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'Me and
Mrs.
Jones':
Jazz/Rhythm
and
Blues
singer
Billy
Paul
passes
at age
80
By
Wendell
Bryant/Tell
Us
Detroit
NEW YORK
(Tell Us
Det) -
Billy
Paul,
the
dynamic
jazz and
soul
singer
from the
70's and
80's and
best
known
for the
No. 1
hit
ballad
and
"Philadelphia
Soul"
classic
"Me and
Mrs.
Jones,"
died
Sunday.
Paul,
whose
career
spanned
for more
than 60
years,
died at
his home
in
Blackwood,
New
Jersey,
according
to his
co-manager,
Beverly
Gay.
Paul,
80, had
been
diagnosed
recently
with
pancreatic
cancer,
the
manager
said.
Detroit
Association
of Black
Organizations
Executive
Director,
Rev.
Horace
L.
Sheffield
III
said,
"My
heart is
heavy
tonight.
Billy
Paul and
His wife
Blanche
have
been my
friends
for over
40
years. I
was
first
introduced
to Billy
by
Yolanda
and
Coretta
Scott
King at
the King
Center
in
Atlanta."
"Billy
performed
at the
first
fundraising
concert
hosted
by the
Sheffield
Center
concert
to raise
money
for my
father’s
vision-The
Detroit
Association
of Black
Organizations
(dabo).
Over the
years he
and I
have
become
dear
friends
and
brothers.
I will
miss him
very
much but
he has
left a
lasting
legacy
of music
for
generations
to come.
My
thoughts
and
prayers
are with
his
family
and his
loving
wife
Blanche,
concluded
Sheffield."
Paul's
voice
made him
"one of
the
great
artists
to come
out of
Philly
and to
be
celebrated
worldwide,"
Gamble
and Huff
said in
a
statement
late
Sunday.
"Our
proudest
moment
with
Billy
was the
recording
of the
salacious
smash
'Me and
Mrs.
Jones.'
In our
view, it
is one
of the
greatest
love
songs
ever
recorded,"
they
said.
The song
was one
of the
top
singles
of 1972
and
brought
Paul a
Grammy
the
following
year for
best
male
rhythm
'n blues
performance,
with
runners-up
including
Ray
Charles
and
Curtis
Mayfield.
Paul
remained
identified
with the
song for
the rest
of his
life.
He was
born
Paul
Williams
but
later
agreed
to his
manager's
suggestion
that he
change
his name
to Billy
Paul to
avoid
confusion
with
songwriter
Paul
Williams
and
other
musicians
with the
same
name. A
Philadelphia
native,
he sang
much his
life,
performing
with
such
jazz
stars as
Charlie
Parker
and
Dinah
Washington
and
being
featured
on a
handful
of
singles
while
still in
his
teens.
Paul
faced
numerous
obstacles
following
his
biggest
hit.
Radio
stations
resisted
his more
socially
conscious
follow-up
song,
"Am I
Black
Enough
for You"
and the
Rev.
Jesse
Jackson
was
among
those
who
objected
to the
explicit
"Let's
Make a
Baby."
Years
later,
Paul
sued
Gamble
and Huff
and
other
industry
officials
over
unpaid
royalties
and was
awarded
$500,000
by a Los
Angeles
jury in
2003.
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