Sweet Pea Atkinson

Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson[1] (born c. 1945) is an American R&B singer and former vocalist for the band Was (Not Was).[2] In 1982, after departing Was (Not Was), he released his first solo album, Don't Walk Away.[2][3][4] The album was co-produced by Was (Not Was) members David Weiss and Donald Fagenson, also known as the Was Brothers.[5] In 1997, along with Kris Kristofferson, Atkinson starred in a 15-minute short film included on Don Was' album Forever’s a Long, Long Time, which Was released under the alias Orquestra Was.[6] Atkinson also performed as lead vocalist on most of the songs on the album, on which Was interprets songs by Hank Williams.[7][8]

Atkinson also joined forces with Blues guitarist Randy Jacobs in a band called the Boneshakers; together they released three albums. Two of those were studio recordings: Book of Spells in 1997 on Point Blank Records, and Shake the Planet in 1999, also on Point Blank Records. The third album that they cut together is a live album, Live in Seattle, with the groovy female saxophonist Mindi Abair. It was released on Concord Records.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau gave Don't Walk Away an A– grade, writing, "Trouper that he is, Atkinson will sing any nonsense [the Was brothers] hand him, but he obviously finds his truth in Dionne Warwick, the Tymes, General Johnson, and Eddie Rabbitt, and I'll go along with that."[4] AllMusic's William Ruhlmann gave the album 3 stars out of 5. In his review, Ruhlmann wrote that "For all intents and purposes, this is a Was (Not Was) record" and that "mostly this record has the same sarcastic undercurrent of most of Was (Not Was)'s product."[9]

Discography

  • Don't Walk Away (Island, 1982)
  • Get What You Deserve (2017)[10]

References

  1. ↑ Fusilli, Jim, (September 21, 2017). "‘Get What You Deserve’ by Sweet Pea Atkinson Review: A Tribute to the Past", Wall Street Journal.
  2. 1 2 "Was (Not Was)". Contemporary Musicians. Cengage Learning. 2004.
  3. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "Sweet Pea Atkinson Biography". AllMusic.
  4. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Sweet Pea Atkinson". Village Voice.
  5. ↑ Pareles, Jon (15 November 1982). "Pop: Sweet Pea Atkinson". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Cheng, Kipp (18 April 1997). "Forever's a Long, Long Time". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ↑ Gill, Andy (21 March 1997). "Pop Albums: Orquestra Was Forever's a Long, Long Time Verve 314 533-915". The Independent.
  8. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (23 March 1997). "What Was Was and What Was Is". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Don't Walk Away Review". AllMusic.
  10. ↑ "I'm Old As Dirt But I Can Still Sing: Sweet Pea Atkinson On Get What You Deserve". NPR.
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