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Often regarded as on of Southern soul’s most distinctive and individual artists, Tennessee’s Overton Vertis, a.k.a O.V. Wright, was a singer-songwriter, producer and instrumentalist. Losing his life at just 41, his musical legacy lives on through the many hip hop samples that have sourced his sound, as well as blues singers such as Robert Cray, Otis Cray, Taj Mahal amongst many others.
His voice was insanely gorgeous and it was through gospel that he was later discovered. Starting out at the age of 17 he began singing with the church and later joined gospel group, The Sunset Travellers as one of the lead singers. After that he fronted gospel group the Harmony Echos and it was during this time that he was discovered by songwriter and manager, Roosevelt Jamison. His first recording was a ballad entitled That’s How Strong My Love Is, a track later covered by Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones!
The beginning of today’s song always sends tiny shivers through me and although a hefty disco melody/beat soon kicks in, Wright’s immense vocals steal the show; the power is electric! Into Something (Can’t Shake Loose) is the opening/title track from his 1977 LP and celebrates the inescapable magnetism of one love that he just can’t seem to shake loose as he soulfully hollers, “Loving and leaving a woman/Used to be easy to do/But this time, honey/It looks like I’ve bit off more than I can chew”…. Consumed and totally powerless to fight this feeling Wright details how, I took one bite of your love/It got inside of my brain/Now your lovin’ runs through my body/Like blood running through my veins… Feed me some of that love! Check it out above.
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