Reggie P. (From The Archives)

Daddy B. Nice's #40 ranked Southern Soul Artist



Portrait of Reggie P. (From The Archives) by Daddy B. Nice
 


"Droppin' Salt"

Reggie P. (From The Archives)

July 1, 2023:

From The Archives: "Droppin' Salt"

This article has outdated links, the curse of any commentator who outlasts the constant vagaries of the music business. Readers, please ignore and excuse the broken links. Here are new links for the songs featured below:

Listen to Reggie P. singing "Why Me?" on YouTube.

Listen to Reggie P. singing "Droppin' Salt" on YouTube.

Listen to Theodis Ealey singing "Stand Up In It" on YouTube.

Listen to Quinn Golden singing "I'm Going To Be A Man About It" on YouTube.

March 1, 2015:

REGGIE P. RETROSPECTIVE



As someone who has spent the last quarter-century championing the cause of contemporary Southern Soul music, it pains me to have to admit that, like the apostle Paul, I sometimes succumb to doubts. There are times--most recently this past winter--when I wonder where all the great new music is, times when the overall new product seems "thin," times when I have a dreadful, creeping suspicion that perhaps this nascent soul genre that I've spent so much time and energy trumpeting as the "next big musical thing" has in fact already played itself out.

And if, at the end of the nineties, anyone had told me that the core stars of contemporary Southern Soul--the "cream of the crop," the very artists who had seduced me and turned me into a passionate fan and believer--would all be dead or diminished in less than a decade, cut down at the height of their musical production, who knows if your Daddy B. Nice would even be here, writing about Southern Soul music, today?

Consider the "greats" who have fallen. Johnnie Taylor. Ronnie Lovejoy. Tyrone Davis. Little Milton. Quinn Golden. Jimmy Lewis. Jackie Neal. Frank Mendenhall. Add to this the vastly reduced output of Peggy Scott-Adams and Marvin Sease--not to mention the peripheral losses of James Brown, R. L. Burnside, Gerald Levert and Luther Vandross--and the depth and seriousness of the loss in talent (including the top five performers on Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 Southern Soul chart) is nothing short of staggering.

Of course, faithful fans are well aware that new "flowers" are continually sprouting up on the graves of each departed hero and heroine. The question then becomes whether these young and often raw and unseasoned artists can produce legitimate music, music that justifies the attention of the record-buying public, music that taps into the tradition of the fallen stars while at the same time pushing it to fresh, new heights--no small task.

Not only must these new artists perform the dual task of recapturing the "magic" of their fallen mentors while pushing ahead with original perspectives of their own, they must do so in a commercially-hostile (or commercially-indifferent) marketplace in which self-publishing (not to mention self-promotion) is usually a financial and artistic necessity.

Not surprisingly, the result is a soul-music subculture strewn with both successes and failures. Thus, you have the triumph of Theodis Ealey, one of the best of the new stars, who self-published and self-promoted and finally broke through in a big way with a song--"Stand Up In It"--which very few people indeed ever guessed had "classic" written all over it.

And on the other hand, you have an immensely-talented vocalist, Robert "The Duke" Tillman, who since his initial breakthrough a few years ago with the dazzling "I Found Love," has either chosen not to (or simply not had the means to) self-publish. Unable to "buy" a record contract since, he has--artistically-speaking--withered on the vine.

Your Daddy B. Nice has been slow to acknowledge many of this hardy new breed of Southern Soul newcomers. Partly, it's due to a natural tendency to avoid the hype that accompanies the latest album "du jour." But besides the new artists already on the Top 100 chart, there are a number who deserve to be, and among that up-and-coming elite none merits consideration more than a man named Reggie P.

When I first started hearing Reggie P.'s music years ago, I visualized a chunky guy with ham-hock hands and basset-hound-sized bags under his eyes, a grizzled old blues veteran on the lines of Charles Wilson or J. T. Watkins. Reggie P.'s music was so "vintage"--and the singer sounded world-weary and worldly-wise.

The song I was listening to was "Droppin' Salt," although in those days I knew it as "Droppin'." I couldn't make out the "salt," I was actually proud of making out the word "droppin'," and the name of the artist remained "anonymous" for months and then years, through dozens of listenings--always at unexpected intervals--on Deep South radio stations.

"Droppin' Salt" didn't bowl you over. It worked its way into your consciousness in a subtle manner, with a mid-tempo, middle-of-the-road atmosphere on the order of Quinn Golden's "I'm Going To Be A Man About It." With a memorably insidious female chorus, as sugar-coated and charming as its message was tart, "Droppin' Salt" was the kind of song you didn't know you liked until you heard it again.

