Arthur Prysock born 2 January 1929

Arthur Prysock (2 January 1929 – 7 June 1997) was an American jazz singer best known for his live shows. He was perfectly at home singing jazz, blues, or R&B, but his smooth-as-silk baritone made him a superbly effective (and underappreciated) pop crooner in the manner of his chief influence, Billy Eckstine. 

Prysock was born January 2, 1929, in Spartanburg, SC, and was the brother of saxophonist Red Prysock. As a teenager, he moved to Hartford, CT, where he worked in the aviation industry and sang with several small bands by night. He was discovered in 1944 by jump blues bandleader Buddy Johnson, who signed him as lead male vocalist and brought him to Harlem.

Prysock sang on a number of Johnson's hits for the Decca label ("Jet My Love", 1947 and "I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone", 1948) and later on Mercury Records ("Because", 1950) before going solo in 1952 to tour the chitlin circuit (sometimes with his brother). He quickly landed an R&B hit with "I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night," and recorded R&B classics like Roy Brown’s "Good Rocking Tonight". Subsequently he made his name among black audiences as an emotive balladeer.  

During the '50s, Prysock recorded for several smaller labels, but his popularity in concert gradually gained him more exposure. He began a long relationship with the Old Town label, scoring R&B hits with "I Worry 'Bout You" and a R&B cover of Ray Noble’s ballad "The Very Thought of You" (1960) and a pop hit "It’s Too Late Baby, It’s Too Late" (1965) 

For Verve Records he recorded "Arthur Prysock & Count Basie" (12, 13, 14, 20 and 21 December 1965, at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey), and "A Working Man’s Prayer" (1968). 

Prysock performed at Carnegie Hall in 1966, and hosted his own TV show for a short time. By the end of the '60s, Prysock had returned to Old Town, where he recorded several albums while touring the club circuit. He had an unexpected disco hit in 1976 with "When Love Is New," but otherwise remained largely out of sight.

Prysock returned to active recording in 1985 with the well-received A Rockin' Good Way album on Milestone, and also sang a well-known jingle for Lowenbrau beer. Two more albums for Milestone followed, 1986's This Guy's in Love With You and 1987's Today's Love Songs, Tomorrow's Blues, before Prysock receded from the limelight again although he received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1995. 

Prysock, who toured internationally for nearly 40 years, stopped in Bermuda almost every year in the 1960s end '70s before he retired there in the mid 90s. He died on June 21, 1997 in Hamilton, Bermuda after suffering an aneurysm. He was 73.  

Arthur has left a legacy of around 500 recordings. Very few have been released on CD - nothing in the UK - and those that have are usually on compilation albums. They are waiting to be rediscovered.  (Info edited from Wikipedia & AMG)

Here's Arthur on American Bandstand. December 12, 1964