Street Singer Volume 1

Eddie's life as a singer is the stuff movies are made of: from performing at the Super Bowl as a youngster, to being discovered years later singing on the street in Los Angeles by Hollywood A-listers, to performing for and with legends. That's because when Eddie sings, he turns heads. As Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle says, "You don't hear many voices like his today. Rich, delicate and effortlessly beautiful." Eddie Wakes' vocal style is reminiscent of another time. Eddie has a velvety, wide range baritone that doesn't sound like other contemporary singers today. He gets rave reviews. He's a "tremendous singer" says Elvis Costello. Eddie hails from Topeka, Kansas. Within his own family, a lineage of musical prowess served as his guiding light. He sang with his eight brothers, his father was a pastor and a phenomenal singer - Lionel Hampton asks him to sing with his big band - and Eddie, in turn, honed his skills in the vibrant crucible of church and school talent showcases. Eddie says, "I associated my love for music with my love for family. It was the covalent bond that defined, really, how I saw myself, my family, my community." Eddie continues, "Who were my great influences growing up singing? Well, my older brothers, and of course, the countless icons who influenced them: Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, even James Brown.