This Is My Beloved
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Album Summary
Arthur Prysock, that deep-voiced, velvet-throated gentleman of soul, stepped into the studio and delivered 'This Is My Beloved' in 1969 on Verve Records, a label that knew a thing or two about pairing serious talent with serious arrangements. The album drew its inspiration from Walter Benton's 1943 book of romantic poetry of the same name, and Prysock wrapped that lyrical framework in lush orchestral settings that were absolutely made for late-night listening. The production leaned into the sophisticated, string-heavy sound that had become Prysock's signature — slow, deliberate, and dripping with emotional weight — reflecting a moment in time when a man could still stand at a microphone and make the whole room feel like a slow dance.
Reception
- The album was embraced by fans of sophisticated soul and adult R&B, reinforcing Prysock's standing as one of the premier ballad interpreters of his era.
- Critics recognized the album as a refined and cohesive artistic statement, noting the seamless marriage of Benton's poetic source material with Prysock's commanding baritone delivery.
- While not a mainstream chart breakthrough, the record deepened Prysock's devoted following among listeners who valued craft, atmosphere, and vocal storytelling over commercial flash.
Significance
- The album stands as a remarkable example of the spoken-word and song hybrid tradition in Black American music, where poetry and soul vocal performance were treated as equals on the same stage.
- By setting Walter Benton's mid-century romantic verse to orchestral soul arrangements, Prysock helped bridge the worlds of literary culture and popular Black music at a time when that kind of artistic ambition was rarely celebrated loudly enough.
- Tracks like 'I Need Your Love' and 'Sleeping... So Still, So Still' exemplify Prysock's gift for transforming intimate, almost whispered emotion into something that fills an entire room — a quality that made this album a touchstone for the sophisticated soul and quiet storm movements that followed in the 1970s.
Tracklist
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A1 I Need Your Love —
2:17
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A2 Your Eyes 104
3:25
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A3 Your Words —
2:01
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A4 Your Body Makes Eyes At Me —
4:05
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A5 Come Love Me —
2:43
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A6 I Was Very Tired And Lonely —
3:10
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A7 You Did Not Come —
2:39
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B1 I Stood Long Where You Left Me —
2:39
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B2 Each Season, Every Year —
4:45
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B3 Eleven Years —
2:56
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B4 Remembering How We Could Be Warm Together —
2:59
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B5 Sleeping... So Still, So Still —
1:20
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B6 I Shall Wish For You —
2:50
Artist Details
Arthur Prysock was a smooth, velvet-voiced baritone from Spartanburg, South Carolina, who rose to prominence in the late 1940s and went on to become one of the most soulful and sophisticated ballad singers the world has ever known, blending jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues into a sound so deep and warm it could melt the coldest heart. He built his reputation fronting Buddy Johnson's orchestra before carving out a legendary solo career with Decca and later Old Town Records, where his recordings became the soundtrack of late-night romance and slow dancing across Black America for decades. Prysock's influence sits at the crossroads of jazz vocal tradition and soul music, and his ability to deliver a lyric with such tenderness and gravity earned him a devoted following that stretched well into the 1970s and beyond, making him one of the unsung pillars of the African American musical legacy.
