Arthur Prysock was a prolific jazz and R&B crooner known for his silky-smooth baritone voice.

Born ton the south side of Spartanburg in 1929, Prysock later moved with his family to a farm in North Carolina, but by age sixteen he had left the South in search of work. A chance encounter with famed bandleader Buddy Johnson led to Prysock filling in for an ailing singer, launching a working relationship that lasted nearly a decade. Although he recorded several hit songs for Johnson, Prysock decided to strike out on his own in 1952.

Over the next several years, he recorded a string of hits, including “I Didn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night” and “I Worry ’Bout You,” often working with his saxophonist brother Red Prysock. By 1965, Prysock was famous enough to merit equal billing on the album “Arthur Prysock & Count Basie.

In 1976, he scored a surprise disco hit with the song “When Love Is New,” and twice in the 1980s he was nominated for Grammy awards. And of course, his pop culture celebrity was cemented when he sang the iconic 1970s beer jingle, "Tonight, let it be Löwenbräu."

—Peter Cooper, author, professor, award-winning journalist, and Grammy-nominated artist

—Steve Shanafelt, freelance journalist, editor and music writer