Arthur Conley in Soul Heaven

Arthur Conley had one of the most beautiful voices of the 1960s American soul scene. Otis Redding and Sam Cooke come together when you hear him sing; listen to the vibrant track Sweet Soul Music from 1967. In it, he honors his heroes, who also welcomed him into the soul community of that time. Otis was his patron, who envisioned a great future for Conley. When Otis died at the age of 27 in a tragic plane crash, it suddenly became difficult for Conley to stay afloat in the cutthroat music business. After being forced under threat by some shady characters to make music other than what he wanted, Conley left the United States in the late 1970s. After wandering through Europe, he eventually settled in the Netherlands, where he performed in Amsterdam in 1980 as Lee Roberts: Lee was his real first name and Roberts was his mother's surname. Live recordings of Lee Robert & The Sweaters have been released, in which he performs not his own songs but soul hits by others.

And so it happened that one day in the 1980s, Lee walked into the computer shop of Alwin Mutgeert in Utrecht. He bought a complete set of digital music equipment. Alwin offered to come and install it at his home in Ruurlo. When Alwin played a demo of his own music created with the computer tools, Lee suggested they collaborate on new music. When Arthur sang some vocals during the try-out, Alwin heard his exceptional voice. But he would only realize he had met a celebrity when, at one of their subsequent meetings, Arthur pulled open a drawer full of gold records.

Alwin Mutgeert & Arthur Conley in 2003

In the years that followed, they saw each other regularly and a friendship developed. The New Funky had the opportunity to speak with Alwin about it: “Lee was a man with a grand presence. When he stood at my door, he didn't need to ring the doorbell because you could feel his presence immediately. He considered a spiritual connection with people and his surroundings essential.” Alwin shows a ring on his finger that he has put on now that we are talking about Lee. “Lee gave me this ring with both our names engraved on it. He wanted me to wear it to solidify our bond.” Naturally, they also made music, but recordings were rare. “To record music, it was a prerequisite that everything felt right, that the stars aligned.” Alwin lets TheNewFunky hear two songs they recorded together. Lee's soulful voice cuts straight to the core on the track (There will always be) May. The song Soul Heaven is about reuniting with his soul friends in the afterlife, a sequel to Sweet Soul Music but more like a requiem. It seems that Lee could sense that his end was approaching. Lee Roberts, aka Arthur Conley, passed away not long after this recording in 2003 at the age of 57 in his hometown of Ruurlo from the effects of cancer.

The intention is to release a posthumous album featuring unreleased songs by Arthur Conley, including May and Soul Heaven. If that happens, The New Funky will certainly pay attention to it. Until then, you can never get enough of his earlier work. We have the reissue of the signature debut album Sweet Soul Music available for you on vinyl with liner notes of Otis Redding.