'Me and Mrs. Jones' Singer, Billy Paul Dies

Singer Billy Paul, best known for his song Me and Mrs. Jones, died Sunday.  He was 80.

On Me and Mrs. Jones, a number one song in 1972, Paul crooned about a love affair between a man and a married woman.

The sultry song earned Paul a Grammy for best male rhythm and blues performance, beating out his competitors who included Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes.

It was his biggest hit and Paul would be identified with the song for the rest of his life.

Paul was one of many singers who found success with the writing and producing team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, whose Philadelphia International Records also released music by the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.

Years later in 2003, however, Paul sued Gamble and Huff for unpaid royalties on Me and Mrs. Jones and won.  A California jury awarded Paul a half million dollars.

Paul was born Paul Williams.  At the suggestion of a manager, he began to use Billy Paul as his stage name to avoid confusion with the songwriter Paul Williams.

Paul continued to perform throughout the years.  The Associated Press reports that he was lining up appearances shortly before his death.

(Photo by Kassus: Billy Paul at Carthage Palace, 2006.)

Bobby Womack Dies at 70

American Soul singer Bobby Womack has died.

He started his career in the city Cleveland in the 1950s in a gospel group with his brothers.

In the 1960s, the group recorded on Sam Cooke's label and switched from gospel to secular music.

Womack possessed a distinctive voice and was a powerful songwriter. 

He eventually left his brothers and ventured out on his own.  His hits included Across 110th Street, If You Think You're Lonely Now, That's The Way I Feel About 'Cha, and Woman's Gotta Have It.

Some of Womack's biggest hits were songs written for other artists, including Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex and Dusty Springfield.

Womack wrote and recorded with this brothers, It's All Over Now which the Rolling Stones covered.  The New York Times reports the Stones' version became the group's first number one single in Britain and their first international hit. 

Bobby Womack influenced generations of performers and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

He struggled with drugs and health problems for decades and was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. 

He continued to work and perform after the Alzheimer's diagnosis and in 2012 released his first album in more than a decade.

His website says the 70-year-old Womack was scheduled to start a European tour next month.

When he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Womack said "This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black president of the United States of America."