Southern Soul singer and blues man Marvin Sease died yesterday (Tuesday, Feb. 8) of pneumonia in Vicksburg, Miss. He would have turned 65 next Wednesday.
Sease’s signature tune “Candy Licker” gave him great success in the element of popular music that operates under the mainstream radar.
Born in Blackville, S.C., Sease began singing with the Five Gospel Crowns.
He moved to New York in 1966 and performed for a time with his brothers in the group Seas before going solo. He became popular at clubs like Brooklyn’s Casablanca in the 1970s and recorded his first album, self-titled, in 1986.
That record featured “Ghetto Man,” then when he signed with Polygram a year later it was expanded to include “Candy Licker.”
The song would become his greatest hit. Most of his music was deemed too racy for radio.
He released several more albums over the years that were far less well-received than his debut, but Sease remained popular for his live performances in the South.
Information from The Associated Press and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
