1944–1966: Early life and career: The Valentinos[edit]
Main article:
The Valentinos
Born and raised in Cleveland's East 85th & Quincy area to Naomi Womack and Friendly Womack, Womack was the third of five brothers.
[5] Raised
Baptist, their mother played organ in their church and their father was a minister and musician, often known to play guitar though he advised his sons to not touch the instrument while he was away. One night, eight-year-old Bobby, who was often playing it, broke a guitar string. After Friendly replaced the string with a
shoelace,
[6] he let Bobby play the guitar for him. According to Bobby later, Friendly was shocked by his son's talents as well as the talents of his other sons. Soon afterwards, he bought Bobby his own guitar and formed
The Womack Brothers. The group toured the gospel circuit with their parents accompanying them on organ and guitar respectively. In 1954, under the moniker
Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, the group issued the Pennant single, "Buffalo Bill". Bobby was only ten years old at the time.
[5]
Even though Curtis Womack often sang lead, Bobby Womack was allowed to sing alongside him showcasing his gruff baritone vocals in contrast to his older brother's smoother tenor. During performances, Bobby would sometimes imitate the role of a preacher.
Sam Cooke discovered the group performing while he was still in the
Soul Stirrers in 1956 and began mentoring the boys, promising them that he would help with their careers once he established himself. Within four years, Cooke had formed
SAR Records and signed the quintet to the label. Changing their name to the Valentinos, Cooke produced and arranged the group's first hit single, "
Looking for a Love", which was a pop version of a gospel song they had released titled "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray", written by Bobby. The song became an R&B hit and helped land the group a spot on
James Brown's Revue. The group's next hit came in 1964 with the country-tinged "
It's All Over Now", co-composed by Bobby. Their version was rising on the charts when
the Rolling Stones covered it. The Valentinos' career was left shaky after Sam Cooke was shot and killed in a Los Angeles motel. Devastated by the news, the brothers disbanded and SAR Records folded.
1967–1972: Early solo career[edit]
Womack worked at
Chips Moman's American Studios in Memphis and played on recordings by
Joe Tex and the
Box Tops. Womack played guitar on several of
Aretha Franklin's albums, including
Lady Soul, but not on the hit song "
Chain of Fools", as erroneously reported. His work as a songwriter caught the eye of music executives after
Wilson Pickett took a liking to some of the songs and insisted on recording them. Among those songs included the hits "I'm a Midnight Mover" and "
I'm in Love".
1972–1985: Solo success[edit]
Following
Communication, Womack's profile was raised with two more albums, released in 1972. The first was
Understanding, noted for the album track "
I Can Understand It", later covered by the funk band
New Birth and a three-sibling lineup of Bobby's old group, the Valentinos, and two hit singles, "
Woman's Gotta Have It" and "
Harry Hippie". The latter song was written for Womack by Jim Ford in a
country version, which Womack re-arranged in an R&B version. "Harry Hippie" later became Womack's first to be certified
gold.
[7]Contrary to popular belief, the song was not about Womack's brother
Harry[citation needed]. "Woman's Gotta Have It" became Womack's first single to hit number-one on the R&B charts.
Another hit album released after
Understanding was the soundtrack to the
blaxploitation film Across 110th Street. The
title track became popular during its initial 1972 release and later would be played during the opening and closing scenes of the film,
Jackie Brown, years later. In 1973, Womack released another hit album,
Facts of Life, and had a top 40 hit with "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out", an older song Sam Cooke had done years before.
In 1974, Womack released his most successful single during this period with a remake of his first hit single, "
Lookin' for a Love". His solo version of the song became even more successful than the original with the Valentinos', becoming his second number-one hit on the R&B chart and peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only hit to reach that high on the pop chart. The song was featured on the album
Lookin' for a Love Again and featured the minor charted "You're Welcome, Stop on By", later covered by
Rufus & Chaka Khan. Womack's career began stalling after Womack received the news of his brother Harry's death. Womack continued to record albums with United Artists through 1975 and 1976 but with less success than previous albums. In 1975, Womack collaborated with
Rolling Stones member
Ronnie Wood, on Wood's second solo album,
Now Look.