And gradually, as each new listen revealed more sophisticated textures--in the horn charts, in the spare, impeccable lead guitar, in the catchy but understated chorus, but above all in the many-nuanced vocal performance of Reggie P.--I came to understand I was hearing the thing I most appreciated in Southern Soul music: a minor masterpiece shrouded in mystery. There was no hype--not even a name or an image of an artist--to divert attention from the primal flow of the music, a mellow-as-yellow melody saved from being overly saccharine by a vocal of gritty originality and intensity.

"Every time you see me,
I have tears all over my face.
I get so tired of being abused. . .

"But what does it take
To get along with you?
I've done all I can do.
I just can't seem to please you."

The arrangement of the song was the most marvelous example of achieving the "golden mean"--of having the musical "goods" while holding back--outside the Willie Clayton song catalog. Yet the text of the song--the crisis of a passionate, needful man and an indifferent, unnecessarily cruel woman--remained almost a footnote to the mesmerizing musicality of the song.

And the female chorus kept on:

"You keep droppin'
Why (do) you keep on droppin'?
You keep droppin'
Salt on me I don't need."

At last, roughly five years into his unheralded solo career, the sun began to shine on Reggie P. with the emergence of his third album, Why Me? The title cut was a rocking record--a defining track--in the mode of Johnnie Taylor's "Big Head Hundreds" or the aforementioned Theodis Ealey's "Stand Up In It."

Again the subject was a sensitive, passionate man, albeit one who was a litte more experienced, worn down, less romantic, and again his friends were asking him, "Why do you put up with it, Reggie P.?" And, as with "Droppin' Salt," the musicality of "Why Me?" was overpowering. The driving tempo was a refreshing contrast to the laid-back, rocking-the-cradle rhythm of the former, and the gritty, gospel-drenched Reggie P. vocal rode astride the galloping tempo as if it had found its perfect medium.

The "can't-miss" chords to "Why Me?" blended with its blistering rhythm section and Reggie P.'s growls, sighs and vocal pirouettes to seduce an audience that might never have noticed the more modest "Droppin' Salt." "Why Me?" took off on Southern Soul radio stations and dominated airplay for the better part of the year. In one fell swoop, with a hit song and at least four or five other radio-worthy singles, Why Me? catapulted the once-obscure Reggie P. into the relatively lofty status of Southern Soul enfant terribles Sir Charles Jones and T. K. Soul.

When it came time to compile Daddy B. Nice's Top 25 Songs of 2006 (which included songs published in 2005), I awarded Reggie P. two of the coveted positions with these remarks:

3."Droppin' Salt"------Reggie P.

An artist who combines the emotional power of Sir Charles Jones with the vocal chops and intensity of Bobby "Blue" Bland.

And . . .

13. "Why Me?"-------Reggie P.

It dominated Southern Soul radio station airplay in the early months of the year, but it never got boring or grating. Just better.

The Bobby "Blue" Bland comparison was not given lightly. Indeed, I had never likened another musician to Bland, the grandmaster of Southern Soul vocalists. And yet, there is no one to whom Reggie P.'s vocals more closely resemble--in pitch and timber, in power and intensity, in the elusive ability to communicate the human condition. Reggie P. is one of a chosen few who over the years could actually replace one of those fallen monuments of soul music with whom we began these observations.



Listen to Reggie P. singing "Dropping Salt" on YouTube.

SouthernSoulRnB.com - Chitlin' Circuit Southern Soul Music Guide

February 1, 2014: NEW ARTIST GUIDE ALERT!


Reggie P. is now the #13-ranking Southern Soul artist on Daddy B. Nice's new 21st Century Top 100 Countdown.

Go to Daddy B. Nice's new 21st-Century Artist Guide to Reggie P.

Reggie P.'s "WHY ME?" is now #13. Go to Top 100 Southern Soul Songs 21st Century Countdown.

Listen to Reggie P. singing "Why Me?" on YouTube.

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April 26, 2011 Update:

Reggie P. Funeral Details and Information for Condolences and Gifts:


The funeral services for Reggie P. will be held Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2 pm at First Baptist Church, 500 Pine St., West Monroe, Lousiana.

Internment is scheduled afterward at Richwood Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Contact Hester Central State Funeral Home, 811 Louise Ann Avenue in Monroe (318-325-6207).

