Lou Pride (May 24, 1944 – June 5, 2012)^[2] was an American blues and soul singer and songwriter.^[1] Some sources state his year of birth was 1950.^[3] He is best known for his compositions "Long Arm of the Blues" and "Love From a Stone".^[3] Pride had a cult following among British Northern soul aficionados.^[4]

Before his death, Allmusic noted that Pride had a "smooth, uptown southern voice,"^[5] and was "more known for performances in blues clubs and festivals than his artistry in the studio."^[6]

He was born George Louis Pride,^[3] in Chicago, Illinois, United States.^[1] Pride grew up on Chicago's north side and attended the First Baptist Church, where the pastor was Nat King Cole's father.^[1][2]

After conscription in the United States Army,^[2] Pride met and married a female singer and they settled in El Paso, Texas.^[1] They performed as a singing duo before, after seeing B.B. King perform live, Pride concentrated his singing future around the blues and soul music genres.^[7] Pride recorded his first two singles in the early 1970s. These were "I'm Com'un Home In The Morn'un" (1972) and "Your Love Is Fading," both released by Suemi Records.^[1][8] After relocating to New Mexico, he recorded sporadically while constantly performing in blues clubs and at festivals on the Chitlin' Circuit.^[9] Other tracks of his that were released over this period included "Look Out on Love," "We're Only Fooling Ourselves," "You've Got to Work for Love," and "Been Such a Long Time."^[1]

Pride's debut album was entitled, Very Special (1979), which was released by Black Gold Entertainment. Several singles were issued before Gone Bad for a Very Special Reason (1988) was released, which had an almost an identical playlist to his debut effort.^[1]

After returning to Chicago, he became acquainted with Curtis Mayfield, which saw Gone Bad Again (1990) being issued.^[2] However, Pride's recordings remained second place to performing live. The WMB Records release, Love at Last (1995), contained re-recordings of several of Pride's earlier cuts. His 1997 Ichiban release was Twisting the Knife, followed by I Won't Give Up (2000).^[1] Pride signed a recording contract with Severn Records in 2002, which preceded his first release for them, Words of Caution.^[9] His early 1970s recordings were collected on the compilation album, The Memphis/El Paso Sessions 1970–1973, which Severn issued in June 2003.^[10] Allmusic noted that the collection "remains a treasure trove of previously obscure soul music that spotlights one of the many great singers almost lost to history."^[11]

In 2004, Pride undertook a brief tour in the UK. Alongside Darrell Nulisch, Pride was also the headline act at the Severn Records Soul and Blues Revue, in Chicago, in 2006.^[8] Snippets of his composition, "Bringin' Me Back Home," were used in the 2007 film, Feast of Love.^[7] Pride's appearance at the Severn Soul Review in 2010 was a significant comeback. He had been booked to appear in 2004, but he had had a heart attack before he could perform.^[12]

Following a period of ill health, Pride died in Chicago in June 2012 of natural causes. He was aged 68.^[2][13]

• List of blues musicians