Womack languished with his own recordings during the late 1970s but continued to be a frequent collaborator with other artists, most notably
Wilton Felder of
The Crusaders. In 1981, Womack signed with Beverly Glen Records and had his first R&B top ten single in five years since the 1976 single
Daylight with "
If You Think You're Lonely Now", which peaked at number three on the R&B singles chart. His accompanying album
The Poet reached number one on the R&B album charts and is now seen as the high point of his long career, bringing him wider acclaim not only in the U.S. but also in Europe. He had two more R&B top ten singles during the 1980s including the
Patti LaBelle duet, "
Love Has Finally Come at Last", and "
I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much". He had a hit featuring on the Wilton Felder single "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still Be Looking Up to You".
1985–2014: Later career[edit]
Womack's solo career started to slow down, however, after 1985, partially due to Womack's issues with drug addiction. After sobering up in the mid-1990s, he released the albumResurrection and continued his performing career.
In 2010, Womack contributed lyrics and sang on "
Stylo" alongside
Mos Def, the first single from the third
Gorillaz album
Plastic Beach. Womack was told to sing whatever was on his mind during the recording of "Stylo". "I was in there for an hour going crazy about love and politics, getting it off my chest", said Womack.
[8] He also provided vocals on the song "Cloud of Unknowing" in addition to the song "Bobby in Phoenix" on their December 2010 release "The Fall".
Jodeci's
K-Ci Hailey, a notable admirer of Womack's work, covered "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1994. Hailey again covered Womack in 2006 with his rendition of "A Woman's Gotta Have It". The song is referenced in
Mariah Carey's song "
We Belong Together", a number-one hit in June 2005. Carey sings "I can't sleep at night / When you are on my mind / Bobby Womack's on the radio / Singing to me: 'If you think you're lonely now.'" In 2007, R&B singer
Jaheim interpolated the song as "Lonely" on his album "The Making of a Man". Neo Soul Singer, Calvin Richardson also covered many of Womack's tunes. The song was covered by the late R&B musician
Gerald Levert and fellow singer
Mary J. Blige from Levert's 1998 album
Love & Consequences.
During the spring of 1997, R&B singer
Rome covered the original song from his self-titled debut album.
In early 2012, Womack's career was the subject of the documentary show
Unsung on
TV One.
[13]
Personal life[edit]
Barbara Campbell[edit]
In March 1965, just three months after
Sam Cooke's death, 21-year old Womack created scandal by marrying Cooke's 29-year old widow, Barbara Campbell. Womack claimed he initially went to Barbara's side to console her following Cooke's death for fear that, if she were left alone, she would "do something crazy".
[14]
By 1976, Bobby and Barbara were divorced after she found out that he had an affair with his step-daughter. In the ensuing tussle, Barbara fired a gun at her husband.
[15] Vincent Womack, his son with Barbara, took his own life in 1988. Bobby Womack's third marriage was to Regina Banks with whom he had a son Bobby Truth and a daughter Gina. From his relationship with Jody Laba he fathered two sons, Cory and Jordan.
[16]
Bobby Womack's younger brother,
Cecil (1947–2013), later married
Linda, the daughter of Sam Cooke and Campbell. Womack and Linda collaborated on the hit song "
Woman's Gotta Have It" and he applied background vocals for his brother and Linda as the pair teamed up as
Womack & Womack.
[3] Womack & Womack also sang the song "Baby I'm Scared of You".
Drug addiction and health problems[edit]
Womack opened up about his frequent
drug use in his memoirs,
Midnight Mover.
[15] Womack said he began using
cocaine sometime in the late 1960s. His cocaine use turned into an addiction by the late 1970s. Womack partially blamed his habit for his son Truth's death as an infant in 1976. At the end of the 1980s, Womack went into a rehabilitation facility to get over his cocaine addiction, which he said he conquered. Womack developed
diabetes in his later years. In early 2012, Womack entered several hospitals with health problems including
pneumonia, for which he was successfully treated. It was revealed in March that Womack was diagnosed with
colon cancer after
Bootsy Collins reported it on his Facebook page. Womack announced afterwards that he was undergoing
cancer surgery. On May 24, 2012, it was announced that Womack's surgery to remove a tumor from his colon was successful and he was declared cancer free. On January 1, 2013, Womack admitted that he has struggled to remember his songs and other people's names, leading doctors to suggest that he was in early stages of
Alzheimer's disease.
[17]
Womack died on June 27, 2014 at age 70.
