Bobby Womack
Encyclopedia
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack (icon; born March 4, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter
and musician
. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos
and as Sam Cooke
's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40 years and has spanned a repertoire in the styles of R&B
, soul
, rock and roll
, doo-wop
, gospel
, and country
.
Womack wrote and originally recorded The Rolling Stones
' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now
" and New Birth
's "I Can Understand It
" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love
", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha
", "Woman's Gotta Have It
", "Harry Hippie
", "Across 110th Street
" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now
".
In 2009, Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
.
, Womack was the third of five boys born to Friendly, Sr. and Naomi Womack in a housing project. Taking after their gospel
-singing father, Womack and his four brothers Friendly, Jr., Cecil
, Harry and Curtis formed The Womack Brothers and began touring the gospel circuit. One night, soul singer Sam Cooke
spotted the Womack Brothers performing and immediately began seeking the group out for a recording contract
. Signing with SAR Records, Cooke's own imprint, they eventually agreed to leave the gospel circuit for a career in secular music and the group was renamed as the Valentinos. Shortly afterward, they scored their first charted
single
, "Lookin' For a Love
", which peaked at #8 on the Billboard
R&B chart
. In 1964, they scored a second hit with "It's All Over Now
". The latter song was written by Womack and would give the singer monetary royalties after The Rolling Stones
' cover of "It's All Over Now" hit the top of the UK Singles Chart
. The Valentinos' career dwindled after the death of Cooke in December 1964. The group stayed together for a year and a half (recording for Chess Records
in the interim), before splitting up in 1966. They reformed in the late 1960s and recorded a few songs for Jubilee Records in the early 1970s, appearing on Soul Train in 1973. Womack struggled to get noticed in the music industry and secluded himself as a session musician
.
Chips Moman
's American Studios in Memphis, and played on recordings by Joe Tex
and The Box Tops
. Until this point, around 1967, he had had little success as a solo artist, but at American he began to record a string of hit singles, including 1968's "What Is This" (his first chart hit), "It's Gonna Rain" and "More Than I Can Stand". During this period he became known as a songwriter, contributing many songs to Wilson Pickett
's repertoire; these include "I'm in Love" and "I'm a Midnight Mover." He also applied guitar work on three of Aretha Franklin
's hit-making late 1960s recordings, including Lady Soul
, where he played guitar on Franklin's hit, "Chain of Fools
". Among his most well-known works as a session musician from this period, his appearance as guitarist on Sly & the Family Stone
's 1971 album There's a Riot Goin' On
and on Janis Joplin
's Pearl
, which features a song by Womack and poet Michael McClure
entitled "Trust Me". In 1971, on an album with jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó
, he introduced his song "Breezin'", which later became a hit for George Benson
.
's "Fly Me to the Moon" and his blues
y rendition of The Mamas & the Papas
' "California Dreamin'
", which gave him his first top 50 pop single.
After moving to the United Artists
label
in 1971, he released the album Communication
, scoring the hit "That's The Way I Feel About Cha
", which became his first Top 40 single in 1972.
His follow-up album, Understanding, featured his original rendition of the single "I Can Understand It", which later became a funk hit for the Detroit-based band New Birth
, and the Top 10 R&B hit, "Harry Hippie
", loosely based on Womack's late brother Harry, who died two years after the song was recorded. "Harry Hippie" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A. in Fenruary 1973. Understanding also yielded his first R&B number one single with "A Woman's Gotta Have It", later to be covered by James Taylor
in 1976, returning the favor of having Womack cover his seminal single, "Fire and Rain
". In 1973, Womack wrote, produced and recorded the soundtrack album to Across 110th Street, with its title track becoming another successful hit for Womack.
In 1974, Womack's remake of his old 1962 Valentinos single, "Lookin' for a Love
" reached the Top 10 of the pop singles chart. Later hits included the funk singles "Check It Out" and "Daylight" and the single, "You're Welcome, Stop On By", later covered by Rufus
featuring Chaka Khan
.
In 1975, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood wrote his classic second solo album 'Now Look' in collaboration with Womack.
After 1976, few of Womack's songs hit the charts as he dealt with creative difficulties with his record labels. He left United Artists at the end of 1976, and fell out of favor with R&B audiences by the end of the 1970s.
In 1981, he made a comeback with the release of The Poet
, which included his Top 10 R&B hit, "If You Think You're Lonely Now
". Womack gained a sizable European fan base which grew with the release of 1984's The Poet II
, which included the top ten R&B duet with Patti LaBelle
titled "Love Has Finally Come at Last". In 1985, he scored his final Top 10 R&B single with "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much".
