b. Robert Dwyne Womack, 4th March 1944, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
d. 27th June 2014, Tarzana, Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bobby Womack came from a sizeable family.
Various family members have been successful in their own right (Womack & Womack etc.)
the valentino's
He was one of the founding members of the Valentino's and was part of the late Sam Cooke's band as a guitarist.
Bobby was later to cause some raised eyebrows by marrying Sam's ex-widow, Barbara Campbell.
When Bobby was 10 years old, he and his brothers (under the name of Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers) recorded a single on the Pennant imprint in 1954, entitled 'Buffalo Bill' b/w 'Bible Tells Me So'.
tired of livin' in the country - 1962 / somewhere there's a girl - 1962 / it's all over now - 1964 / I found a true love - 1965
Under the name of the Womack Brothers, they recorded two sides for the (Sam Cooke owned) Sar imprint ('Somebody's Wrong' b/w 'Yield Not To Temptation' and 'Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray' b/w 'Somewhere There's A God') in 1961 and 1962 respectively.
SAR Records were owned by Sam Cooke and his business partner, J.W. Alexander, (thus Sam and Alex Records), between 1961 – 1964.
This line up featured Bobby, Cecil, Curtis, Friendly and Harris Womack.
The Valentino's were, originally, formed in the late 1962 and also featured the same line-up.
Their first recordings were for the Sar, Astra, Him and the Checker imprints between 1962 and 1965.
in 1964
Bobby's early solo recordings included, 'Nothing You Can Do' b/w 'Get It While You Can' (Him Records 1965) and 'I Found A True Love' b/w 'Lonesome Man' (Checker 1965).
Following the demise of the Valentino's, Bobby reverted to session recordings.
sessions with sam cooke in 1964
He worked with the late Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke as mentioned.
Bobby was a regular visitor to Chips Moman's American Recording Studio.
He, also, worked with Wilson Pickett on 'I'm In Love' and 'I'm A Midnight Mover' which are two of the 17 Womack songs that particular artist would record.
His solo activities resumed with singles on Keymen and Atlantic Records.
Bobby then relocated to the Minit imprint, recording several R & B hits, including 'It's Gonna Rain', 'How I Miss You Baby', in 1969, and 'More Than I Can Stand', in 1970.
fly me to the moon - 1969 / my prescription - 1970 / communication - 1971 / understanding - 1972
His early albums included 'Fly Me To The Moon', on Minit 1968, 'My Prescription' on Minit in 1969 and 'The Womack Live' for the Liberty imprint in 1970.
'There's A Riot Going On', Sly Stone's 1971 collection, Bobby played guitar.
Bobby relocated to United Artists and released 'Communication', the title track to Womack's first album for the label.
'Understanding', followed and contained the songs 'That's The Way I Feel About Cha' (number 2 R & B), 'Woman's Gotta Have It' (number 1 R & B) and 'Harry Hippie' (number 8 R & B).
across 110th street - 1972 / facts of life - 1973 / looking for a love again - 1974 / I don't know what the world is coming to - 1975 / safety zone - 1975 / bobby womack goes country and western - 1976
Successive albums, 'Across 110th Street' (1972), 'Facts Of Life' (1973), 'Looking For A Love Again' (1974), I Don't Know What The World Is Coming To' (1975) and 'B W Goes C & W' (1976) followed and were highly popular.
'BW Goes C & W' closed his United Artists contract.
The same year George Benson scored a huge Jazz hit, with his version of the Bobby Womack instrumental, 'Breezin', a track which had previously appeared on a collaboration album between Bobby and Gabor Szabo.
home is where the heart is - 1976 / pieces - 1977 / roads of life - 1979 / inherit the wind (with wilton felder) - 1980
In 1979, Bobby recorded the album 'Roads Of Life' for the Arista imprint.
That set included the hugely popular song 'How Could You Break My Heart' and saw a collaboration with the late Patrick Moten, who had recorded successful material with Anita Baker and Rosie Gaines.
In 1980, Bobby collaborated with the Crusader, Wilton Felder, on the song 'Inherit The Wind', a tune destined to become a Soul classic.
Bobby later continued the partnership with Wilton on his 1985 album release 'Secrets', duetting with Altrina Grayson on the song 'No Matter How High I Get'.
the poet - 1981 / the poet 2 - 1984
In 1981, Bobby signed with Beverly Glen, a small Los Angeles independent, where he recorded 'The Poet', which featured the songs 'So Many Sides Of You' and 'Where Do We Go From Here?'.
This excellent set furthered his career, while a single, 'If You Think You're Lonely Now', reached number 3 on the R & B chart.
The 'Poet II' in 1984 featured three duets with Patti LaBelle, one of which, 'Love Has Finally Come At Last', was another hit single.
That set also featured the songs 'Tell My Why', 'Surprise, Surprise' and 'It Takes A Lot Of Strength To Say Goodbye'.
so many rivers - 1985 / someday we'll all be free - 1985
Beverly Glen released a final LP culled from Womack's previous Poet sessions, 'Someday We'll All Be Free', in 1985.
He then relocated to MCA Records in 1985, debuting with 'So Many Rivers'.
womagic - 1986 / the last soul man - 1987 / my pleasure (with june yamagishi) - 1988 / save the children - 1989
1986 saw the release of the album 'Womagic', which featured 'When The Weekend Comes', also released the following year on the album 'The Last Soul Man'.
In 1988, he recorded on a Japanese release with the guitarist June Yamagishi, re-recording his song 'Trust Your Heart', the tune running for nearly 12 minutes!
By 1989, Bobby recorded at the Solar imprint, releasing 'Save The Children'.
resurrection - 1994 / back to my roots - 1999
1994's album 'Resurrection' saw Bobby's take on the Winston's song 'Color Him Father' and the anti war diatribe 'Cousin Henry' featuring a certain Stevie Wonder.
Bobby's more recent work proclaims him as 'the last Soul singer'.
In late 2000, he collaborated with U.K. artists Rae & Christian on their album release 'Sleepwalking', singing leads on 'Get A Life' and 'Wake Up Everybody'.
traditions - 1999 / sleepwalking - 2001 (rae and christian album release)
He was, later, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bobby passed away in his sleep, in California, on the 27th of June 2014, at the age of 70.
Bobby Womack was s a fine soul singer, whose best work stands amongst those of Black music's finest singer / songwriters, and was still touring until recently.
in 1971
Albums:
Fly Me To The Moon (Minit Records 1968)
My Prescription (Minit Records 1969)
The Womack Live (Liberty Records 1970)
Communication (United Artists Records 1971)
Understanding (United Artists Records 1972)
Across 110th Street film (soundtrack) (United Artists Records 1972)
Facts Of Life (United Artists Records 1973)
Looking For A Love Again (United Artists Records 1974)
I Don't Know What The World Is Coming To (United Artists Records 1975)
Safety Zone (United Artists Records 1976)
BW Goes C & W (United Artists Records 1976)
Home Is Where The Heart Is (Columbia Records 1976)
Pieces (Columbia Records 1977)
Roads Of Life (Arista Records 1979)
The Poet (Beverly Glen Records 1981)
The Poet II (Beverly Glen Records 1984)
Someday Well All Be Free (Beverly Glen Records 1985)
So Many Rivers (MCA Records 1985)
Womagic: (MCA Records 1986)
The Last Soul Man (MCA Records 1987)
Resurrection (MCA Records 1994)
Back To My Roots (Capitol Records 1999)
Traditions (Capitol Records 1999)
The Bravest Man In The Universe (XL Recordings Records 2012)
