I LOVE THIS OLDIE BUT GOODY AND HAVE ONLY HEARD IT ON THE RADIO. I DECIDED TO GOOGLE IT AND LOW AND BEHOLD!!! HE'S WHITE AND HE HAS A PONYTAIL MULLET! STILL ONE OF THE BEST R&B SLOW JAMS. TUGS AT THE HEART A LIL BIT.

DesireeNevermind said:

You should've saw how he looked when he first made "What You Won't Do":



(this was around 1980, but you get the picture)

WWWOOOOWWWWW!!!!! his voice is awesome too

DesireeNevermind said:

It is. He does a fine falsetto too.

What's color got to do with Soul?

IAintTheOne said:

Not a got damn thing.

Timmy84 said:

I know that's right

I like some Bobby Caldwell, though his albums tend to be samey laidback sorta AOR (with hints of jazz maybe?). Japanese eat that stuff up though.

His version of "next time I fall in love" is much preferred then the Peter Cetera/Amy Grant version. And I like that version aswell.

He got around in the 80's though. He co-wrote some nice stuff for Neil Diamond, Chicago, Glenn Medeiros, Bozz Skaggs etc...

um, i beg to differ. in some instances and on some songs, color has a lot to do with sould because many a soul song is about suffering of the racial kind. Take

Otis Redding's sitting at the dock of the bay

or

Stevie Wonder's Wish

or

India Aire's I am not my hair


Other soulful but not soul songs that relate to a certain people


Cherokee Nation by Paul Revere and the Raiders

DesireeNevermind said:

your post is vague and hazy, and totally missing the point.

IAintTheOne said:

And your post wasn't equally vague? Nope scratch that. Your post was clear. By your post, I gather that you are probably one of those people that don't believe music has meaning other than how it makes you feel.

I'm saying that no matter how good a white person sounds singing what can be called traditionally black music aka soul music, it's still black music and therefore color does matter when it comes to soul. Many a sould song was born out of what some might call the Black Experience. I'm not saying all soul music is like this but I would never discout color and culture as it pertains to soul music.

Anybody can immitate another. Like I said, I thought he was black by his voice alone. Now if a black artist would have sung that song....it would probably have a different and more powerful sound. You think a white person can sing those songs I mentioned above and be taken seriously? How is that for vague and hazy.

Love him!!! He's coming to San Francisco next week for a stint at the Rrazz Room at the Hotel Nikko from 11th-14th. He'll be in NY on July 15th and a handful of shows back in CA.

DesireeNevermind said:

um, wait, the top 2 you mentioned don't have anything to do with race, they're pretty universal actually.

or was that your point?

I thought he was black too just by the sound of his voice. I have always LOVED this jam and I still do.

Timmy84 said:

I would have sworn he was black, this is my first time seeing a picture of him. Wow, now I have to add this song to my 'Blue Eyed Soul' Playlist. .

Shoot I thought Duck Dunn was Black. Oh well, you learn something new everyday.

Does anyone know the name of that red headed guy who sang a song w/ the hook "never gonna let you go, never gonna give you up"? It was late 80s and I think most folks thought he was Black, until the video!

brooksie said:

Rick Astley

SoulAlive thanks. That's exactly who it was. Gotta add him to my "to get" list, but his name eluded me.

SoulAlive said:

Although he wasn't a red-head, more mousey brown. Rick Astley did sing Never Gonna Give You Up but maybe you are getting him muddled up with Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) as the red-head

He sure can sing no matter what color he is.

color has nothing to do with soul or skill, but I must admit I didn't know he was white either

I love this song

Back to the MUSIC (as in Music: Non-Prince), a rearranged version from his...



...Timeline: The Anthology Part 1 release.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

- He had me for a loop too

Back in 1979 when "What You Won't Do For Love" came out,I also thought he was black...until I saw him on 'American Bandstand'.I was surprised.

DesireeNevermind said:

This song is so old. It is one of my favourite songs, yea I was surprise he was white. I think some of the rationale that someone sounds white or black depends on the type of music being played rather than the actual voice. If I never knew who Jimi Hendrix was and heard him on the radio for the first time I would assume he was white because of the kind of music he played.
[Edited 6/5/09 10:55am]

I, too, assumed he was Black just from the sound. I'd never seen this dude before

I love this song!I heard it on Sirius radio the other day. I too had no idea what he looked like.

Teena Marie is the blackest white person I've seen. I'd take her much more seriously singing something black than Shitney Houston.

NONE of you guys knew Bobby Caldwell was white? lol ...

whatsgoingon said:

That would be retarded.