Memphis, Tennessee - For much of his career he was known as “Little Otis” due his vocal similarity to Stax legend Otis Redding, but James Govan was a singular artist in his own right. The Mississippi-born, Memphis-bred soul singer and Beale Street fixture died Friday at age 64.
His passing was confirmed by Carson Lamm of the Rum Boogie Café, the night club where Mr. Govan had played regularly for two decades. The cause of death was unknown, but the singer had dealt with health issues after suffering a stroke in 2012.
Though he could often be found playing for tourists in downtown Memphis with the Boogie Blues Band or the pianist Charlie Wood, Mr. Govan’s reputation extended far beyond the Bluff City.
“He was our hero, a true talent,” said Graziano Uliani, founder of the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy, where Mr. Govan performed numerous times, becoming a hugely popular figure among European audiences.
“Since his first performance in Porretta in 1993 he had entered into our hearts and for us it was a ‘real thing,’” said Uliani. “We will miss him very much.”
Mr. Govan’s global renown also rested on a series of recordings he made for the Muscle Shoals, Alabama label FAME between 1969 and 1972. Mr. Govan had entered the fray at FAME as a multi-instrumentalist — he was a gifted percussionist and guitarist — but it was as a roughhewn R&B singer that he made his reputation. Working with producers George Jackson and Mickey Buckins, among others, Mr. Govan distinguished himself as a singer of deep soul songs, such as his best-known single “Wanted: Lover (No Experience Necessary),” but also proved capable of delivering stunningly powerful versions of numbers by Bob Dylan and the Beatles.
While popular success eluded him at the time, Mr. Govan had long been admired by soul aficionados and had become the subject of a recent popular rediscovery. In 2011, Mr. Govan’s work was featured on the U.K. label Ace Records’ box set, FAME Studios Story 1961-1967. Last year, a separate collection of his solo songs — much of them unreleased — were gathered on the album Wanted: The FAME Recordings. The reissues put the spotlight back on the press-shy Govan, with international music magazines and NPR doing features on his career.
“James was a gentle man with a big voice,” said Ace Records’ Dean Rudland, who produced the Govan compilation. “He may never have become a household name, and the records he made were few and far between, but when he was allowed to record he made better use of that time than armies of inferior hit-makers.”
“He was championed by Rick Hall at FAME, a talent spotter who recognized James’ voice as being up there with the finest he had worked with,” added Rudland. “I’m glad that we were able to present these recordings to the world before James passed away, and that he was able to see just how much he was appreciated.”
Since the late-’80s, Govan had been a steadfast presence on Beale Street. His last studio album of new solo material, I’m In Need, was released in 1996. Just this past week, a live CD, documenting his late ’90s performances at Porretta, paying tribute to Otis Redding, was released in Europe.
Plans for funeral services for Mr. Govan are pending.
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