BILLY SOUL BONDS
Billy "Soul" Bonds--the self-styled "Mister Sock-It, Sock-It"--grew up in Biscoe, Arkansas, non-Mississippi "blues" country on Route 70 halfway between Memphis and Little Rock, just up the road from West Helena, Ark. and Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Bonds began his professional career in the eighties, notching a regional hit with "Baby, I Been Missing You." Ace Records featured the track (along with "I'm Going Public With My Love") in its compilation/sampler, The Kings And Queens Of Ace, in 1997.
Bonds' debut LP, the aptly titled Soul Of The Man, came out on the small Sog Secret label. A follow-up, Heart and Soul, followed in 1994. I'm On The Way Back (which included "I'm Searching") was released in 1998 (Avanti).
Since then Billy "Soul" Bonds has put out a CD every couple of years, the most recent being his 2002 disc, I Just Came Out To Party (Hus-La). Going Public Again (Avanti, 1999) and I Just Came Out To Party have proven to be the most popular and durable of Bonds' albums, appealing to both fans of Bobby Rush-style light-hearted fare and fans of sensitive ballads in the Bobby "Blue" Bland vein.
Despite a recording hiatus, Bonds continues to perform across the chitlin' circuit, most recently headlining the 2003 Pre-Father's Day Show in Jackson, Ms. The memorable songs from his catalog are staples of Deep South radio outlets. Favorites include (in addition to those listed above) "I Just Came Out To Party," "One Way In, No Way Out," "You Can't Do Wrong Right" and "I Failed."
Song List
1. Here Kitty Kitty
2. Tell It To The Judge
3. I Just Came Out To Party
4. Getting What I Want
5. Going Public With My Love
6. If Love Was A Snake
7. Reverend Joe
