Ranked #54 in the Soul Strut 200

Bay area soul singer William Daron Pulliam aka Darondo ‎was a flashy R&B scenester in the early 70s adorned with tailored suits, custom jewelry, and a white Rose Royce for effect apparently earned as a successful pimp. During his brief career, he released three singles and even opened up for James Brown.  And then, he was gone.  Soul collectors and crate diggers would rediscover his music in the following years praising his earnest authenticity.  It took 30 years to track him down thanks to the detective work of Bay Area soul historian / frequent Soul Strutter Justin Torres who was contacted by Darondo's son.  The result was a career revival and a compilation of his singles and unreleased material on the boutique record label Luv N' Haight ‎in 2006. It features his most well known tune "Didn't I" which was later licensed to movies and TV shows like Breaking Bad. It is simply one of the most gorgeous independently released soul tunes of all time.  Unfortunately, Darondo died of heart failure in 2013.

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