b. 4 January 1946, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, d. 17 November 2003, Ruurlo, the Netherlands. Recalled as something of a one-hit-wonder, this Otis Redding prot‚g‚ remains underrated. Conley first recorded for the Atlanta-based NRC label as Arthur And The Corvets. After signing to his mentor Otis Redding's Jotis label, further singles were leased to Volt and Stax Records before "Sweet Soul Music" (1967) hit both the US R&B and pop charts (number 2 on the latter). A thin reworking of Sam Cooke's "Yeah Man" saw the song's original lyrics amended to pay homage to several contemporary soul singers. Although "Funky Street' was a US Top 20 hit, Redding's tragic death forestalled Conley's progress. Minor successes followed throughout 1968 and 1969 before the singer switched to the Capricorn label in 1971. His debut album, 1967"s Sweet Soul Music, is a strong collection, highlighted by each of his first five singles and two Redding originals.

Listen to Arthur Conley at Finetune.

• (2005)  More Sweet Soul
• (2005)  Rhino Hi-Five: Arthur Conley

• Sweet Soul Music
• Sweet Soul Music (Single/LP Version)
• Funky Street
• Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Single/LP Version)
• Shake, Rattle & Roll

• Chris Montez
• Jewel Akens
• Peter & Gordon
• Harpers Bizarre
• Gene Pitney
• R.B. Greaves
• Petula Clark
• Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach
• The Marmalade
• Georgie Fame
• Bruce Channel
• The Seekers
• Rick Nelson
• Wayne Fontana
• Los Bravos
• Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
• The Vogues
• Kyu Sakamoto
• We Five
• The Herd

• hughley