Don Wilson Varner (25 June 1943 – 7 October 2002) was an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer. Varner was a baritone who sang both uptempo soul in the

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

style as well as ballads.

Career

Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, Varner grew up in the same neighborhood as

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temp ...

, co-founder of

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

.Andrew Hamilton
"Don Varner"
at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

. Retrieved 5 September 2013. Varner moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

after high school to pursue his music career but returned to Alabama after six years to record at

Rick Hall Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was ...

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

. He wrote songs including "I Keep Holdin' On" for

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

(with William Crump). Varner also worked with

Quin Ivy Quinon Ray Ivy (June 3, 1937 – December 10, 2022) was an American disc jockey turned songwriter and record producer, crucial to the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Muscle Shoals scene in the 1960s. Early life Ivy was born in Banner, Mississippi, the s ...

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area. The population was 9,403 at the 2020 census. and was estimated to be 9,307 in 2023. Sheffield is the birthplace o ...

and released several songs including "Masquerade"(1967), "Down in Texas"(1967), and "Tear Stained Face" on the South Camp and Quinvy labels. Varner did not release many recordings but performed numerous live shows in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

with other major soul performers. He moved to California in the 1980s and toured as the lead singer of the Johnny Otis Show. He toured numerous European music festivals in 1985. In his later career, he began to record

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

. He died in

Moreno Valley, California Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's pop ...

in 2002 of a heart attack at the age of 59. An album of his music from 1968 to 1974 entitled ''Finally Go Over!'' was released posthumously.

References

American soul singers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singers from Birmingham, Alabama 1943 births 2002 deaths People from Ensley, Alabama 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama {{US-singer-stub