Friday, May 3, 2013

The Soul Corner - "What A Man" Linda Lyndell

We promised we would bring back the Soul Corner on occasion and here's our first one of 2013.

What triggered this is the fine current Australian film The Sapphires that features a terrific rendition of "What A Man", which sent me back looking for the 1968 Stax Records Linda Lyndell original, produced by Isaac Hayes:


All I can say is what a jam, what a jam, what a mighty good soul jam!

But until researching this today, I did not know that Linda Lyndell was white, endured all kinds of death threats from the KKK and others, and never performed the song live until 2003 at a Stax Records anniversary event. Did you know that there was a white girl from Gainesville, Florida who could hold her own with the best soul singers of the late '60's?

And here's the Sapphires film version:


Many of you may know the song from being the basis of the Salt-N-Pepa remake "Whatta Man" from 1993:


 

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