August 28th, David Sole’s birthday

Actor and singer David Soul celebrates his 79th birthday today. Saul is best known for his role in the TV series Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979). Aside from acting, David is also a singer, with a number of his hit singles highly charting in the world charts. The single “Don’t Give Up on Us” reached number one in both England and the United States.

Soul was born in Chicago as David Richard Solberg. He attended Augustana College, the University of the Americas in Mexico City, and the University of Minnesota. At the age of 19, he turned down a contract as a professional baseball player with the Chicago White Sox because he wanted to study political science. While living in Mexico, inspired by his fellow students who taught him how to play the guitar, Sol decided to stop his education and focus on his passion for music. He gave his first performance when he returned to the United States at the 10 O’Clock Scholar’s Club in Minneapolis.

Soul gained attention when he appeared as a singer on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966 and 1967 as “The Covered Man”. He explained, “My name is David Soul, and I want to be famous for my music.” In the same year, he made his television debut in the series ‘Flipper’. In 1967 he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and had many guest roles, including in an episode of the popular science fiction series “Star Trek”. Sol also appeared in the series Streets of San Francisco, and played a major role in the Clint Eastwood film Magnum Force. He also played the lead role in Salem’s Lot (1979) based on the Stephen King book of the same name, directed by Tobe Hooper. He got his big break on the series Starsky & Hucth, as Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson.

In the mid to late 1970s he returned to his passion for singing. Produced by Tony Macaulay, it scored some hits, including “Don’t Give Up on Us” (1976) and “The Silver Lady” (1977), which reached No. 1 in the UK. In the period 1977-1978, the singer and actor had five top 20 singles in the UK and two top ten albums. From 1976 to 1982 he undertook a number of extensive tours in the United States, Europe, the Far East and South America. Soul released five albums, namely David Soul (1976), Playing in Front of an Audience (1977), Band of Friends (1979), Best Days of Our Lives (1982) and Leave a Light. On (1997).