Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Edwin Starr – Agent Double O Soul (1965) #8 R&B, #21 Billboard Hot 100
Edwin Star first became known to us as “Agent Double O Soul” in 1965 even though he had been in the music world struggling for a while.
Composed by Starr and Bill Sharply, this hit played on the popular Agent 007 movie franchise that was all the rage in the Sixties and Seventies. Starr even dressed the part when performing the song on stage.
I never actually got into those movies nor have I ever seen one, but I had friends and acquaintances that were huge fans of the flicks themselves and of course of Agent Double O Seven himself – Sean Connery.
I did know this song and I loved it when it came out! Originally the song was released in 1965 on the Ric-Tic label and was a top ten hit. When Motown purchased the label Starr’s contract was part of the deal and his Ric Tic hits, including “Double O Soul,” appeared on his first Motown Album release “Soul Master” in 1968.
Starr, born Charles Hatcher in Tennessee, had two or three huge hits while at Motown including “War” and “Twenty-Five Miles” and his self-penned “Oh How Happy” duet with label-mate Blinky, but he never got the great success he deserved while at Motown IMHO. I wonder what great music is in “The Vault” that we haven’t heard yet for Mr. Starr?
Starr moved to the UK in the Eighties and continued singing. He remained there until his death in 2003.
Check out his Official Web Site here.
Musically Yours,
{ 0 comments }
Filed under: Agent Double O Soul, Bill Sharpley & Edwin Starr, Edwin Starr, Magnificent Male Vocalists, Motown, R&B/Motown, R&B/Soul, Ric Tic, Sixties
