Arthur Prysock Jr. was an American jazz and R&B singer best known for his live shows and his deep baritone, influenced by Billy Eckstine. According to his obituary in The New York Times, "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility."
Life and career
Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Many sources give his birth year as 1929, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc state 1924 on the basis of official records. He moved to North Carolina as a young child, and then to Hartford, Connecticut to work in the aircraft industry during World War II, singing with small bands in the evenings. In 1944 bandleader Buddy Johnson signed him as a vocalist, and Prysock became a mainstay of the live performance circuits. Prysock sang on several of Johnson's hits on Decca Records including "They All Say I'm the Biggest Fool", "Jet My Love", and later "Because". In 1952 Prysock went solo. He signed with Decca, who marketed him as a younger rival to Billy Eckstine, and recorded the No. 5 R&B hit, "I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night", with Sy Oliver's orchestra. Over the years Prysock gained a reputation as an emotive balladeer and as one of the most popular acts on the Chitlin' Circuit. He recorded R&B classics such as Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight". In the 1960s, Prysock joined Old Town Records and did an R&B cover of Ray Noble's ballad "The Very Thought of You" and a pop hit "It's Too Late Baby, It's Too Late". For Verve Records he recorded Arthur Prysock and Count Basie, and A Working Man's Prayer. He read verses from Walter Benton's book of poems against a jazz instrumental backdrop on his 1968 album, This is My Beloved. Between 1960 and 1988, he released over 30 LPs. He also briefly had his own television show in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Prysock mainly played cabaret engagements; he gained his greatest fame during these years singing the jingle for the Lowenbrautelevision commercials. In 1987 he received a Grammy nomination for "Teach Me Tonight", a duet with Betty Joplin, and the following year received another nomination for This Guy's in Love With You. His brother, Wilbur "Red" Prysock, was a tenor sax player who appeared on many of Arthur's later records. Prysock received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1995. In later years he lived in Bermuda. He died after several years' illness from an aneurysm at King Edward Hospital, Hamilton, Bermuda, in 1997.
