Soul singer Lou Johnson dies aged 78

SOUL SINGER Lou Johnson, who along with another former gospel singer Dionne Warwick was the first vocalist to hit with the songs of songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David, died on 1st May. Johnson began singing in gospel group The Zionettes and then attended Brooklyn University in the late '50s. He formed a mainstream group, The Coanjos, who recorded for Dapt in 1961. A year later, he went solo and signed with New York label Big Top, where Burt Bacharach produced Johnson on a number of sides. He eventually charted with "Reach Out For Me" in 1963 and his biggest hit was Bacharach/David's "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me", though the song was covered in the UK by Sandi Shaw. Another US hit, "A Message To Martha (Kentucky Bluebird)", was again covered by a UK artist, this time Adam Faith. Johnson went on to enjoy major popularity on Britain's Northern Soul scene with such songs as "Unsatisfied" and "Magic Potion". Johnson recorded album 'Sweet Southern Soul', produced by Jerry Wexler, and in 2010 Britain's Kent Records issued the compilation 'Incomparable Soul Vocalist', containing johnson's Big Top recordings.