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Booker Newberry III, born Booker Taliaferro Newberry III on January 19, 1956, in Youngstown, Ohio, was an American singer and keyboardist. He began his professional singing career around 1971 with the band Mystic Nights. After moving to Philadelphia, he became the lead singer of the soul band Sweet Thunder, which included drummer John Aaron, bassist Rudell Alexander, and guitarist Charles Buie. The band's single "Baby I Need Your Love Today" gained attention and was released by Fantasy Records. They recorded three albums: Above the Clouds (1976), Sweet Thunder (1978), and Horizons (1979). The latter album featured the single "I Leave You Stronger", which peaked at Number 63 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles Charts in late 1979. Newberry later joined another band, Impact, known for songs like "Give a Broken Heart a Break" and "Rainy Days Stormy Nights". In 1983, he signed with Casablanca Records and released his solo single "Love Town", which reached the top 10 in the UK charts. The same year, he released his debut album Love Town. Newberry also recorded for Malaco Records and Omni Records, releasing singles like "Take a Piece of Me" (1986) and "Bad Luck" (1991). His second studio album, Power People, was released in 1996. In 2005, Unidisc Music compiled many previously unreleased songs from the 1980s into an album titled Love Town. Newberry passed away on April 5, 2023, at the age of 67.
