Joe Simon - Drowning in the sea of love 1972

Another B.'s link, and another one from Joe Simon. Enjoy. There's an old saying "You can take a person out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the person." Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff surrounded Joe Simon with M.F.S.B., hot songs, and Bobby Martin's arrangements, and Simon still comes off sounding country, but in a positive vein. "Drowning in the Sea of Love" shot up the charts, settling at number three R&B and number 11 pop, and was a certified million-seller. This album is the most successful of Simon's career. "Pool of Bad Luck" nearly duplicated the success of "Drowning"; both songs were similar to productions Gamble & Huff were doing with Jerry Butler. Simon's thick Southern drawl didn't discourage record buyers at all; "I Found My Dad" is the most country-based song on the album, with the same flavor as his past R&B number one hit "The Choking Kind." The ballads are as effective as the up-tempo numbers; "If" and a remake of the Stylistics' "You Are Everything" demonstrate Simon's versatility. Though an unusual marriage at first glance (similar to when Holland-Dozier-Holland announced they were going to produce Junior Walker), it worked extremely well, producing some of the best songs of Simon's career. AMG.

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Joe Simon - Simon Country 1973

Taken from the early 1970s, the LPs which comprise this two-fer find Simon poised on the brink of stardom, honing to perfection his unique blend of country and soul. AMG.

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Joe Simon - The Sounds of Simon 1971

His plaintive baritone equally conversant with R&B and country phrasing, Joe Simon married the two genres with startling success during the late '60s, adapting Nashville material to the soul sound and repeatedly coming up a winner. Simon began recording in the Bay Area, but a switch in recording sites (first to Muscle Shoals for Vee-Jay and then to Nashville, upon signing with disc jockey John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label in 1966) heightened his national appeal. With easy access to prime country-oriented material, Simon soon found his true calling, scoring major hits with "Nine Pound Steel," "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On," and the number one R&B smash "The Chokin' Kind," penned by Music Row tunesmith Harlan Howard. Still dabbling in country covers after switching to the Spring imprint in 1970, Simon was even more successful when assigned to Philadelphia wizards Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced the moody "Drowning in the Sea of Love" the next year. Simontried his hand at disco in 1975 with the sizzling "Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)" and "Music in My Bones," two of the most palatable artifacts of the era. Simon eventually retired from active performing to devote his life to the church. AMG. Thanks B.

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