Sweet Pea Atkinson

R&B singer Hillard Atkinson – born September 20, 1945 in Oberlin, Ohio – was better known by his stage name Sweet Pea Atkinson. While he worked as a solo artist and session singer, he is remembered for his work with Was (Not Was). Atkinson grew up in Detroit, working on the Chrysler assembly line when he formed Hi Energy, his first group. While rehearsing in the late 1970s, he met studio owner Don Was (real name: Don Fagenson), who recruited him for a studio band called Was (Not Was), which Fagenson had formed with his songwriting/production partner David Weiss (AKA David Was). Atkinson shared lead vocal duties with Harry Bowens and performed songs on their self-titled 1981 debut album. He co-wrote and sang lead on Was (Not Was)’s 1988 hit “Walk the Dinosaur”. Atkinson continued to sing with Was (Not Was) until the band’s final album Boo! (2008). Outside of his work with the band, Atkinson released his debut solo album, Don’t Walk Away, in 1982. The album included the club hit “Dance or Die”. In 1997, Atkinson provided lead vocals to most of the tracks on Don Was’ Orquestra Was album Forever’s a Long, Long Time. Atkinson joined forces with Was (Not Was) session guitarist Randy Jacobs in a band called The Boneshakers, who released two studio albums – Book of Spells (1997) and Shake the Planet (1999) – and the Live in Seattle album with saxophonist Mindi Abair. As a backing vocalist, he toured with Lyle Lovett for 10 years and did studio sessions for artists such as Elton John, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and others. Atkinson released his second solo album, Get What You Deserve, in 2017. The album, released on the Blue Note label, was mixed by his old boss, Don Was. Sweet Pea Atkinson died of a heart attack on May 5, 2020.

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