Sweet Pea Atkinson

Sweet Pea Atkinson (born c. 1945) is an American R&B singer and former vocalist for the band Was (Not Was).[1] In 1982, after departing Was (Not Was), he released his first solo album, Don't Walk Away.[1][2][3] The album was co-produced by Was (Not Was) members David Weiss and Donald Feigenson, also known as the Was Brothers.[4] In 1997, along with Kris Kristofferson, Atkinson starred in a 15-minute short film included on Don Was' album Forever’s a Long, Long Time, which Was released under the alias Orquestra Was.[5] Atkinson also performed as lead vocalist on most of the songs on the album, on which Was interprets songs by Hank Williams.[6][7]

Atkinson also joined forces with Blues guitarist Randy Jacobs in a band called the Boneshakers; together they released three albums. Two of those were studio recordings: Book of Spells in 1997 on Point Blank Records, and Shake the Planet in 1999, also on Point Blank Records. The third album that they cut together is a live album, Live in Seattle, with the groovy female saxophonist Mindi Abair. It was released on Concord Records.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau gave Don't Walk Away an A- grade, writing, "Trouper that he is, Atkinson will sing any nonsense [the Was brothers] hand him, but he obviously finds his truth in Dionne Warwick, the Tymes, General Johnson, and Eddie Rabbitt, and I'll go along with that."[3] AllMusic's William Ruhlmann gave the album 3 stars out of 5. In his review, Ruhlmann wrote that "For all intents and purposes, this is a Was (Not Was) record" and that "mostly this record has the same sarcastic undercurrent of most of Was (Not Was)'s product."[8]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "Was (Not Was)". Contemporary Musicians. Cengage Learning. 2004.
  2. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "Sweet Pea Atkinson Biography". AllMusic.
  3. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Sweet Pea Atkinson". Village Voice.
  4. ↑ Pareles, Jon (15 November 1982). "Pop: Sweet Pea Atkinson". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Cheng, Kipp (18 April 1997). "Forever's a Long, Long Time". Entertainment Weekly.
  6. ↑ Gill, Andy (21 March 1997). "Pop Albums: Orquestra Was Forever's a Long, Long Time Verve 314 533-915". The Independent.
  7. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (23 March 1997). "What Was Was and What Was Is". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Don't Walk Away Review". AllMusic.
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