Blues powerhouses Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller just dropped their new collaborative album, Tribute to Soul, out now on Third Street Cigar Records. This 11-track project is a high-energy shoutout to the legends of the chitlin circuit, packed with huge vocal duets and blazing horns. It is a masterclass in deep soul-blues, born out of a musical brotherhood that has been cooking for over 15 years.
Johnny Rawls is a living Mississippi legend who was leading the band for soul icon O.V. Wright at just 17. He has backed giants like Joe Tex and Eddie Floyd, and he is still dominating today, recently taking home Soul Blues Album of the Year at the 2026 Blues Music Awards. Johnny brings his signature, velvety-smooth Southern vocals and decades of rhythm guitar mastery to this project. Dave Keller is a Vermont-based singer and guitarist known as one of the finest modern torchbearers of deep soul. Dave has built a fierce reputation for his wild live shows, emotional vocals, and razor-sharp guitar licks. Since Dave’s band spent years backing Johnny on his New England tours, their natural, tight-knit chemistry turned this long-awaited studio collab into an absolute must-listen.
The Deep Dive
The album opens with I’m Qualified, where Paul Johnson on sax, Ben DeLong on trumpet and Travis Geiman on trombone provide warm horns and a loose, fun call-and-response with Keller and Rawls vocal duel prove right away that these guys are more than ready to preach the blues. On a funky take of Joe South’s, Walk A Mile In My Shoes the old pop gloss of the original is gone and a raw, gritty, slow-burning lesson in empathy oozes out in Rawls’ vocals. With Ira Friedman on piano, Alex Budney on bass, Jay Gleason on drums and Johnsons saxy refrain, this is a cool track. I Remember, a classic Tommy Tate tune has a real R&B strut with punchy horn work by Johnson, DeLong and Geiman, letting Rawls do his thing with strong piano reinforcement by Friedman.
One of my favorite tracks on the release is Joe Tex’s, Hold On To What You’ve Got, a gospel flavored Joe Tex ballad where Johnny stands tall with some classic spoken-word power and Friedman on organ cements the foundation. On The Kind Of Love I Want, a short, punchy rhythm-and-blues track Rawls stretches vocally with Friedman on piano and organ and Jay Gleason on drums. Wrapping the release is Jackson and Greer’s R&B classic, You Didn’t Know It But You Had Me. Keller and Rawls share the mic on this one and with Friedman on piano and organ alongside the warm horn work of Johnson DeLong and Geiman for the perfect, sweat-dripping end to a solid record.
Watch Thrill Is Gone with Dave Keller & Johnny Rawls
Tribute to Soul is a straightforward, well-crafted nod to classic rhythm-and-blues, combining a tight backing band and steady horn arrangements to give Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller a solid foundation for sharing vocals on these vintage tracks.
Bman’s VerdictTribute to Soul is a solid, well-crafted nod to the classic chitlin circuit that shines brightest when the tight backing band and sharp horn section let loose. |
Label: Third Street Cigar Records Released: June 3, 2026 |