Detroit Soul Man Nathaniel Mayer, R.I.P.

Detroit's Nathaniel Mayer, a rhythm and blues dynamo that made a hard left turn towards the blues side of the equation late in life, passed away on Saturday morning, November 1st, 2008 at the still-young age of 64 from complications of a series of strokes he suffered earlier this year.

Born and raised in the Motor City, Mayer was an 18-year-old student at the city's Eastern High School when he first walked into the ramshackle offices of Detroit's legendary Fortune Records. Originally planning on just paying for a recording session, the label's Jack and Devora Brown smelled a hit with Mayer's song "Village Of Love." The Brown's licensed the resulting recording to United Artists for distribution, and with Mayer backed by the Fabulous Twilights, the song became a top forty hit in 1962.

Unfortunately, none of the recordings that followed "Village Of Love" would do anywhere near as well, and Mayer drifted into obscurity, recording infrequently through the ensuing decades. Although no proper compilation of Mayer's early R&B hits has ever been released on CD, the Internet age brought the Detroit soul man a dedicated following nevertheless. The Detroit Cobras recorded a cover of "Village Of Love" during the late-1990s, and interest in Mayer's music prompted the artist to stage a comeback in 2000.

Mayer recorded I Just Want To Be Held, a collection of high-octane R&B tunes, for Fat Possum in 2004, and last year Alive Records released Why Don't You Give It To Me?, a raw, raucous set of dirty garage-blues that featured guitarist Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Gone were the honeyed tones of Mayer's youth, replaced by a world-weary rasp perfectly suited to the shake, rattle, and roll of the album's production.

Mayer continued to blow listeners away with his live performances until he was sidelined by the strokes in April. Although not as well known as many of Detroit's soul singers and R&B belters, Mayer's influence and musical importance will continue to grow after his death.

Photo courtesy Price Grabber