-8401-a4ad79d986c5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728046034"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_a7a4c5c8_thumbnail_4096_7cff0885-8bf5-408e-ab6c-7800bef7ddb5.jpg?v=1727454306","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/joe-simon.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}