Love offerings or donations to help with burial costs are welcome at Hester Central State Funeral Home, 811 Louise Anne Ave., Monroe, Louisiana, 71201 (318-325-6207).

--Daddy B. Nice

SouthernSoulRnB.com - Chitlin' Circuit Southern Soul Music Guide

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Update April 17, 2011: Untimely & Unexpected: Reggie P. Dies

The Boogie Report is announcing the death of Reggie P., one of the premier performers in Southern Soul's younger generation, known for his gritty, soulful vocals on songs including, "Why Me?," "Your Love Is A Bad Habit" and "Droppin' Salt."

"It is with a great deal of regret," J. Boogie states, "that we report that it has been confirmed that soul singer Reggie P. died last night in Biloxi, Mississippi. It is reported Reggie passed on in his sleep. More details to follow."

--Daddy B. Nice

See Related Stories on Daddy B. Nice's Corner & Daddy B. Nice's Mailbag.

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Reggie P. had only recently been featured in a Daddy B. Nice article titled "Ten Great Albums For Holiday Giving" as follows:

Reggie P., Why Me? (Allison, 2005) No one--not even the masterful Mel Waiters--has sung a better Southern Soul rocker than Reggie P's "Why Me?" This CD set the standard for gritty, O.V. Wright-style Southern Soul in the new millennium.

Outstanding tracks: "Why Me?," "Droppin' Salt," "Hold On," "Come On Girl," "Soul Steppin'."

Bargain-Priced Why Me? CD

Comparison-Priced Why Me? CD

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See "Tidbits" below for the latest updates on Reggie P.

To automatically link to Reggie P's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other references, go to "Reggie P" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.


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--Daddy B. Nice


About Reggie P. (From The Archives)

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Reggie P. (born Reginald Pettes) entered the music business via the legendary funk band, the BarKays, in the late nineties. His first solo effort, Who Am I (Avanti, 2000), was an uneven assortment of songs and styles ranging from rock ("Dream Weaver" and "Your Lover Is A Bad Habit") to urban-smooth ("In The Air Tonight") to the Southern Soul promise of "Let Me. . . " and "Nobody Wants You."

An even more obscure LP (All Music Guide doesn't even list it), Can't Turn A Street Woman Into A Housewife, appeared in 2003. The CD found Reggie P. still vacillating between styles, with yet another reprise of the Gary Wright tune, "Dream Weaver." The disc, however, was notable for introducing two mid-tempo tunes that defined the Southern Soul formula Reggie P. would finally choose for good: "Don't Want To Lose Your Love" and "Droppin' Salt." "Droppin' Salt" in particular intrigued Deejays of the Deep South, and word of mouth drew fans to Reggie P.

Reggie P.'s breakout CD, Why Me? (Allison), arrived in 2005. Led by its title track, the independently-produced disc was everything its forerunners had not been: a tightly-focused, emotionally and musically-overpowering expression of Southern Soul music at its best.

The vocal mastery displayed on the album stand-outs--"Why Me?," "Come On Girl," "Hold On," "Eyes Are Rainin'" (with Sir Charles Jones, who also composed) and "Droppin' Salt" (wisely reprised from the Can't Turn A Street Woman Into A Housewife album)--catapulted Reggie P. into the first rank of Southern Soul vocalists.

(Scroll down to "Tidbits" section for more recent updates.)


Song's Transcendent Moment

"We've been through this once before.
And then you hurt me again.
Aren't you tired of taking me to places
That I've already been?"


Tidbits

l.

June 15, 2007. In 2000 Reggie P. teamed up with fellow Avanti artist Tina Diamond on a cover of Lee Fields' obscure Southern Soul masterpiece, "I'll Put My Life On The Line." The track, "Life On The Line," was included on the "Casino Queen's" In The Heart Of The City CD (Avanti, 2000). All of the vocal promise that wouldn't fully blossom until years later is there in Reggie P.'s vocal on the duet with Tina Diamond. DBN.

2.

June 18, 2007. If you've ever had any doubt about the awesome power of music as an art form to touch people's lives, read the "reviews" of Reggie P.'s Why Me? album on the CD Baby website. Scroll down the page and read the almost-endless praises of this CD. I believe the only time I've ever read such a passionately-enthusiastic list of encomia was on a similar record-review page of Sir Charles Jones. This list is even more impressive, with "five-star" comment after "five-star" comment, from people of every age and persuasion.

Fans are starved for good music, and they know it when they hear it. DBN.

3.

