Don Wilson Varner, born June 25, 1943 in Birmingham, Alabama, was an American soul singer and songwriter. He moved to Chicago after high school to pursue his music career but returned to Alabama to record at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. His early releases included "Masquerade" (1967) and "Down in Texas" (1967). Varner also wrote "I Keep Holdin' On" for Sam & Dave with William Crump. He performed numerous live shows in the South and moved to California in the 1980s, touring as the lead singer of the Johnny Otis Show. In his later career, Varner began recording gospel music. He died on October 7, 2002, in Moreno Valley, California.
