Lou Pride

Lou Pride has a classic blues/soul voice that has found its way onto at least four solo albums, a slew of singles, and countless performances as an in-demand blues performer renowned for his electrifying stage presence and Bobby Bland ish growl to whisper to shout delivery. George Lou Pride -- born May 24, 1950 in Chicago -- grew up on the north side of the Windy City into gospel roots; he attended First Baptist Church pastored by Reverend E. J. Cole, Nat King Cole's father. But after watching a B. B. King performance with his mom, blues singing became a career goal. Nothing much happened until a two year stint singing with the Karls on service shows in Germany; upon returning home he formed a duet with a female singer who went by the initial's JLC; the pair had a Sam & Dave type act and got along so well they married and settled in El Paso, TX. It was while living in El Paso not Chi-town (a blues city) that Pride cut the acclaimed singles "I'm Coming Home in the Morning" b/w "I'm Not Thru With You" and "Your Love Is Fading" b/w "Lonely Road," on Seumi Records in the early '70s. He relocated to New Mexico and all told cut many, obscure hard to find singles while plying his trade in blues clubs and festivals. Pride's road resume include performing gigs with Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, Ko Ko Taylor, Kool & the Gang, and B. B. King. Other 1970s' singles include: "Look Out on Love," "We're Only Fooling Ourselves," "You've Got to Work for Love," and "Been Such a Long Time." He cut his first album, Very Special, in 1979 while living in Albuquerque, NM, for Black Gold Records. It spawned 45s and even a 12" single (an oddity for a blues performer) and kept Pride out there burning rubber. A second Black Gold album, Gone Bad for a Very Special Reason that dropped in 1988,...