November 30, 2008

This piece ran under the title "Is That All You Got, Reggie P.?" on Daddy B. Nice's Corner.

At mid-year I promised readers that the story behind the new Reggie P. CD--"Your Love Is A Bad Habit (2008)"--hadn't yet been told, but when it eventually was, it would be fascinating. Well, the dust has settled, and I've now had time to listen to the CD and make some sense of the many confusing aspects surrounding this apparently impromptu and sketchily-planned album release.

"Your Love Is A Bad Habit," first came out on Reggie's Who Am I CD (Avanti) in 2000. The album disappeared with very little notice or air play. And the storied confusion surrounding "Bad Habit" began in the Who Am I? credits, which listed the song (and still does to this day) "Your Lover (sic) Is A Bad Habit."

Ironically, just about the time I was writing in these pages last year about the rock-like guitar work of Ken Massey with Dickie Williams on "Dog Kind Of Love" signaling an interesting direction for Southern Soul, WMPR (Jackson, Ms.) DJ's Ragman and Handyman pulled "Your Love Is A Bad Habit" out of the "vaults" and started playing it fairly regularly.

As longtime readers know, your Daddy B. Nice follows these two deejays' instincts the way the apostles once followed Jesus. I immediately fell in love with the record, its unconventional guitar-slinger approach (like Massey's work on Williams' single seven years later) and the take-no-prisoners, O.V. Wright-like intensity of Reggie P.'s lead vocal. It was like listening to a new song, and even a new "sound," and since no one seemed to have heard of it or of the album (used copies of which are going for $50-$75), I decided to make an exception and treat "Your Love Is A Bad Habit" like a brand new single. You might say that your Daddy B. Nice was that starved for new Reggie P. material. A few other deejays picked up on it and the song became something of an underground phenomenon.

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See. . . Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 Breaking Southern Soul Singles: --------------February 2008------

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(Interestingly, Chico of Chico's Radio and some other Deep South deejays were performing a similar labor of love in 2008 re-playing old Robert "The Duke" Tillman songs, especially his masterpiece, "I Found Love," which--like the Reggie P material--had for the most part never been heard and consequently sounded new.)

Reggie P. hosted a mutual CD Release Party with Sir Charles Jones at the Central City Complex in Jackson, Mississippi one weekend last summer, and it's noteworthy that neither artist's designated fast song single--Reggie P's "I've Got The Feeling" or Sir Charles' "I Came To Party"--turned any heads enough to require a chiropractor's appointment.

Sir Charles, balladeer supreme, had never really produced a first-class Southern Soul club single, so expectations were more modest, but Reggie P. had scored a classic fast Southern Soul single in "Why Me?", his biggest chitlin' circuit hit to date, which combined great tempo, melody, lyrics and execution, and thus raised anticipation mightily for his follow-up.

In hindsight, the success or failure of "I've Got The Feeling" was most likely the critical tipping point for any judgment on Reggie P's new album, and to be fair, the single has logged impressive air play across the Southern Soul radio outlets for many months. Meaning: the song was a success.

Fans and deejays may consider it a success (it's got a great tempo, I admit that), but few, I suspect, would say that it navigates the high bar set by its predecessor, "Why Me?"

For your Daddy B. Nice, both Jones' "I Came To Party" and "Reggie's "I've Got The Feeling" were disappointments, rendered more so by the previously mentioned high expectations as the major Southern Soul releases of the second half of the year.

(Sir Charles Jones' "Happy Anniversary," on the other hand, marked that artist's return to form as a first-rate balladeer.)

Whatever the verdict on Reggie's fast song, "I Got The Feeling," however, the balance of the Your Lover Is A Bad Habit album rested almost totally upon the reception to the title cut. Why? Because there wasn't a lot of other material of note. Two of the tracks, "Motel" and "No More Tears," were also, like "Your Lover Is A Bad Habit," retreads from the Who Am I album, and the only other ballad of distinction, "Unforgettable Dreams," was reminiscent of another cut from the Who Am I album, namely "Dream Weaver," a rock standard with minimal Southern Soul pedigree. The latter made one wonder if Reggie P., at this late date, was still wondering, "Who am I?".

The new version of "Your Love Is A Bad Habit (2008)" has better arrangement and production, as far as that goes, with all the latest hiphop-oriented technical niceties, but it lacks the blistering guitar work of the original and the straight-ahead intensity of its vocal, the very components that gave it so much power. Now the vocal treatment is detached, almost as if the singer has forgotten the emotion invested in the original message.

