Born in Lynchburg, TN in 1931, Roscoe Shelton was a giant of the classic R&B era. He started out singing Gospel with the legendary Fairfield Four in the late 1940s before entering the military. Upon completion of his service, Roscoe joined The Skylarks who recorded for Excello’s Gospel Music imprint, Nashboro Records. With the success of his friend Sam Cooke moving from Gospel to R&B, Roscoe set his sights on doing the same.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Roscoe recorded some of the most beautiful records of the era. Several were regional hits. Enough so that Excello released the LP “Roscoe Shelton Sings” upon his leaving the label. He then recorded a couple of 45s for Ted Jarrett’s Val-Dot label in 1962 before landing at Sims Records where he had his first big national hit with “Strain On My Heart” (with Johnny Jones on guitar). Sims was soon absorbed by the bigger Sound Stage 7 label. Roscoe recorded prolifically for Sound Stage 7 and had another big hit with “Easy Going Fellow” in 1966.

SS7 released his second LP “Soul In His Music, Music In His Soul” later that year. With the death of his two friends Otis Redding and Sam Cooke back to back, Roscoe felt that the road was taking too great a toll. John Richbourg released him from his contract and Roscoe did a few 45s for the much smaller Ref-O-Ree label. He rarely toured and performed only occasionally around his hometown of Nashville, TN.

All the while, Roscoe’s records were achieving cult status in Europe and Japan. He decided to return to the music business in the early 1990s and made a very strong comeback. He recorded new material for Appaloosa, Magnum, Black Top and Cannonball Records both under his own name and with old friend Earl Gaines as “The Excello Legends”. He toured Europe and the U.S. and became quite a festival draw. Roscoe succumbed to cancer and passed away in 2002.