Don Wilson Varner (25 June 1943 – 7 October 2002) was an American soul singer. If you're a connoisseur of Northern Soul you'll recognise Don's name. Don's husky baritone sang a soulful storm on the Muscle Shoals floor-filler "Tear Stained Face".
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Varner grew up in the same neighborhood as Eddie Kendricks co-founder of The Temptations. Varner starting singing in high school and relocated to Chicago after graduation to pursue his music career; he found work in clubs but recording opportunities didn't come his way, and after six years, he returned South because of all the hoopla taking place in Muscle Shoals, AL, home of Rick Hall's Fame Records, who was scorching the charts with recordings by artists like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Candi Staton, and others.
He befriended Jerry Wexler, Franklin's producer, and got the opportunity to write (with William Crump) "I Keep Holdin' On" for Sam & Dave. Varner worked extensively with Quinn Ivy at Ivy's Sheffield, AL, studios, recording productions by the late Eddie Hinton: "Masquerade," "Down in Texas," and "Tear Stained Face," released on Ivy's South Camp Records (distributed by Atco/Atlantic) in the late '60s.
Most of his recording projects never got out the studio, but he kept busy during live shows in the South with some of soul's major artists. He moved to California in the mid-'80s and embarked on an extensive tour as the lead singer of the Johnny Otis Show. He toured numerous European music festivals in 1985.
Varner settled in Moreno Valley, CA, in the late '80s with his wife Francine and began recording and publishing gospel music for Retour Records and Ceevee and Gospel Truth publishing companies; the couple also ran a concert promotion business. He died in Moreno Valley, California in 2002 of a heart attack at the age of 59.
An album of his music entitled Finally Go Over! was released posthumously.
(Edited from Wikipedia)
For “Don Varner – Finally Got Over ! Deep Soul From The Classic Era (RPM / Shout 2005)” go here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.upload.ee/files/13263503/Don_Varner_-_Deep_Soul.rar.html
1. More Power to Ya (2:35)
2. Handshakin' (2:41)
3. Mojo Mama (2:40)
4. Down in Texas (3:03)
5. Here Come My Tears Again (2:19)
6. Masquerade (2:52)
7. Home for the Summer (2:48)
8. I Finally Got Over (2:34)
9. The Sweetest Story (2:44)
10. I'm Still in Love with You (2:24)
11. One Woman Man (2:29)
12. Power of Love (2:59)
13. You Left the Water Running (2:02)
14. I Can If You Can (2:57)
15. That's All Right (2:26)
16. Tear Stained Face (2:27)
17. Meet Me in Church (3:05)
18. He Kept on Talking (3:30)
19. I'd Like to Be (3:38)
20. "Keep on Doing What You're Doing" (3:36)
21. When It's Over (2:11)
22. Laying in the Gap (3:41)
23. You Poured Water on a Drowning Man (2:26)
This excellent comp brings together all of Don’s solo singles, along with a heap of previously unreleased material, all recorded between 1965 and 1974 – most of it in Muscle Shoals. A big thank you goes to FunkMySoul blog for the loan of this CD.
1965 (tracks 5 & 8) 1967 (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16) 1969 (tracks 1 & 2)
1971 (tracks 14 & 15) 1983 (tracks 19 & 20) 2001 (tracks 22 & 23)
Previously unreleased (tracks 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 21)
Cherry Red records re-issued the above album in 2015 but with only 22 tracks.
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ReplyDeletea true Soul Man. Thanks for a great collection.
ReplyDeleteLovin' this - thanks
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