DON BRYANT
(4CD)
Bryant was the middle of ten children. He began singing in church at age
5. He soon joined his father’s family vocal group and would eventually
form a gospel quartet for a high school radio show, finding success
singing secular pop songs on Dick “Cane” Cole’s popular WLOK show. The
quartet, performing as The Four Kings, would part with Cole to become the
front band for Willie Mitchell, with Bryant as the leading man.
In 1960, the still teenage Bryant was offered a shot at songwriting,
penning “I Got To Know” for The 5 Royales. He wrote material for other
artists at Hi Records while continuing to record with The Four Kings and
as a solo artist, resulting in a 1969 solo album. However, with the
success of Al Green, Otis Clay, and other vocalists at Hi, Bryant’s
singing career took a backseat to writing, joining Earl Randle, Dan
Greer, and Darryl Carter as Hi’s top staff writers. Bryant is credited
on as many as 154 titles.
By 1970, Willie Mitchell had begun to pair Bryant with his newest act, a
young Ann Peebles, for whom he wrote “99 Pounds” and “Do I Need You.”
The pair co-wrote the Top 40 hit "I Can't Stand the Rain" in 1973, and
would be married the following year. Bryant spent much of the subsequent
decade writing and opening for Peebles, with his final Hi single coming
in 1981, a duet with his wife called “Mon Belle-Amour.”
Bryant focused mainly on gospel albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s,
and ultimately stopped performing altogether outside of church services.
Following a conversation between producer Scott Bomar and former Hi
Records drummer Howard Grimes, Bryant was invited to perform as a
vocalist with Memphis-based soul homage outfit The Bo-Keys. After some
convincing from Grimes, Bryant accepted and, within a few months, found
the inspiration to return to the studio. Bryant and The Bo-Keys recorded
Don’t Give Up on Love in the fall of 2016, which was released on the Fat
Possum label in 2017. The album features an array of Bryant’s past
triumphs as well as new material. (Wikipedia)