Al Downing, also known as Big Al Downing, was a singer whose career from the 1950's-2000's encompassed rockabilly, soul, disco, jazz, and, probably most notably, mainstream traditional country. It was the late '50's number "Down On The Farm" that Downing sang and played piano as a member of The Poe Kats on a various artists CD set of rockabilly and '50's punk I'd purchased recently, that inspired my revisiting of his catalog (and this survey). Were you familiar with Downing before starting this poll?

The closest Downing came to making the US pop top 40 came after he transitioned to r & b/soul music and dueted with Esther Phillips-- wherein she was billed as "Little Esther" Phillips and he, "Big Al" Downing--for "You Never Miss The Water (Till The Well Runs Dry)" in 1963. Have you abandoned a paramour (or even a spouse) only to later regret it?

Possibly the weirdest moment in Downing's recording career came in late 1974 with "I'll Be Holding On." Plenty of people were recording disco music by this time, but this is disco with an unusual twist; banjo is used for rhythmic effect intermittently throughout the second half of the tune. It's also one of the first disco compositions to be extended for club DJ use (a shorter version accompanies this question) . Getting back to the banjo, do you think it works well in this context?

That insinuation of banjo into his disco hit may have presaged Downing's next and longest-lasting artistric phase. As a country singer, Downing never reached the same heights popularity as other African-American contemporaries and predecessors like Charley Pride, Stoney Edwards and O.B. McClinton, but, to my ears, he had a voice that worked naturally in country. On this story song fo a single, "Mr. Jones," from his 1982 debut album as a country singer (and first longplayer overall), I enjoy the warmth and twang of Downing's singing and recitation. How about you?

Alas, there's nothing I could find on YouTube from Downing's 1993 album of blues and jazz, but the song included here from an album released the year he died, 2005, is in a soul country vein I could imagine being adopted by blues and current Southern soul performers and country swaggers of a certain type of swagger, like Hank Williams, Jr.. "Sneaky Freaky People," to my ears , also has the kind of rhythm that could work for country line dancing. Which of the following statements is/are true for you?