Between my woman and my wife (twice) My wife is running my pocket book And my woman is running my life-----Wife's got a lawyer And my woman's got a date I'm caught between a rock And a very hard place----repeat----I've had two hours sleep In the last seventy-two Tomorrow's my anniversary And I don't know what to do----repeat----My wife wants me here Bobby "Blue" Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks, January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013) was an American rhythm & blues singer. Bobby 'Blue' Bland's relationship with Willie Mae Bland ended when Bobby 'Blue' Bland died on June 23, 2013. He began singing gospel and soon found himself hanging around in the artist… Occasionally, saccharine songs and lush orchestrations would move Bland rather more than two steps from the blues, but his admirers endured his straying and waited for him to find his way back with poised renderings of strong material such as Blind Man and Black Night. His husky voice was gorgeous from the start, but as a young man he followed BB King – for a while literally, as his valet and chauffeur – and his singing took on a special character only after he began to study the recorded sermons of the Detroit preacher CL Franklin, Aretha's father. He barely broke into the mainstream market; his highest-charting song on the pop chart, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do", peaked at number 20 in 1964, in the same week in which the Beatles held down the top five spots. Blandonly received a third-grade education, dropping out to work in the cotton fields. Bobby Bland, Soundtrack: The Fugitive. [3], Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee. His new stepfather was calledLeroy Bland, and it was from him that Bland started using that name. The albums, including the later "follow-up" in 1977, Reflections in Blue, were recorded in Los Angeles and featured many of the city's top session musicians at the time. Small Faces-Wikipedia. Bobby has served on the Board of the Odessa and Permian Basin Boys and Girls Club for over 20 years, including several stints as President. He joined Ace's revue and returned to Duke Records, which was then being run by the Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. B. Bland was admired by artists including Van Morrison, who featured him at some of his concerts, and Mick Hucknall, who made the album Tribute to Bobby in 2008. [1][7][8] His father, I. J. Brooks, abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. [8][24][25][26] He is interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis. Longtime Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland announced Monday that he will not seek re-election for another four-year term. (AP) — Bobby "Blue" Bland, a distinguished singer who blended Southern blues and soul in songs such as "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Further On Up the Road," died Sunday. Subsequent attempts at adding a disco flavor were mostly unsuccessful. Bobby Bland was born on January 27, 1930 in Rosemark, Tennessee, USA as Robert Calvin Brooks. That alchemy of blues and gospel cadences would create one of the most affecting voices in black music. He died on June 23, 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee. [2] Bland's craft was most clearly heard on a series of early-1960s releases, including "Cry Cry Cry", "I Pity the Fool" (number 1 on the R&B chart in 1961) and "Turn On Your Love Light", which became a much-covered standard by many bands. King and ballad singer Johnny Ace (all This last stage of his recording career produced 10 albums of well-honed material by Malaco's inhouse writers and producers, in which he embarked again on the stormy seas of heartbreak and ecstasy with an even surer hand on the wheel. [16] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. Bobby Bland stands at the height of and bodyweight is unknown. The Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison was an early adherent of Bland, covering "Turn On Your Love Light" while with the band Them (he later covered "Ain't Nothing You Can't Do" on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now), and Bland was an occasional guest singer at Morrison's concerts. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. Bobby lives in Odessa with his wife and has 3 children. [6] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. Bland, a distinguished singer who blended Southern blues and soul in songs such as “Turn on Your Love Light'' and “Further On Up the Road,'' died Sunday. [5] However, these records caught the attention of Duke Records. Related Videos. In 2003, a few years before his death, Bobby, his wife Vicki, and Famous Flames Bobby Bennett and Lloyd Stallworth, sued lead singer James Brown and Universal Music for non-payment of royalties, stating that monies that rightfully belong to them for numerous Famous Flames hits, and Byrd's hit "I Know You Got Soul", which was sampled by numerous rappers, including Eric B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]. Bobby "Blue" Bland. It was a skill that came gradually. [8] Robert dropped out of school in third grade to work in the cotton fields and never graduated from school. He was born in Barretville, Tennessee, in the United States. Bland was drafted into the Army in 1952. [18] He began recording for Duke with the bandleader Bill Harvey and the arranger Joe Scott, asserting his characteristic vocal style and, with Harvey and Scott, beginning to craft the melodic big-band blues singles for which he became famous, often accompanied by the guitarist Wayne Bennett. B. All Bland had to offer was his magnificent voice, a tremendously powerful instrument in his early heyday, injected with charisma and melisma to spare. He died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as "an ongoing illness." [19] He also recorded an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958. Tennessee Historical Commission, historic marker dedicated 1/24/2015, Barretville, Tennessee. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Funeral services for soul-blues singer Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland were held Thursday, June 27, at First Baptist Church at 2835 Broad Ave., in Memphis. [1] Bland also recorded a hit version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which was erroneously given the title of a different song, "Stormy Monday Blues". Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives. Click here to view video. Blues City Cafe. "[2] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues". It's a procession that seems to stand outside time: the Bobby “Blue” Bland Revue, criss-crossing the country through a hel­ter-skelter schedule of one-night stands. The two had collaborated on two albums in the 1970s. [3] His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole. [16], Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955. He is survived by his wife, Willie Martin Bland, and his son Rodd, who is also a musician. He was 83. The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), starring Matthew McConaughey. His last release was Blues at Midnight in 2003. [17], When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954, several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, were enjoying considerable success. Expand. Bobby Bland family: wife, kids. He was 83. [8], Bland was nominated for seven Grammy Awards in the course of his career.[28]. Just ask his legion of female fans, who deemed him a sex symbol late into his career. [14][15] Between 1951 and 1952, Bland recorded commercially unsuccessful singles for Modern and Sun Records (which licensed its recordings to Chess Records). King Together Again...Live, "Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Known for 'Further On Up the Road' and 'Turn on Your Love Light', Dies", "Bobby "Blue" Bland | Memphis Music Hall of Fame", "Bobby (Blue) Bland, Soul and Blues Balladeer, Dies at 83", "Bobby 'Blue' Bland dies: Rhythm-and-blues singer was 83", "Bobby Blue Bland: November 1973 Interview", "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire", "BREAKING: Bobby "Blue" Bland Passes Away", "Bobby 'Blue' Bland, known for 'Further On Up the Road' and 'Turn on Your Love Light,' dies", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Bland&oldid=1010970651, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee), Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Good Time Charlie (Working His Groove Bag)", "Keep On Loving Me (You'll See the Change)", "That's All There Is (There Ain't No More)", "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)", "Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time", "I Just Tripped on a Piece of Your Broken Heart", This page was last edited on 8 March 2021, at 09:23. Memphis, Tennessee. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart. Bland dutifully strolled into the Technicolor sunsets of His California Album (1973), Dreamer (1974) and Reflections in Blue (1977), and in Get On Down with Bobby Bland (1975) he sauntered along Nashville's Music Row. During the 60s Bland placed more than a dozen records in the R&B top 10, reaching No 1 with I Pity the Fool and That's the Way Love Is, but his kind of soul music was being eclipsed by the catchier sounds of Motown and the funkier ones of Stax, and by the end of the decade he was working less and drinking more. He was 83. [20] The follow-up, "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog" was his biggest R&B hit for some years, climbing to number 3 in late 1974, but as usual his strength was never the pop chart (on which it reached number 88). [21][22], On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Bobby Bland among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. According to his biographer Charles Farley, "Robey handed Bobby a new contract, which Bobby could not read, and helped Bobby sign his name on it". Bobby 'Blue' Bland is deceased. Bobby "Blue" Bland's wife Willie Mae, son Rodd, and family members pose with the newly installed statue of the late bluesman. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B chart. What was the name of Bobby’s wife? – Willie Martin Bland (m. ?–2013) How many children he had? American musical duo active during the 1960s and 1970s, consisting of the husband-and-wife team Ike Turner and Tina Turner. Bobby Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks), blues and soul singer, born 27 January 1930; died 23 June 2013. Bobby Bland, born January 27 1930, died June 23 2013 King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene". After his death, his son Rodd told news media that Bland had recently told him that the blues musician James Cotton was Bland's half-brother. His record company, Duke Records, was sold to the larger ABC Records group. Bland’s term ends Dec. 31, 2020. It was followed by a series of hits on the R&B chart, including "Little Boy Blue" (1958). In 1947, he moved to Memphis with his mother. Bobby Blue Bland wife and daughter_RJS1522Roger Stephenson Addison 2017-06-08T20:16:24+00:00 BLUES HALL OF FAME MUSEUM In response to COVID-19 the Blues Hall of Fame Museum is … FAQ. He was 83. He is survived by his wife, Willie Mae, and by a daughter and a son. Extended, largely instrumental workouts like "Niji Baby," "Hikari #88" and the nine-minute "Japanese Boogie," showcase a looser and jammier side of King that's less frequently documented. [2] After his death, his son Rodd told news media that Bland had recently told him that the blues musician James Cotton was Bland's half-brother. With Bland’s casket flanked by a bevy of colorful wreaths, and his family, including widow Willie Mae, at the front, a procession of speakers came to the church’s pulpit to tell the story of his life and legacy. In 1985, the album Members Only on Malaco reached number 45 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, and the title song reached number 54 for R&B singles. He was in two celebrity relationships. Bobby Womack and then-wife Barbara (Sam Cooke’s ex-wife) This is further proof that our favorite entertainers aren’t perfect; they’re simply humans who create perfect music, but not perfect humans by far, just like the rest us. His two marriages averaged 0 years each. A return to his roots in 1980 for a tribute album to his mentor Joe Scott, produced by music veterans Monk Higgins and Al Bell, resulted in the album Sweet Vibrations, but it failed to sell well outside of his traditional "chitlin circuit" base. He died on June 23, 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee. 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