Posted on 10/10/2012 3:37:02 PM PDT by nickcarraway
R. B. Greaves, an R&B singer whose 1969 hit “Take a Letter, Maria” reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 68.
His death was confirmed by his son, Shiloh Greaves.
“Take a Letter, Maria,” which Mr. Greaves wrote, is about a hard-working man who dictates a “Dear Jane” letter to his secretary after coming home to find his wife “in the arms of another man.”
He sings, more in acceptance than in anger: “So take a letter, Maria, address it to my wife/Say I won’t be coming home, gonna start a new life.”
Despite its theme of betrayal, the song remains upbeat and ends with the husband asking Maria out to dinner.
The song, which was recorded at the hitmaking Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama, went gold, selling more than a million copies.
Mr. Greaves was a nephew of the gospel and soul singer Sam Cooke, who was shot and killed by a Los Angeles motel manager in 1964.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Take a letter, Maria
And dress up like my wife.
‘splains why he sounded just like Sam Cooke?
“He will be missed” wrote some thoughtless fool on Youtube. Oh, yeah? Like you wuz expecting his next hit record?
Heh.. And I don’t even try deciphering what passes for music today. Argh.
Take care and g’night...
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