Benjamin William Lattimore (born September 7, 1939), known professionally as Latimore, is an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter and pianist.[1] In 2017, Latimore was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.[2]
Latimore's first national hit was "If You Were My Woman," a gender-modified cover of "If I Were Your Woman" (written by Pam Sawyer, Clay McMurray and Gloria Jones and first popularized by Gladys Knight & the Pips), which reached No. 70 on the R&B chart. His biggest success came in 1974, with "Let's Straighten It Out", a No. 1 R&B hit,[1] which also reached No. 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. He followed it up with more hits, including "Keep The Home Fire Burnin'" (No. 5 R&B, 1975) and "Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha" (No. 7 R&B, 1976). The hits dissipated in the late 1970s.
"He likes what he's singing so much that he doesn't have to go for the simulated high emotion of some fancy vocal embellishment—he just puts those lyrics across, intelligent and matter-of-fact, as if you've never heard them before, which maybe you haven't."
Latimore moved to Malaco Records in 1982,[1] releasing seven albums of modern blues music with that label. He briefly left the label in 1994 and released a song for the J-Town label, Turning Up The Mood, before returning to Malaco in 2000 with You're Welcome To Ride. Next, Latimore recorded an album with Mel Waiters' label, Brittney Records, called Latt Is Back.[6]
Later, Latimore collaborated with Henry Stone on a new record label called LatStone; which released his first new album in six years, Back 'Atcha.
