11 Oct 2010

Soul singer Solomon Burke dies

6:56 am on 11 October 2010

US soul singer Solomon Burke has died at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, at the age of 70.

Burke, who had been due to perform at an Amsterdam club on Tuesday, died after arrival at the Amsterdam airport from Los Angeles, Dutch and US media said.

The preacher turned singer wrote the classic song Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.

His first hit record was a cover version of the country song Just Out Of Reach.

In 1962, he had another hit with the single Cry To Me, famously used 25 years later in the film Dirty Dancing, the BBC reports.

The self-proclaimed King of Rock and Soul had released his latest album, Nothing's Impossible, in April.

Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and won a Grammy in 2003.

The singer leaves 21 children and 90 grandchildren.