Kip Anderson - Letter From My Darling
I meant to play something appropriate for Veterans Day but, in the euphoria that was "Friday Fiesta" I overlooked it. Hopefully today's selection will remedy that.
Kip Anderson's intense vocals graced a number of 45s for Vee Jay, Tomorrow, Checker, ABC and Excello. Among soul collectors all of his releases are prized, with "I Went Off and Cried" (Excello) being the best-recognized (the song's ad-libbed line "say it one more time for the brokenhearted" was used as the title of Barney Hoskyn's excellent book on Southern Soul). That song, as well as today's selection and several others, are showcased in Volumes 1 and 2 of the Ace/AVI "The Heart of Southern Soul" series (all three cover the Southern Soul end of the Excello/A-Bet catalogue and are worth purchasing; I think all of them are out of print, but at Dusty Groove America sometimes Vol. 1 or 2 is on sale).
"Letter From My Darling" is one of those songs that grabs the listener right away with it's strong gospel feel. Kip adds to the atmosphere with his piano playing and monologue. The song proper builds up nicely and by the end, Kip's strong vocal and the horns leave you feeling pretty drained.
For more information about this rare Southern Soul legend, click here for a great story on Kip and also make sure to check out Kip's website for information about more recent projects.
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