"Whoa, watch out! Sweet Jesus, don’t hit that lady! Heh-heh-heh."

Soul singer Solomon Burke is on a cell phone in the back of a limo crossing Manhattan during Friday-evening rush hour. In 60 minutes he’ll be on stage at the Beacon Theatre, opening for Boz Scaggs. Meanwhile, he’s calling on the Lord to give his driver a little assistance in crossing town.

"God, look at those people! Watch out, watch out! Lord!"

Now on a roll, he continues, "Brother Ted, I’ve been trying to find you to sell you a hamburger or something," delivering a joke inspired by his practice of selling sodas and sandwiches to his own bands on bus tours during the ’60s. Suddenly a "whoa" from several voices in the limo carries over the line. "Lady, we missed you; that’ll be $10," he says, continuing the riff.

But when it comes to the show he’s playing at the Roxy this Monday, Burke is entirely serious. That night he and a local, 10-piece version of his Souls Alive Orchestra will stage a benefit for the Burn Center of Massachusetts General Hospital.

The well-rehearsed line-up was organized by veteran Souls Alive trumpeter Dan Rabinovitz, who played with Burke earlier this year at the vocalist’s induction into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame — an honor Solomon well deserved. What with his beginnings as a child preacher, the 65-year-old has been on stages for 47 years. Along the way he’s doubled as a snow shoveler, funeral-home operator, and limo-service owner, and he still heads a ministry with 150 churches and 40,000 members worldwide. But the heart of his mission has always been musical. His songs, right from his 1955 debut, "I’m All Alone," often straddle the sacred and the secular. And when Ray Charles left Atlantic Records for ABC, it was Burke’s hits that provided the ailing label’s salvation. For seven years, starting with 1960’s "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)" he rode the charts with R&B and pop smashes like "Cry to Me," "If You Need Me," "The Price," and "Got To Get You Off of My Mind."

Time has diminished none of his abilities. He possesses a voice smooth as slow-heated honey, one capable of shaking ceilings and caressing tired spirits. And driven by his big-hearted persona, his concerts brim with vitality, humor, and pinpoint dynamics.

It’s that big heart that’s bringing him to Boston for his first date in seven years. He was moved to initiate the Burn Center benefit after reading a profile of Newton firefighter Ray McNamara and his wife, Denise, in the Boston Globe. McNamara was terribly injured in a chemical fire in 1993, suffering burns over most of his body; he lay in a coma for eight months and survived 30 operations before leaving the Burn Center’s care. Although the 58-year-old firefighter is a positive, high-energy guy, there are times when the demons of his experience get him down. And the story recounted how he turns to Burke’s 1967 number "Take Me (Just As I Am)" for solace and inspiration. "I got beat up pretty bad, but my wife is still here with me, and that song means a lot to us," he explains.

Rabinovitz, a Boston attorney when he’s not performing, sent the story to Burke, who was "moved to tears. Police and firefighters like Ray are our angels. They’re here to keep us safe. After reading the story and learning he loved that song as much as I did, because it was written at a point in my life where I needed to be understood and accepted, I wanted to do something. I wanted to come to Boston to bring him on stage with me to sing that song."

And so Burke and his music-director guitarist, Sam Mayfield, are flying in from California for the Burn Center benefit. Whether McNamara will make his first trip up on stage is another matter: "I’m not so sure I’m gonna get up there and sing. But I am looking forward to meeting him. I’ve been a fan of Solomon Burke since the ’60s, and this whole thing has blown me away."

The feeling’s mutual. Burke, who’ll be playing a mix of his classics and songs he’s been recording since his last album, 1994’s The Definition of Soul (Pointblank/Virgin), says, "I’m so excited to meet Ray. I want him to know that we support him and every firefighter and the burn-hospital people, and that I appreciate Ray’s support."

Solomon Burke and the Souls Alive Orchestra play the Roxy, 279 Tremont Street, this Monday, November 19. Tickets, which cost $50 or $100, can be purchased by calling Dan Rabinovitz at (617) 371-1000, or at the door.