PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Legendary New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Benny Spellman died from respiratory failure Friday, according to family members. He was 79.
Though Spellman wasn’t from New Orleans, his music is synonymous with the city and he left an indelible mark on the local music scene with his sweet baritone voice. He worked and collaborated with other local giants of New Orleans music, Allen Toussaint and Ernie K-Doe, recording during the golden age of rhythm and blues in New Orleans.
Signed on the Minit label, Spellman scored a minor, two-sided hit in 1962 with “Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)/Fortune Teller.” The recorded Toussaint compositions by Spellman were later covered by the O’Jays and the Rolling Stones respectively.
In this video marking his induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, see him discuss and sing his classic "Fortune Teller" with Deacon John Moore.
It is also Spellman’s voice in the background that spices up two of the city's most famous rhythm and blues numbers, Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-in-Law” (released 50 years ago this year) and Earl King’s “Trick Bag.”
A regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, immortalized on Tipitina’s Walk of Fame and a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Spellman moved back to Florida after suffering a stroke 15 years earlier, according to family.
Spellman's daughter Judy Spellman is a gospel and jazz singer as well.
Funeral arrangements are scheduled for Friday, June 10 at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, 140 West Government Street, Pensacola, Fla. 32502, 850-436-6461.
