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Artist News Obituaries
Bobby Womack 1944-2014
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 30 June 2014
Singer and guitarist Bobby Womack died on Friday, aged 70. Although the cause of death has not yet been announced, his health had been an issue in recent years. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, and Alzheimer’s disease later the same year.
Born in Cleveland in 1944, Womack began playing guitar at an early age, releasing his first single, ‘Buffalo Bill’, in 1954 with family group Curtis Womack And The Womack Brothers. The group then signed to Sam Cooke’s SAR Records, where they were renamed The Valentinos, and had a number of hits. A cover of their 1964 song, ‘It’s All Over Now’, also became the first US number one for The Rolling Stones.
After Cooke was shot and killed in 1964, Womack grew close to his former label boss’s widow, Barbara. The relationship, which saw the couple marry just three months after Cooke’s death, caused a rift between Womack and his brothers, bringing about the end of The Valentinos, and losing him many of his fans. The relationship ended in 1970 after Barbara found Womack in bed with her eighteen year old daughter, Linda (who later married his younger brother Cecil and formed the duo Womack & Womack).
Bobby embarked on a solo career after The Valentinos split, with mixed results initially, and also began working as a session musician and songwriter for other artists, including Ray Charles, Sly Stone and Janis Joplin. His own career really took off in the early 70s, when he released a number of successful albums, and wrote the soundtrack for 1972 blaxploitation movie ‘Across 110th Street’, the title track of which became what is probably his best known song.
Battling ongoing drug problems, Womack’s success again took a dip in the late 70s, though he had another resurgence in the 80s with the albums ‘The Poet’ and ‘The Poet II’ before his output slowed down.
His most recent return to mainstream popularity came in 2010, when he was invited by Damon Albarn to contribute lyrics and vocals to Gorillaz track ‘Stylo’, on the band’s ‘Plastic Beach’ album. This led on to a new Albarn-produced solo album, ‘The Bravest Man In The Universe’, which was released through XL in 2012. At the time of his death Womack was working on another new record for XL, and had a number of live performances in Europe scheduled for next month, including the WOMAD festival.
Bobby Womack is survived by four of his children, Gina, Bobby Truth, Cory and Jordan.
