Jimmy Hughes - Why Not Tonight? (1967)

Jimmy Hughes is an American soul singer.

Jimmy Hughes' breakthrough hit had been 1964's "Steal Away", which had also helped launch Rick Hall's Fame Studios' reputation for producing the best in southern soul. Hughes recorded more singles at Fame, all released on Vee-Jay Records, but most of them went nowhere. Vee-Jay then folded in 1966, and Hall signed a new distribution deal with Atlantic Records. With Atlantic's help Hughes returned to the charts, first with a cover of Huey Meaux's "Neighbor, Neighbor", which was a #4 R&B hit. This was actually the second version of this song he had released, as an earlier recording featured on his debut album. His next was hit was the brilliant Dan Penn / Spooner Oldham composition "I Worship The Ground You Walk On" (#25 R&B), and this was followed by James Gilreath's "Why Not Tonight" (#5 R&B).

An excellent second album came out in 1967, featuring the three recent singles, plus a few more Dan Penn tunes, three Hughes originals and a cover of Jerry Butler's "I Stand Accused".

Steal Away (1965) <|> Something Special (1969)
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Jimmy Hughes - Steal Away (1964)

Jimmy Hughes is an American soul singer.

Jimmy Hughes was born in Alabama in 1938, and as a teenager sang in a gospel group called The Singing Clouds. In 1962 he auditioned for producer Rick Hall at his FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. Hall was impressed, and they released the single "I'm Qualified", but it failed to chart, and so Hughes returned to his day job.

He returned to Hall in 1964 with his own ballad "Steal Away", and they recorded it in one take. The song was destined to be a Southern soul classic, and when Hall and Dan Penn promoted the song around radio stations in the South it rose to #17 on the national pop chart. A little masterpiece, it also represented the signature Muscle Shoals sound, and helped FAME Records get a national distribution deal with the Vee-Jay label. Hughe's next single was a cover of James Brown's "Try Me", which got to #65.

The Steal Away album followed, an excellent collection of Southern soul gems, featuring among other songs versions of the R&B standards "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" and "Stormy Monday".

|> Why Not Tonight? (1967)
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