Wendell Brown was a Southern R&B artist whose inspirations as a vocalist ranged from Bobby Womack and Barry White to the relatively smoother likes of Luther Vandross and Will Downing. Whether recording under his full name, as simply Wendell, or (most commonly) as Wendell B., the St. Louis, Missouri native kept the blues in R&B, unlike the vast majority of commercial R&B that circulated since his early-'90s debut. Brown emerged during the early '90s with the single "Yu Want 2 Play Me" and released his debut album, Make It Good for Ya, later in the decade. After that, he went fully independent with his own label, Smoothway. Among his self-released full-lengths were Good Times (2005), Love Life and Relationships (2008), In Touch with My Southern Soul (2010), Get to Kno' Me... (2013), and The Next 1 (2016). Wendell B. died on August 3, 2023 while being treated for cancer; he was 65 years of age. ~ Andy Kellman