Sweet Pea Atkinson, the legendary soul singer and my dear friend and bandmate for 45 years, passed away at age 74 on Tuesday night. With his matching hat, suit, shirt, socks and shoes, Sweet Pea cut a larger than life figure. His gruff voice and brilliant phrasing infused even our most oblique songs with an emotional intensity and gravitas. It’s not out of line to say that the whole lot of us rode the coattails of his vocals out of obscurity in Detroit to the land of our wildest dreams. Every one of the guys in the band looked up to him, loved him dearly and thought he’d outlast us all. We’re gonna miss you Mallow Dog!