Rainy Night in Georgia

Sam, Conway, and one of the great duets you'll ever hear

News broke a few days ago that legendary soul artist Sam Moore passed away at the age of 89. Moore was a goliath of his day and his passing makes it seems like the end of an era is closer and closer upon us. Better and smarter people have eulogized him, but when I heard the news, I immediately went to an old favorite and played it again and again.

In 1994 MCA Records released Rhythm, Country, and Blues, a duet album featuring R&B and Country artists. The album featured absolute legends, including Vince Gill, Gladys Knight, Lyle Lovett, Al Greene, Reba McEntire, Natalie Cole, George Jones, B.B. King, and others. Notable in this case was the duet of Sam Moore and Conway Twitty singing “Rainy Night in Georgia,” first written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and made famous by Brook Benton three years later. The pairing is perfect its combination of Conway’s deep growl and Sam’s falsetto.

I must’ve seen this video a hundred times at my grandparents’ house. And watching it now is particularly nostaglic. The town men clearly admired each other, so seeing them perform together in a studio is kind of heartwarming. Further, the album and video were released after Conway’s premature death at 59 in 1993, so hearing Sam shout “Conway” at the end of the song always gives me goosebumps. The song, as beautiful as it is, feels somehow….well, I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe you can. Anyway, it remains one of my favorite duets of all time, and I thought maybe in your day today you could stand to hear something beautiful.

Here it is:

Hey, thanks for reading this newsletter. I hope you know how much that means to me.

Your friend,

Jason