From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri Jan 4, 2002  1:16 am  - UPDATED 6 JANUARY 2004
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Arthur Conley
 
ARTHUR CONLEY

Born Arthur Lee Conley, 4 January 1946, McIntosh, Georgia
Died 17 November 2003, Ruurlo, Netherlands

A protégé of Otis Redding and, like Redding a musical disciple
of Sam Cooke, Conley co-wrote (with Redding ) and sang "Sweet
Soul Music," one of the true anthems of the '60s. Based on Cooke's
"Yeah, Man," the record was sweet and hot at the same time, with
a readily identifiable horn intro and lyrics that immortalized the soul
stars of the day. After this 1967 smash hit (# 2, both pop and R&B),
Conley had six further entries in the Billboard Hot 100, 1967-1969.
Although signed to Atco, he toured overseas with the Stax/Volt Revue
and later joined the Soul Clan with Atlantic label-mates Wilson Pickett,
Solomon Burke, Don Covay Ben E. King , and Joe Tex. But Conley
soon get fed up with the practices of the music industry and spent most
of the seventies in England and Belgium. In 1980 he relocated to the
Netherlands, where he has been living ever since. His home is a small
village in the Eastern part of the country, where he spends most of his
time designing and manufacturing rugs with a Dutch business partner.
He has legally changed his name to Lee Roberts (Lee is his middle
name and Roberts his mother's name) and performs only on rare
occasions. In an interview in the Christmas issue of "Vrij Nederland",
he revealed that he intends to return to music in 2002 and plans to
make a new album on his own label.

Further reading:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9229/conley.htm
CD: Sweet Soul Music : The Best Of Arthur Conley (Ichiban/Soul Classics)

(Postscript: The emphasis of the BTBWY feature is on rock 'n' roll
and its roots, and on the Shakin' Years, 1955-1962. But some of the
major R&B/soul artists of the sixties will also be included. Tomorrow
we will see an article on a VERY contemporary artist, but that will be
an exception - Dik)