Rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, country and soul singer - songwriter - pianist.
Born: January 9, 1940
Died: July 4, 2005 from acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Known as well as Big Al Downing
Brother of
Don Downing.
He started his career from
Bobby Poe’s
The Poe Kats in the late 50’s.
After his hit with his duet with
Little Esther, You’ll Never Miss the Water (Till the Well Runs Dry) he was signed to Warner Bros.
Although he had a disco hit with I’ll Be Holdin’ On (1974), he had a series of country music hits between 1978 and 1989.
He built a five-decade career around his powerful singing voice and his hard-driving rockabilly-style piano.