[14] Though the cause of his death is currently unknown, his health issues included diabetes, prostate cancer, heart trouble, colon cancer, pneumonia and alzheimers disease.
[18]
09 British film Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold, where the main character Mia dances to it and uses it as her audition piece. The collection CD on which the song appears also plays a role, and is The Best of Bobby Womack (2008), on which "California Dreamin'" appears on track 17, as Mia requests at her audition.
Use of his music in popular culture[edit]
Womack's 1968 cover of "
California Dreamin'" featured prominently in 2009 British film
Fish Tank by
Andrea Arnold, where the main character Mia dances to it and uses it as her audition piece. The collection CD on which the song appears also plays a role, and is
The Best of Bobby Womack (2008), on which "California Dreamin'" appears on track 17, as Mia requests at her audition.
Discography[edit]
Bobby Womack discography
Releases |
↙Studio albums | 28 |
↙Live albums | 2 |
↙Compilation albums | 9 |
↙Singles | 47 |
Studio albums[edit]
- 1968: Fly Me to the Moon (Minit) – US No. 174, R&B No. 34
- 1969: My Prescription (Minit) – R&B No. 44
- 1971: Communication (United Artists) – US No. 83, R&B No. 7, Jazz No. 20
- 1972: Understanding (United Artists) – US No. 43, R&B No. 7
- 1972: Across 110th Street (United Artists) – US No. 50, R&B No. 6
- 1972: Your Navy Presents (United States Naval Recruitment Dept.,) – 12 track promotion album issued as part of a recruitment campaign and sent to forces radio.
- 1973: Facts of Life (United Artists) – US No. 37, R&B No. 6
- 1974: Lookin' for a Love Again (United Artists) – US No. 85, R&B No. 5
- 1975: I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To (United Artists) – US No. 126, R&B No. 20
- 1975: Safety Zone (United Artists) – US No. 147, R&B No. 40
- 1976: BW Goes C&W (United Artists)
- 1976: Home Is Where the Heart Is (Columbia)
- 1978: Pieces (Columbia) – US No. 205
- 1979: Roads of Life (Arista) – US No. 206, R&B No. 55
- 1981: The Poet (Beverly Glen) – US No. 29, R&B No. 1
- 1984: The Poet II (Beverly Glen) – US No. 60, R&B No. 5, UK No. 31
- 1985: So Many Rivers (MCA) – US No. 66, R&B No. 5, UK No. 28
- 1985: Someday We'll All Be Free (Beverly Glen) – US No. 207, R&B No. 59
- 1986: Womagic (MCA) – R&B No. 68
- 1987: Last Soul Man (MCA)
- 1989: Save The Children (Solar)
- 1994: Soul Seduction Supreme (Castle)
- 1994: Resurrection (Continuum) – R&B No. 91
- 1999: Back to My Roots (Capitol) – Gospel No. 27
- 1999: Traditions (Capitol)
- 2000: Christmas Album (Indigo)[3][19]
- 2012: The Bravest Man in the Universe (XL Recordings)[9] UK No. 49, US No. 181
- 2014: The Best is Yet to Come (XL Recordings)[20]
Live albums[edit]
- 1970: The Womack "Live" (United Artists) – US No. 188, R&B No. 13
- 1998: Soul Sensation Live (Sequel)
Compilation albums[edit]
- 1975: Greatest Hits (United Artists) – US No. 142, R&B No. 30
- 1975: I Can Understand It (United Artists) – same tracks as on Greatest Hits
- 1986: Check it Out (Stateside) – UK SSL 6013
- 1993: Midnight Mover – The Bobby Womack Collection (EMI USA)
- 1998: Red Hot + Rhapsody
- 1999: Traditions (Capitol)
- 2003: Lookin' For a Love: The Best of 1968–1976 (Stateside Records)[21]
- 2004: Fly Me to the Moon/My Prescription on one CD (Stateside Records)[21]
- 2004: Understanding/Communication (Stateside Records)[21]
- 2004: Womack Live/The Safety Zone (Stateside Records)[21]
- 2004: Lookin' For A Love Again/BW Goes CW (Stateside Records)[21]
- 2004: Facts of Life/I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To (Stateside Records)[21]
As a featured artist[edit]
Singles[edit]
Awards and nominations[edit]