Who knows? Maybe the scathing energy of the original was a little ahead of its time. At the time, it sounded harsh and exploratory. Now it sounds vanguard--revolutionary--in its meshing of soul and guitar-rock (almost Led Zeppelin rock).
Reggie P's emotive range is eye-opening, almost jaw-dropping. And the stubborn, blistering, scorching-hot rock guitar gives the power a maniacal urgency.

All that is filtered out of the sanitized remix from the Your Lover Is A Bad Habit CD. The remix sacrifices all the rawness and desperation in the original for the candy-colored affectations of contemporary hiphop, such as the female back-up cooing "Reggie P's" name.

Here, then, is the rundown on "Bad Habit" and its confusing discography.

"Your Lover Is A Bad Habit" is the original from the Who Am I CD (Avanti, 2000) with a misprint: it should read "Your Love Is A Bad Habit".

"Your Love Is A Bad Habit" is the updated, slick version (in reality the remix) of the original "Your Love Is A Bad Habit." It is the first version listed on the new Your Love Is A Bad Habit CD (Rude Boy, 2008).

Your Lover Is A Bad Habit (Remix)" is the second version of the song listed on the new 2008 Rude Boy release above. Although it's listed as the "remix," in fact it is a faithful copy of the original recording from the Who Am I CD (Avanti, 2000). It is the version Daddy B. Nice recommends to his readers.

"Your Love Is A Bad Habit (the original)" is a great if uncommon Southern Soul song. Without it Reggie P.'s new CD would be a scant measure of his talent. Reggie has spent a lot of time on the sidelines. Almost a decade has gone by with little more than an album's worth of distinctive material, most of it on the amazing, name-making Why Me CD. For an artist with vocal chops reminiscent of the great Bobby "Blue" Bland, this is under-achieving--a case of untapped potential--especially at a time when Southern Soul fans are begging for true stars.

If Reggie P was the football player and Daddy B. Nice was Coach, I'd be asking, "Is that all you got, Reggie P?"

--Daddy B. Nice

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4.

November 21, 2010: NEW ALBUM ALERT!


Bargain-Priced The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul CD

Comparison-Priced The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul CD







If You Liked. . . You'll Love

If you loved the Ronnie Lovejoy classic, "Sho' Wasn't Me (A Case Of Mistaken Identity)," you'll very likely love Reggie P.'s "Droppin' Salt."


Honorary "B" Side

"Why Me?"




5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 
Sample or Buy Droppin' Salt by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Droppin' Salt


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 
Sample or Buy Why Me? by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Why Me?


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 5 Stars 
Sample or Buy Your Love Is A Bad Habit by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Your Love Is A Bad Habit


CD: Who Am I
Label: Avanti

Sample or Buy
Who Am I


4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 
Sample or Buy Come On Girl by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Come On Girl


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 
Sample or Buy Eyes Are Rainin' (w/ Sir Charles Jones) by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Eyes Are Rainin' (w/ Sir Charles Jones)


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars 
Sample or Buy Your Love Is A Bad Habit (2008) by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Your Love Is A Bad Habit (2008)


CD: Your Love Is A Bad Habit
Label: Rude Boy

Sample or Buy
Your Love Is A Bad Habit


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy Hold On by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Hold On


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy I Got The Feeling by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
I Got The Feeling


CD: Your Love Is A Bad Habit
Label: Rude Boy

Sample or Buy
Your Love Is A Bad Habit


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy In The Air Tonight by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
In The Air Tonight


CD: Who Am I
Label: Avanti

Sample or Buy
Who Am I


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy P's & Q's by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
P's & Q's


CD: The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul
Label: Rude Boy

Sample or Buy
The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy Preacher Man by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Preacher Man


CD: The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul
Label: Rude Boy

Sample or Buy
The Rude Boy Of Southern Soul


3 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars 
Sample or Buy Ready To Accept by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Ready To Accept


CD: Why Me?
Label: Allison

Sample or Buy
Why Me?


2 Stars 2 Stars 
Sample or Buy Dream Weaver by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Dream Weaver


CD: Who Am I
Label: Avanti

Sample or Buy
Who Am I


2 Stars 2 Stars 
Sample or Buy Let Me....... by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Let Me.......


CD: Who Am I
Label: Avanti

Sample or Buy
Who Am I


2 Stars 2 Stars 
Sample or Buy Nobody Wants You by  Reggie P. (From The Archives)
Nobody Wants You


CD: Who Am I
Label: Avanti

Sample or Buy
Who Am I





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