Affectionately dubbed "The Soul Prince,"
Multi-Grammy Award nominated singer and songwriter Calvin Richardson has been
delighting fans with his straight-shooting no holds barred southern Soul and
driving women mad for close to two decades. USA Today declares, Richardson is
"influenced by vintage R&B and
his gritty vocals set him apart from his smoother contemporaries with fresh vibes
from a singer who respects and values his roots." Calvin Richardson's newest CD All Or Nothing
is at heart a classic soul album featuring all originals. Calvin Richardson has
written songs for many artists including Charlie Wilson, Angie Stone, Joe and
Raphael Saadiq. Willie Clayton, who as an artist himself had a run of Southern
R&B hits in the 2000's, produced All Or Nothing. "This album touches
on everything - soul, R&B and pop," shares Calvin. "It has
something for everyone - love, laughter, sex, dance and romance. Best one
yet!"
Calvin Richardson came by his soulful style honestly. Born
in Monroe, North Carolina, the fifth of nine children, Calvin had a strong
musical upbringing. His mother sang in the local gospel group, The Willing
Wonders, and he sang with them as a youth but he was able to listen to secular
soul music and funk and was particularly inspired by Bobby Womack, Sam Cooke,
Otis Redding and Donny Hathaway. Singing on the gospel circuit, he met and
became friends with Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey and Joel "Jo Jo"
Hailey, who went on to form the hit-making group Jodeci in the early Nineties.
Calvin was inspired by their success to form the urban contemporary vocal group
Undacova, whose song "Love Slave" was included in the New Jersey
Drive soundtrack in 1995. When Undacova folded, Calvin launched a solo career
that resulted in his debut solo album, Country Boy, on Uptown/Universal Records in 1999. The
album included a great cover of Bobby Womack's "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me
So Much." While Calvin was working on this follow-up, Angie Stone heard a
demo of his song "More Than A Woman" and invited him to duet with her
on a version of the song for her album Mahogany Soul. In 2003, Calvin's album
2:35PM, named after the time one of his children was born, was released by Hollywood
Records.
2008 saw the release of Calvin's Shanachie Entertainment/Numo Records
album When Love Comes, with its single "Sang No More" hitting the
Urban AC charts. 2009 brought success via Charlie Wilson's hit rendition of
Calvin's co-write with Babyface, "There Goes My Baby." The same year
Richardson paid homage to one of his greatest influences with Facts Of Life,
his powerful live-in-the-studio tribute to Bobby Womack that garnered two
Grammy nominations, one of which was for his duet with Sounds Of Blackness powerhouse
Ann Nesby. 2010 saw the release of
America's Most Wanted and I Am Calvin followed in 2014. With the release of All
Or Nothing it is clear that pure soul music is alive and well and the Soul
Prince is carrying it forward to where it needs to be.
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