(February 1, 2023) Larry Braggs knows what all talented people know but are sometimes unwilling to acknowledge. That the support of their village helped them achieve the success they attained. Braggs openly acknowledges this fact, and he heaps praise on everyone from the aunt that placed his five year old body on a table to sing “A Hard Day’s Night,” to the Chicago Public School teachers who encouraged his talents and demanded that he develop it each year, to the professors at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. Those professors refined his vocal skills so that he could sing anything from Handel’s Messiah to the R&B and funk music that he made a name singing for four plus decades.
Braggs served a lead singer for Tower of Power for 14 years before accepting the opportunity of a lifetime to sing with the legendary Otis Williams, Jr. as part of the Temptations. Braggs also sang with jazz luminaries Bob James, David Sanborn and Marcus Miller.
Braggs’ latest song, “For Crying Out Loud,” finds the tenor diving deep into the sound that he mastered while singing with Tower of Power. A remix of a recording from 2005, “For Crying Out Loud” is a rollicking and brassy funk number with a jumpy bass line. Braggs’ rangy vocals match the energy of the musical arrangement. The song itself finds Braggs expressing exasperation at someone who is not holding up their end of the relationship. Check out Braggs on “For Crying Out Loud” here.
By Howard Dukes
Larry Braggs – “For Crying Out Loud”
