Arthur Conley | |
|---|---|
 Arthur Conley in 1967 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Arthur Lee Conley |
| Also known as | Lee Roberts |
| Born | (1946-01-04)January 4, 1946 McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 2003(2003-11-17) (aged 57) Ruurlo, Netherlands |
| Genres | Soul |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1959–1988 |
Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003), also known in later years asLee Roberts, was an Americansoul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".[1]
Conley was born inMcIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964—"Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae"—on the Atlanta-based record label,NRC Records.[2]
In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore'sRu-Jac Records) and released "I'm a Lonely Stranger". WhenOtis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding's own fledgling labelJotis Records, as only its second release.[3] Conley met Redding in 1967. Together they rewrote theSam Cooke song "Yeah Man" into "Sweet Soul Music", which, at Redding's insistence, was released on theAtco-distributed labelFame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios inMuscle Shoals, Alabama.[4] It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. "Sweet Soul Music" sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[5]
After several years of hit singles in the early 1970s, he relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, settling in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in spring 1977. At the beginning of 1980 he had some major performances asLee Roberts and the Sweaters in the Ganzenhoef,Paradiso,De Melkweg and theConcertgebouw, and was highly successful. At the end of 1980 he moved to the Dutch town ofRuurlo legally changing his name to Lee Roberts—his middle name and his mother's maiden name. He promoted new music via his Art-Con Productions company. Among the bands he promoted was the heavy metal band Shockwave fromThe Hague. A live performance on January 8, 1980, featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters, was released as an album entitledSoulin in 1988.[2]
Conley was gay, and several music writers have said that his homosexuality was a bar to greater success in the United States and one of the reasons behind his move to Europe and his eventual name change.[6] In 2014, rock historianEd Ward wrote, "[Conley] headed to Amsterdam and changed his name to Lee Roberts. Nobody knew 'Lee Roberts,' and at last Conley was able to live in peace with a secret he had hidden—or thought he had—for his entire career: he was gay. But nobody in The Netherlands cared."[7]
Conley died at the age of 57 fromintestinal cancer inRuurlo, The Netherlands in November 2003.[8] He was buried inVorden.
Albums[9]
Singles
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