"Starsky & Hutch" Actor David Soul Didn't Give Up on His First Love, which was Singing

David Soul was known for his role as Hutch in the TV series "Starsky & Hutch," although his first love was singing. He had his first hit song, "Don't Give Up on Us," at the peak of his acting fame. It was a Billboard number 1 hit in the U.S. He was even more popular in England, where he later lived. He had four top 10 hits there, including "Silver Lady," which reached number 1.

The photo accompanying this episode is a 1975 ABC Television publicity shot of Soul as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in "Starsky & Hutch." It's available on Wikipedia.

"Good Morning America" aired a segment on "Remembering David Soul" shortly after the singer-actor's passing. You can find it on YouTube. The segment references "Don't Give Up on Us." To hear the entire song, go to the YouTube video.

Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Soul is the first of 41 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these stories for other years, as well. You can listen to the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

Chapters

• 0:00 Excerpt
• 0:16 Kate's intro
• 0:29 Beginning of tribute
• 2:12 His first hit song
• 2:37 Closing remarks

Transcript

Tribute excerpt:
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"His acting success allowed him to return to

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his first love, music.

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The first song he recorded,

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'Don't Give Up on Us,' was an immediate

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hit. It rose to number 1 on the

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Billboard Hot 100

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in April 1977."

Kate:
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That's just a snippet of Sheldon Zoldan's tribute

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to David Soul, who died in 2024.

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For more, here's the whole story.

Tribute:
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David Soul never liked this character, Ken Hutchinson,

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better known as "Hutch" in the television series

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"Starsky & Hutch," but he probably would never

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had a number one single without it.

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Soul, who had successful acting and singing careers,

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died January 4th in London, England,

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where he had become a British citizen.

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No cause of death was given.

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He was 80 years old.

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The Song of the Day is paying tribute

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to singers, songwriters, and musicians

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who died in 2024.

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Soul had his first number one hit during

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the heyday of "Starsky & Hutch,"

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but his first singing career flopped like a

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salmon swimming upstream.

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He thought he needed a gimmick when he

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kicked off his musical career in New York

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City

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and sang while wearing a $1

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ski mask.

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A New York Times obit said he called

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himself "the mystery shrouded pop crooner."

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The masked man became the resident singer on

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"The Merv Griffin Show." His appearances

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earned him a record contract.

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He recorded a single, "The Covered Man."

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When he removed the mask, his career fizzled.

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He had more success with acting.

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He was a guest star on many TV

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shows in the late 1960s early '70s.

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He was cast in Clint Eastwood's film "Magnum

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Force."

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He played Hutch from 1975

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to 1979.

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He continued to get acting jobs after the

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show was canceled.

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His acting success allowed him to return to

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his first love, music.

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The first song he recorded,

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"Don't Give Up on Us," was an immediate

00:02:14.915 --> 00:02:17.235
hit. It rose to number 1 on the

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Billboard Hot 100

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in April

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1977,

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and in England.

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Soul had a bigger audience in England than

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in the U.S.

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He had four top 10 hits overseas,

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including "Silver Lady," which also reached number 1

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in Great Britain. 

Kate:
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This is Kate Jones. You'll find a lot of other 

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tributes here on Everyday Creation.

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Please check them out, and thank you for listening.