DARONDO
1946 –
2013
Omnivore
Recordings is saddened to report the passing of funk and soul icon Darondo
from heart failure this past Sunday (June 9).
Born and bred
in Berkeley, California, Darondo – given name William Daron Pulliam – first
played professionally at the age of 18 in The Witnesses, a blue-eyed soul troupe
resident at East Bay teen club the Lucky 13 in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until
the early 1970s that the singer-guitarist hit his stride. He fashioned a unique
blend of street soul, informed by Al Green, the Dells and others, but always
identifiable by his own special delivery, sliding from gravelly baritone to
wailing falsetto in the space of a measure.
By the late
1970s Darondo had left the music business and his subsequent adventures – cable
video personality, globe-trotting entertainer, unorthodox therapist, and rebirth
as a cult performer in the late 2000s – make for a colorful story that
demonstrated the compassion and humanity of this unique individual.
Darondo’s
recording career was sporadic originally stretching to just three self-penned
singles, “How I Got Over,” “Legs,” and “Didn’t I,” the last named released on
the Berkeley-based Music City label in late 1973. “Didn’t I” has subsequently
become the artists signature tune, having been sampled and featured on
soundtracks, and for many this heartbreaking downtempo ballad is their
introduction to the intoxicating world of Darondo.
In 2008,
reissue producer Alec Palao uncovered the tapes for two albums worth of material
recorded by Darondo during his tenure at Music City in 1973 and 1974, which were
subsequently assembled as Listen To My Song: The Music City Sessions,
released on Omnivore Recordings/BGP in 2011. The appearance of a full set of
Darondo in his prime, preening and pleading in equal measure on a brace of
fantastic originals, was greeted with unanimous acclaim, not least by the artist
himself, who had despaired of ever hearing the recordings again. His first
reaction to hearing the dacades old masters was to excitedly proclaim, “This is
the root, you got the root!”
For those who
are not familiar with the idiosyncratic genius of Darondo, Listen To My Song: The Music
City Sessions is indeed the root, and a fine tribute to the unique
artistry of this one-of-a-kind individual.
