The R&B Vet and chart-topping writer of the Buckinghams’ “Kind of a Drag” and other classic hits salutes the Chicago style of Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance, and Gene Chandler.
After four decades out of the music limelight, singer-songwriter-guitarist James Holvay makes his return with a vital five-song slab of authentic Chicago-style soul music, Sweet Soul Song on his Mob Town Records imprint and set for release on April 16, 2021.
The collection is a vibrant tip of the hat to the music Holvay witnessed and then played in during its 1960s flowering, when such hometown stars — all saluted on its title track — as Curtis Mayfield (lead singer-guitarist-songwriter of the Impressions),Major Lance (whose “The Monkey Time” was one of several smashes penned by Mayfield), and Gene Chandler (nationally known for “The Duke of Earl”) ruled the R&B roost in America.
The Holvay originals on Sweet Soul Song, which range from up-tempo stompers like “Working On It” and “Talking About” to the lush, horn- and string-decorated ballad “Still the Fool,” recall the glory days of Windy City soul, an era that Holvay was able to experience first-hand as an aspiring adolescent guitarist and songwriter.