Jimmy Outler
As one of the fabulous lead voices of the Soul Stirrers you can be certain that Outler possessed a rare talent. And when you listen to him on the ecstatic “Jesus Be A Fence All Around Me” you can tell why he took over from Johnnie Taylor at the helm of the group. He only made the one secular recording but his performance on the pleasing beat ballad 
It’s All Over is as gruff and convincing as anybody could wish for. Outler joined the Brooklyn All Stars after this disc, but for all his singing in church it seems he liked the non religious side of life too much if this report by the reliable Tony Heilbut is anything to go by: “An ex-fruit picker, Outler couldn't adjust to the two-bit glamour and back room temptations. He kept getting in trouble over women, and in 1967 was accidentally killed in a fight."
 |
 |