RIP Calvin Simon

Sad news today, y’all…

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Very sad news. Beautiful voice. A little underused if anything.

My favourite is his duet with Gary on Baby I owe you something.

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Damn! So few left of the original members… :disappointed_relieved:

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Only three original Parliaments and two original Funkadelics left with us :cry:

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George, Calvin and Eddie on Into Something I can’t turn Loose.

Are there any Pariaments era where Calvin does lead?

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Off the top of my head, I know he shares some leads on “Don’t Be Sore At Me.” I’m gonna re-listen to those discs and see if there are any full-length Calvin leads.

He always struck me as having a very David Ruffin-like tone. Is it just me?

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Both tenors, I could hear Calvin sing I want a love I can feel, for sure. Not as gruff as Ruffin, but who could out-gruff David Ruffin?

Levi, no one else.

I’m doing a little playlist of Calvin stuff - if George/Armen will stop feckin with Tidal - if anyone wants to suggest/drop their favourite Calvin tunes into the thread, or just shoot the breeze, sure :metal:

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Billy and…
Mickey or Tawl??

RIP Calvin - Now who’s gonna hold down “tenor vocals, congas & suave personality” ?
:worried:

NM @Mutron. Just found this:

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Yes unfortunately Mickey did pass last year. Billy and Tawl still with us…

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Rest in peace and power the great Cool Calvin Simon. If you have not done so already, treat yourself to his excellent gospel albums of what he called “Sanctified Funk”. There are several true gems throughout all 3 albums.

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That’s a great one, I agree, Freedomflower. The other Simon favorite of mine (besides is “Baby I owe you Something Good”) is “This Broken Heart”. Also agree Calvin could’ve been used more…. his vocal style worked as well for the band as Shider’s, imo. I think their voices worked well together.

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Welcome , @ginbelt. If I recall correctly, Harvey McGhee sings lead on “This Broken Heart.”

Calvin’s vocal on “Qualified to Satisfy” is a favorite as well…

Swang, really? I hadn’t heard that! It always sounded like Calvin to me + he’s cited as lead vocals on it here:

http://mother.pfunkarchive.com/motherpage/albums_funkadelic/alb-cslop.html

The Motherpage has always been my go-to source for stuff like that; the guys who long ago put it together/comment on it have always seemed to be fairly in-the-know (of course, there’s always errors on the internet).

It’s been said many times, but it really is a shame these amazing musicians weren’t given more concrete credit (and remuneration) for their contributions…much gets lost in the mists of time and people’s fading and sometimes conflicting memories…

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The Motherpage was good for its time, but a lot of info has come to light since it went “archive.” “This Broken Heart” is a US Music track. More info here:

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More info on the history of United Soul (as told by Harvey McGhee and Billy Bass)…

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