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Al Downing

Rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, country and soul singer - songwriter - pianist. Born: January 9, 1940 Died: July 4, 2005 from acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Worcester, Massachusetts. Known as well as Big Al Downing Brother of [a=Don Downing]. He started his career from [a=Bobby Poe]'s [a=The Poe Kats] in the late 50's. After his hit with his duet with [a=Little Esther], "You’ll Never Miss the Water (Till the Well Runs Dry)" he was signed to Warner Bros. Although he had a disco hit with "I'll Be Holdin' On" (1974), he had a series of country music hits between 1978 and 1989. He built a five-decade career around his powerful singing voice and his hard-driving rockabilly-style piano.