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Goodnight, sweetheart

Boxodreams | district of columbia | 01/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a huge, quiet generation out there, largely good, humble, decent working class black folks, who fell in love and married to the sounds of Pookie Hudson and the Spaniels. If you could see the size of the crowds he could still draw as late as 2005, the devotion and the wet eyes his smooth singing would bring, you would know this is one of the greats. He never demeaned or diminished himself in later years. When oldies shows would gather, Pookie and the Spaniels were always a star attraction, recreating what it really sounded like, not hamming it up, cheapening it, cutting off songs, talking in the middle of them. Oh, sure, he liked to reminisce, but when it came time to sing, sing he did in one of the singular voices ever in r 'n' b. And his group always harmonized beautifully. Everyone knows "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight," but possibly more beloved among his faithful are "You Gave Me Peace of Mind," The Bells Ring Out," Red Sails In the Sunset," "100 Years From Today." . . . One hundred years from today, I hope someone digs up some of these old sides and gets back into the romantic, nostalgic, aching groove. Pookie's obit appeared in the paper today and it's another nail in the door of doo-wop. Long live rock n' roll and to everyone keeping the faith listening to the faint oldies stations on a.m. radio in south jersey, philly, any station that turns over sunday night to the oldies, all the guys in the car clubs, who still love the gal they met in 1955, all the cats who sang on the street corners, the few surviving record shops like Roadhouse Oldies in Silver Spring, Md., all of you all, hold on to the sweet sounds a little bit longer. I have a copy of "The Spaniels" on Lost Nite Records and those songs are from lost nights, but open the windows on a hot summer night, open a couple beers, hear the gentle breeze outside as the stars come out, put on your Spaniels and you can be wherever your heart takes you. Goodnight, Pookie."