R.I.P. - Wendell Brown (1958 - 3 Aug 2023)

A man of big stature, not only physically standing at 6ft 5in and weighing in at 298 pounds, but also in the underground soul world, Wendell Brown (aka Wendell B) has died today. He was diagnosed with cancer last year but cause of death hasn't been confirmed.

His love affair with music began at a very young age making his introduction as a member of gospel group the Sensational Wonders aged 5. Ten years later he ventured into R&B which he kept secret from his mother. He formed a local high school group called The Dreams and another Visions. Over the next few year he learned the importance of stage presence. After two decades performing in groups he decided to go solo and left his native St Louis for Minneapolis and other cities before landing in Atlanta, GA, where his career began to take off.

His deep, silky smooth vocals, his idols included Barry White and Bobby Womack as well as Luther Vandross, and his music was the real deal.

His mission on his website was "My goal is to leave an indelible imprint on the business. You see, fans deserve the best and I intend to give them the best. With my music, I intend to reach hearts and homes everywhere, so until I take my last breath, nothing but the sound of music, love, keeping it real, and telling the truth, will represent the name Wendell B."

He launched his solo career with "Make It Good For Ya" as Wendell Brown in 1998 and went on to release nine albums in total between then and his last "Real Talk" in 2020.

Album Discography

1998 - Make It Good For Ya 

2003 - Good Times

2007 - Save A Little Room for Me: I’m Coming Home for Christmas.

2008 - Time to Relax: Love, Life, & Relationships

2010 - Back Ta Bid’ness

2010 - In Touch With My... Southern Soul

2012 - Get To Kno' Me...

2016 - The Next 1

2020 - Real Talk

Attempting to select tracks for a tribute playlist is proving impossible as there are just so many great tracks to choose from. All his albums are available on Spotify so we suggest that you visit the complete albums as there will plenty that we have missed. If it's your first time listening to his music then you are in for a treat if you love 'proper' soul music.

Also we've just scraped the surface of Wendell's history which he tells in the the two YouTube episodes below.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved