Blood Of An American
Everyone Should Have His Day
Few records that I've found over the years have inspired as much awe, curiousity and frustration on my part as this sublimely beautiful and utterly obscure folk-soul 45 from the Bronx.
The awe part is self-explanatory, or at least should be after you've listened to the mp3s and assuming your musical tastes are somewhat in sync with my own. The curiousity and frustration stem from not being able to place Bobby Wright's musical contribution in a fuller, more meaningful context. In other words, who was/is this guy, did he ever issue any other recordings, and is there unreleased material existing somewhere in a dark corner of this earthly plane.
If so, it absolutely needs to see the light of day, so here's to hoping anyone with some knowledge to share reads this blog and is kind enough to contact me (either by posting on the blog or via email at kidinquisitive@gmail.com). I know some people who run great record labels who would almost assuredly be interested in reissuing this music. For now I thought I'd share these sounds with the very tiny sliver of humanity that reads soulpersuasion.blogspot. Also, if anyone has a clean copy of this 45 to spare (I know, fat chance), I would love to be able to upgrade my copy someday.
My guess would be that this came out sometime in the early to mid-1970s. There's a little BMI stamp on the label but researching their database yielded nothing. And the trail pretty much ends there, as far as I know. I live in California so poking around the Bronx in search of clues has not been feasible, and anyway the trail is probably pretty cold by now.
I've been meaning to write something about this record for a long while, and finally decided to do so after sitting down today with my brand new copy of Willie Wright's Telling The Truth LP, expertly researched and reissued by the Numero Group record label. Besides sharing a last name, Bobby and Willie's music are similar enough in style and temperament that drawing a connection between the two seemed somewhat obvious. You can hear snippets of Willie Wright's music at the Numero Website.
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11 comments:
Wow - amazing stuff - many thanks
That is 2 nice tunes,have you tried Soul Source a pretty awesome brains trust on there.Good luck with your search. Steve
this is beautiful. so soft
That is excellent. Thanks.
People who enjoyed Willie Wright's music, either in the old days, or recently because of the Numero re-issue may be interested to know that, t age 73, coping with advanced Parkinson's, Willie Wright emerged from retirement to record his first studio album since 1978. The new album, "This is Not a Dream," was made with lifelong friendsand musical collaborators in Burlington, Vermont and released April 24, 2012. His website has all info and links to a MySpace page on which the songs can be heard in their entirety www.williewrightmusic.com
Hi,
I'm writing to let you know that Willie Wright, whose 1978 classic LP "Telling the Truth" was re-issued by Chicago re-issue label Numero Group last year, has made a brand new album called “This is Not a Dream.” You can hear all the new tunes here: http://www.myspace.com/willie_wright and can buy the album directly from the artist at
The re-issue got very positive response from soul fans and new listeners; "Good Morning America" featured one of the tunes ("I'm So Happy") from it on May 7, 2011, and the first pressing sold out in a matter of weeks. All of this is what has inspired Willie to ease temporarily out of retirement, assemble a new band with some old friends in Burlington, Vermont, and craft his first studio album in 34 years.
He is now 73 and copes with advanced Parkinson's, but can still make arrestingly beautiful music with thoughtful lyrics. His "smooth as warm butter" voice is still powerful, even though at the same time, it reveals a more fragile and emotional side than in his early career. This new record was released by Green Coil Records in Burlington, Vermont on April 24, 2012.
Given that he is not able to gig or tour in support of the album, we are depending on reviews and word of mouth to promote it - please give a listen and let us know what you think!
Thank you
Bob Green
Green Coil Records
Burlington, Vermont, USA
Peace and blessings. This song IS AMAZING and fortunately, I do know the Artist. He just happens to be my ex. I'm sure he'd be thrilled if you gave this song air play. It certainly need to be heard. I just wish it had been heard before now. But hey, better late than never.
Hi! Thanks so much for posting your comment. I would love to get in touch with Bobby Wright to talk about his music. If you wouldn't mind passing this along to him, my email is kidinquisitive@gmail.com. Thanks!
just seeing this Soul Persuasion. I'll gladly pass this information on to him. You should know that this man has been featured in many magazines for his gardening abilities. He's the coordinator of Taqwa Community Farm in the High Bridge Section of the Bronx. He's a community appointed sociologist here. I'll inform him of your interest. He'll be contacting you soon.
Probably the best song I've heard, ever.
gotta thank you for showing me this tune in 2011. Great floating points reissued it. This is a song I've come back to time after time
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