ADVERTISEMENT

Solomon Burke Dies at Age 70

Posted on Oct 10th 2010 12:50PM by Amanda Hensel
Comments

Solomon-BurkePaul Archuleta, FilmMagic

Solomon Burke died this morning on a plane at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Holland. The legendary soul singer was 70 years old.

Burke was born March 21, 1940 in a Philadelphia church, and "From day one, literally God and gospel were the driving forces behind the man and his music," his biography says. Solomon Burke made an impact at Atlantic Records in the 1960s with a decade of hits -- the most notable being 'Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,' which was featured in the movie 'The Blues Brothers,' and 'Cry to Me,' from Dirty Dancing. Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and won a Grammy for 'Don't Give Up on Me' -- the Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2002.

A statement from the singer's family on his website says that Solomon Burke passed from natural causes while in route to a sold out show with Dutch band De Dijk. The statement continues: "Although our hearts and lives will never be the same, his love, life and music will continue to live within us forever."


Watch Solomon Burke's moving performance of 'Don't Give Up on Me' after the jump.


All the AOL Music info you want to know

More News From The Pit: Ozzy Osbourne…

Noisecreep

Theo Wargo, Getty Images - Ozzy Osbourne fails to recall a rather hazy period of…

Chris Brown Brings Aaliyah Back for…

The Boombox

Jason Merritt, Getty Images For several weeks now, there has been talk regarding…

Farewell 2 Fear Rock Up Cover of…

Noisecreep

Photo Credit: Zach Thomas Check your pre-conceived notions at the door,…

News Roundup - Carrie Underwood and…

The Boot

Rick Diamond, Getty Images Still hungry for even more country music news? Check…

See all AOL Music »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum
ADVERTISEMENT


Follow AOL Music on Tumblr

AROUND THE WEB

Free Mobile Music

CATEGORIES





Also on AOL

Your Settings

{email}

Subscriptions

Weekly Newsletter

AOL Music Blog news in your mailbox. Top Articles, reviews, photos & more.

Realtime alerts

Daily alerts


Update
Cancel