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Soul music great Solomon Burke sadly died this morning at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. Burke had been travelling from Los Angeles to perform a sell out gig at Club Paradiso. He was 70-years-old and died from natural causes.

Solomon Burke was born in Philadelphia on March 21, 1940 and began his music career in the mid-1950s with the hit “Christmas Presents from Heaven” on Apollo Records. He also became a preacher in this period and hosted a gospel radio show. The turning point for Solomon’s music career was signing to Atlantic Records in 1961. Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler would later describe Burke as “the best soul singer of all time.”

It was at Atlantic that Burke turned his attention to secular music and achieved a number of moderate hits, including “Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms), “If You Need Me”, “Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)”, “Got to Get You Off My Mind”, “Tonight’s the Night” and the classic “Cry to Me”, which would reach a new generation of fans in the 1980s when it appeared on the soundtrack of the movie “Dirty Dancing.”

Solomon Burke – “Got to Get You Off My Mind”

Burke also wrote “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” which was covered by the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and perhaps most famously by the Blues Brothers.

Solomon Burke – “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”

Burke remained a very active live and studio artist until the end and had experienced a career resurgence in the last decade, starting with his entry into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 2001 and the release of the critically acclaimed album “Don’t Give Up On Me” in 2002. The album earned Burke his first and only Grammy. This album was followed by “Make Do With What You Got“, “Nashville“, “Like a Fire” and “Nothing’s Impossible.” The latter was released in April of this year and was was also one of the final projects worked on by producer Willie Mitchell who died in January. However, it was not Burke’s final work. There will be a posthumous release of an album titled “Hold on Tight” which was a collaboration with the Dutch band De Dijk. Here’s a sample of what to expect from the new album:

Solomon Burke & De Dijk – “What A Woman”

Solomon also duetted with Jerry Lee Lewis on “Railroad to Heaven” on the deluxe edition of Lewis’ latest album “Mean Old Man” which was released last month.

Solomon Burke will be remembered as a gifted singer and charismatic live performer. This was well illustrated on BBC television several years ago when he stole the show on Jool Holland’s annual Hootenanny. Here he is with “Cry to Me” backed by Holland’s excellent Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Solomon Burke – “Cry to Me”

Solomon Burke left behind 21 children, 90 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. In a message on his website posted earlier today, his family said: