Joe Simon (1936-2021) American Musician

Joe Simon American Musician (1936-2021)

American soul and R&B musician. He was one of the most unique voices of soul music in the 1960s and 70s and later became a minister and Gospel singer. He charted 51 U.S. Pop and R&B chart hits between 1964 and 1981, eight times in the US top forty, thirty-eight times in the top 40 of the US R&B charts, and 13 chart hits in Canada.

Beginning with his release of “Teenager’s Prayer” when he was just 23, he recorded a string of R&B hits, many of which crossed over to the pop charts. 1969 “The Chokin’ Kind” became an across-the-board smash and won him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Performance. He had a #3 R&B hit in 1971 with “Drowning in the Sea of Love” and a #1 R&B hit in the summer of 1972 with “Power of Love”.

Both songs reached #11 on the Hot 100. His music has been sampled by many artist, including OutKast and Lil Wayne. He wrote and produced the theme tune for the film, Cleopatra Jones in 1973. In 1999, he was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.