THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,028) O.V. Wright — “Eight Men, Four Women”
From a “truly incendiary deep soul performer” (Bill Dahl, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ov-wright-mn0000457807/biography) (see #71, 274, 773), comes a timeless ’67 A-side that reached #80 (#4 on the R&B chart). Ray Ellis tells us that “[a] ‘jury of love’ theme comprising O.V.’s tortured vocals, sparse accompaniment from what was to become the core of the ‘Hi’ house band featuring a dominant guitar figure courtesy of Mabon ‘Teenie’ Hodges and pleading femme back-ups from [Donna] Rhodes-[Charlie] Chalmers-[Sandra] Rhodes [Al Green’s back-up singers] places this firmly in the ‘classic’ category.” (liner notes to the CD comp O.V. Wright: Giant of Southern Soul 1965-1975)
A few quotes get right to the core of Wright:
- Al Green producer Willie Mitchell (see #181, 551) proclaimed that “When you gave O.V. Wright a song, the song belonged to him. Nobody would do it that way again. In fact, I think O.V. Wright was the greatest blues artist I’ve ever produced.” (liner notes to the CD comp O.V. Wright: Giant of Southern Soul 1965-1975)
- Bill Bentley writes that “[t]he staff writers for Back Beat would marry the pain of the blues with the uplifting joy of religious music for an intensity bordering on the fearful. Wright’s blend of heaven and earth would prove to be the ultimate complement for this soul synthesis over and over again. . . . ‘Eight Men, Four Women[]’ . . . cement[ed] that connection.” (liner notes to the CD comp The Soul of O.V. Wright)
- And Bluesman Mark writes:
[H]as a singer ever sounded so desolate, so lost, so obsessed with sadness as [O.V. Wright] always did? . . . [H]is songs were often largely tailored to his unique style of “eloquent desolation” . . . . [Wright] always sounded like a man on the edge in songs like . . . “Eight Men, Four Women”, & he could wring pathos from every line he sung. And don’t take “eloquent” as meaning he sounded sophisticated. OV was as “country” sounding as any southern soul singer ever got. The eloquence comes from how he phrased the songs, how he found the potential of inherent sadness in any song. OV always sang like he was staring into a vast, cold void. . . . If you haven’t experienced OV Wright’s music, I suggest that you do so. Just make sure you’ve got some good whiskey handy.
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-eloquent-desolation-of-o-v-wright.857285/
Bill Dahl gives us a little history:
O. V. Wright’s melismatic vocals and Willie Mitchell’s vaunted Hi Rhythm Section combined to make classic Memphis soul during the early ’70s. Overton Vertis Wright learned his trade on the gospel circuit with the Sunset Travelers before going secular in 1964 with the passionate ballad “That’s How Strong My Love Is” . . . . Otis Redding liked the song so much that he covered it, killing any chance of Wright’s version hitting. . . . [I]t took Memphis producer . . . Mitchell to wring the best consistently from Wright. Utilizing [his] surging house rhythm section, Wright’s early-’70s Backbeat singles “Ace of Spades,” “A Nickel and a Nail,” and “I Can’t Take It” rank among the very best Southern soul of their era. No disco bandwagon for O. V. Wright — he kept right on pouring out his emotions through the ’70s . . . . [He] died at only 41 years of age in 1980.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ov-wright-mn0000457807/biography
Here is O.V. live at Westville Prison:
Here is another live version:
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