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Sweet Pea Atkinson grinded away on Detroit's soul circuit in the late 1970s, work that brought him to the attention of
Was (Not Was), the art-R&B project helmed by
Don and
David Was. During the '80s,
Was (Not Was) slowly built a cult following before scoring a breakthrough in 1988 with
What Up, Dog?, an album that became a hit on the strength of the pseudo-novelty "Walk the Dinosaur."
Atkinson shared lead vocals on the song with
Harry Bowens, as he usually did on
Was (Not Was), but the group also supported
Atkinson on his solo album, Don't Walk Away.
Atkinson didn't release another solo album for another 35 years, when Blue Note, presided over by
Don Was, put out
Get What You Deserve in 2017, but he kept busy during those decades by singing on studio sessions and collaborating with
Randy Jacobs in a band called
the Boneshakers.
Born in 1945,
Atkinson began scoring studio work in the late '70s -- he appears on
George Jones' 1979 LP
My Very Special Guests -- but once
Don and
David Was hired him as a co-lead singer for
Was (Not Was), he began his professional career in earnest. He was showcased on their 1981 debut, and a year later,
Was (Not Was) supported him on his solo album, Don't Walk Away, in 1982. He occasionally got studio work as he sang with
Was (Not Was) during the '80s.
"Walk the Dinosaur" turned
Was (Not Was) into a household name, at least for a hot minute, and while
Don Was turned into a superstar producer,
Atkinson didn't get a solo deal. Nevertheless,
Don Was hired him to sing on major projects by
Bonnie Raitt,
Bob Dylan, and
Iggy Pop, which lead to other backup gigs in the '80s and '90s. He and guitarist
Randy Jacobs formed
the Boneshakers in the late '90s, releasing two studio albums --
Book of Spells (1997) and
Shake the Planet (1999) -- before splitting.
More studio supporting work followed, keeping
Atkinson busy. In 2017,
Don Was signed the singer to Blue Note, and produced three cuts on that year's
Get What You Deserve; the rest of the album was produced by
Keb' Mo'.
Sweet Pea Atkinson died in Los Angeles on May 4, 2020 after suffering a heart attack at the age of 74. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine