Bobby "Blue" Bland sang gospel inspired blues and soul in the 1960s. Known for his drinking and hard-living, Bobby's gritty sound renders the streets of Memphis.Ain't No Love (In the Heart of the City) |
Another southern blues singer on Bobby "Blue" Bland's label is Bobby Rush.
Mary Jane |
A third Bobby, Bobby Womack, started as a backup singer for Sam Cooke. Cooke discovered Womack while he was still a child gospel star in the early fifties. Growing up in the shadow of Sam Cooke, Womack idealized him and emulated his smooth vocal style. “Sam Cooke had a deep influence on me,” said Womack, “not only because he was a great singer but because he was a great person. Sam was the kind of person who made you feel like you were him and he was you."
Travelling the country together, the teenage Womack soon became hip to things the older Cooke could never understand. When Cooke got himself shot in that sleazy motel in 1964, it came out that Womack was dating his widow, Barbara Cambell. Three months later they were married. Here is Bobby Womack singing about Harlem:
Across 110th Street |