American singer of R&B, jazz, blues and gospel born January 5, 1932 (New Orleans, LA, USA) and died September 14, 1998 (Baton Rouge, LA, USA) aged 66. Known as The Tan Canary for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, vocal manners, and falsetto. His biggest hits were his versions of Release Me and Reconsider Me in the late 1960s.