By Gary Graff
"You call friends and say, 'Do you have a song for ol'
Solomon Burke?"' the singer and ordained minister told
Billboard with a laugh.
That approach worked like a charm for his forthcoming "Like
a Fire," due June 10 on Shout! Factory. The album features a
pair of songs by Eric Clapton and contributions from Ben
Harper, Keb' Mo' and Jesse Harris.
"Eric," Burke recalls, "says, 'Yeah, man, I got one. Lemme
call you back in about three days,' and out comes 'Like a
Fire."' But "Thank You," which Burke and Clapton co-wrote, was
a bonus.
"He says, 'You know what, Solomon? I have an idea. I've got
the music, I've got the beginning, but you've got to finish it
'cause I've got so many things going on. All I can say
(lyrically) is ... 'Thank you.' And I said, 'Wow! Whoo! And we
finished it off, and he was so happy with it."
The Harper collaboration on "A Minute to Rest and a Second
to Pray" was "a great opportunity, a great privilege and a
wonderful moment in time" that came as a surprise to its
writer, too.
"When they brought Ben in, that was my first time meeting
him," Burke recalls. "(Executive producer) Shawn Amos said,
'We've got this great Ben Harper song. Sing the song, Ben!' Ben
says, 'Man, I'm not finished yet,' but I said, 'Don't worry
about it. Stay right here in the studio with me and we'll
finish it. You write it, I'll sing it. Let's go."'
Harper, Harris and Keb' Mo' all perform on their
contributions to "Like a Fire." Burke, who begins touring to
support "Like a Fire" on May 23 in Detroit, is cutting another
version of "Thank You" for a forthcoming gospel album called
"The Truth," which he hopes to release it later this year and
which he promises "is gonna be the most different gospel album
you've ever heard."
Reuters/Billboard
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