Mike James Kirkland

Mike James Kirkland, who hailed from Yazoo City, Mississippi, spent his early years performing doo wop and gospel. After eventually relocating to California, he joined forces with his brother to launch Bryan Records, the imprint that would issue the love songs and socially conscious soul material Kirkland had composed. The pair put out two albums on the label—Hang On in There in 1972 and its successor Doin' It Right—both of which mirrored the approach and outlook of fellow soul figures intent on addressing issues facing the African-American community, among them Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, and Stevie Wonder. Over the following decades the albums gradually earned wider recognition, which in turn prompted reissues during the '90s on the archival imprint Luv N Haight; one such edition was the 2011 two-disc compilation Don’t Sell Your Soul, pairing both of Kirkland's MCA albums with scarce early recordings from his initial group Mike & the Censations to form an overview of his output.