The Mighty Hannibal is celebrating his 70th birthday at Highline Ballroom (w/ The Sweet Divines)

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Posted in music | tour dates on July 28, 2009

The Mighty Hannibal is celebrating his 70th birthday at Highline Ballroom (w/ The Sweet Divines)

The Mighty Hannibal @ McCarren Park Pool Party 2006 (heartonastick)

"When soul singer the Mighty Hannibal invites you to his birthday party, it's wise to take him up on it! The Atlanta-born Hannibal--who has been making records for 50 years for labels including King, Aware, Josie, Decca, Kent, Loma, Sue, Venture, and Shurfine (and has a terrific greatest-hits package, Hannibalism, available on Norton Records)--is on a bit of a tear lately, packing halls in New Orleans, in Atlanta, and right here in his adopted hometown of New York. He's also the subject of a documentary that's currently in production, in which hitherto-unheard details of his colorful life will be revealed--a life packed with more mind-blowing adventures than any ten normal lives. Too many of his close friends have checked out in recent years (James Brown, Ray Charles, and Johnny Guitar Watson among them), but the man behind such hits as "Hymn No. 5," "Jerkin' the Dog," and "The Truth Shall Make You Free" is here to state with authority that he's NOT DONE YET!

Playing behind Hannibal will be local soul outfit the Sweet Divines, who have quickly gained a reputation as New York's premier backing group for veteran soul artists. Dynamic sets with underappreciated legends of the genre such as Maxine Brown, Howard Tate, Baby Washington, Tami Lynn, Harvey Scales, Delia Gartrell, Garland Green, and Renaldo Domino have been hailed by artists and fans alike as their best shows in decades--due in no small part to the Divines' knack for combining a reverent attention to detail with a youthful energy in their approach to classic soul."

The Highline Ballroom will host "'I'M NOT DONE YET!' The Mighty Hannibal's 70th Birthday Party" on Friday, July 31st. Tickets are on sale.

The Sweet Divines also backed Hannibal at a more low key show in Brooklyn in January. They played with the Bo-Keys on July 17th at Southpaw (the pre-Ponderosa Stomp show). In August, they are one of the house bands at The Brooklyn Soul Festival happening at The Bell House.

In 2007, the Mighty Hannibal played in his hometown of Atlanta with the Black Lips as his backing band. That group just played a "Pool" Party last Sunday. The Mighty Hannibal played his own Pool Party gig, as you can see by the pic above, in 2006. For that show, the Dansettes were his banding band. The Dansettes have since called it quits. Their members formed Nouvellas and... The Sweet Divines.

A set of videos from the Mighty Hannibal with the Black Lips, and a flyer for the Highline show, below...

Mighty Hannibal

The Mighty Hannibal w/ The Black Lips 1.12.07 Part 1 of 5

The Mighty Hannibal w/ The Black Lips 1.12.07 Part 2 of 5

The Mighty Hannibal w/ The Black Lips 1.12.07 Part 3 of 5

The Mighty Hannibal w/ The Black Lips 1.12.07 Part 4 of 5

The Mighty Hannibal w/ The Black Lips 1.12.07 Part 5 of 5

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Tags: Black Lips, Highline Ballroom, soul, The Mighty Hannibal, The Sweet Divines

Posted on July 28, 2009 11:47 AM

Comments (2)

"Jerkin' the Dog"

Posted by Anonymous | July 28, 2009 12:15 PM

Hands down, one of the best performances in the three year history of Pool Parties@McCarren Pool. I was there for every show and believe me, Hannibal's set one was in the top 3.

Posted by Doug | July 28, 2009 4:11 PM