Preston Shannon – The Way I Love You / Be With Me Tonight 45 (Soul Junction) 7″ Vinyl

Preston Shannon was originally from Olive Branch, Mississippi. At the age of 8 he moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee where his initial fascination with the genre of blues music began. During the 1970’s while working for a Hardware company he joined a band called Amnesty. Preston later ditched the day job to become a full time musician, securing a gig as the opening act for Shirley “Woman To Woman” Brown’s touring band.

In 1991 Preston formed his own band and it was while performing in the Rum Boogie Cafe on Memphis’s world famous Beale Street that he was discovered by producer Ron Levy, who was instrumental in securing Preston a recording deal with the Rounder Record label.

Three album releases followed on Rounder’s Bullseye Blues subsidiary label, firstly “Breaking The Ice” (1994) followed by Midnight In Memphis (1996) and “All In Time (1999) both recorded under the tutelage of Willie “Pops” Mitchell at his renowned Royal Studios on Lauderdale Street, Memphis.

Following a move to the Title Tunes label in 2006 Preston released the “Be With Me Tonight” album featuring a subtle blend of southern soul and electric blues. It is the title track “Be With Me Tonight” a sublime southern soul ballad that has been chosen for the b-side of this 45 release.

While the A-side “The Way I Love You” a more energetic southern soul dance track has been taken from Preston’s most recent album project “Dust My Broom” which he recorded for the Netherlands based Continental Record Services label. This version of Preston’s “The “Way I Love You” features excellent musical accompaniment from one of the Netherlands most respected blues ensembles ‘Fat Harry &The Fuzzy Licks’.

Nowadays Preston is a regular performer at B.B. Kings Blues Club in Memphis, while he also appeared at this year’s Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport Iowa.