In 1989, Womack sang on Todd Rundgren's "For the Want of a Nail" on the album Nearly Human
. In 1998, he performed George Gershwin
's "Summertime" with The Roots for the Red Hot Organization
's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin
, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS
awareness and fighting the disease.
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. He also provides vocals on the song "Cloud of Unknowing" in addition to the song "Bobby in Phoenix" on their December 2010 release "The Fall".
'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.
Film director Quentin Tarantino
used "Across 110th Street
" (which, in a different version, had been the title song of the 1972 movie
) in the opening and closing sequences of his 1997 film Jackie Brown
. His work has been used in several other popular films, including Meet the Parents
(2000), Ali
(2001) and American Gangster (2007). A 2003 Saab
commercial used Womack's interpretation of "California Dreamin'". In 2005, "Across 110th Street" appeared in the hit Activision
video game True Crime: New York City
. "Across 110th Street
" was used in Rockstar Games
video game Thug'z Depression:Live Or Die.
On the 1994 release 1-800-NEW-FUNK
, Nona Gaye
covered "Woman's Gotta Have It
," produced by Prince
and backed by his band, New Power Generation
.
In 2008, Kelly Rowland
of Destiny's Child
recorded her own version of his R&B hit "Daylight" with Travis McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes
, which became a hit in the UK Singles Chart
, where it was previously released as a single by Womack in 1976.
In 2009, Calvin Richardson
was chosen to record a tribute album
to Womack to coincide with Womack's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
. The Grammy-nominated album was entitled Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
. It reached #30 on the US R&B chart
.
's death, Womack created scandal by marrying Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell. Womack claimed he married her for fear that, if she were left alone, she would "do something crazy". They divorced in 1970.
Womack's younger brother, Cecil
, married Cooke and Campbell's daughter Linda
. The controversy derailed Womack's career for some time. 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.
" 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.
Womack's "Across 110th Street" featured in the opening and elsewhere in the film Jackie Brown
, directed by Quentin Tarantino
. It is used to emphasise the blaxploitation
tone of the film. It was used again in the Denzel Washington film, American Gangster, which depicted the actual circumstances described in the song. This song is also used for the closing credits of S2 E3 of TV Show How to Make It in America
.
- March 1976
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos
The Valentinos
The Valentinos , was a Cleveland, Ohio-based family R&B group, mainly famous for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack, the former brother finding bigger fame as a solo artist and the latter finding success as a member of the husband and wife team of Womack & Womack with...
and as Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40 years and has spanned a repertoire in the styles of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
Womack wrote and originally recorded The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now
It's All Over Now
"It's All Over Now" was written by Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack. It was first released by The Valentinos featuring Bobby Womack. The Valentinos version entered the Billboard Hot 100 on June 27, 1964, where it stayed on the chart for two weeks, peaking at No. 94...
" and New Birth
New Birth (band)
New Birth is an American funk and R&B group, originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan by former Motown songwriter/producer and veteran musician Vernon Bullock, and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky by Vernon, with former Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua, and music industry veterans, Tony...
's "I Can Understand It
I Can Understand It
"I Can Understand It" is a soul classic written and originally recorded by rhythm and blues musician Bobby Womack and turned into a top ten R&B hit by funk group New Birth in 1973. Womack originally recorded the song for his top ten album, Understanding, which was released in late 1972. His...
" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love
Lookin' for a Love
"Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels. The song was originally a top ten hit on the US R&B Singles chart in 1962 for the Valentinos on the Sam Cooke-owned SAR record label. Cooke, Alexander and Samuels based the song's chord structure on the melodic motif...
", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha
That's The Way I Feel About Cha
"That's the Way I Feel About Cha" is a 1972 single co-written, produced and recorded by American rhythm and blues/soul music performer, Bobby Womack, and also became the musician's first crossover Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 27...
", "Woman's Gotta Have It
Woman's Gotta Have It (song)
"Woman's Gotta Have It" is a song written by Darryl Carter, Bobby Womack and Linda Womack. Released as a single from Bobby's 1972 album Understanding, it reached number one on the R&B chart and peaked at number 60 on the pop chart in the US. The idea for the song came from a marital situation that...
", "Harry Hippie
Harry Hippie
"Harry Hippie" is a 1972 song written by Jim Ford, who wrote it for singer Bobby Womack as a dedication to his brother, bass guitarist Harry Womack, that became a top ten R&B hit for Womack when issued as a single in 1973 reaching number eight on the chart....
", "Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Anthony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear...
" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now
If You Think You're Lonely Now
"If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a song recorded and released as a single by American soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack in 1981. It was released from his album The Poet...
".
In 2009, Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
Early life and career; The Valentinos
Born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Womack was the third of five boys born to Friendly, Sr. and Naomi Womack in a housing project. Taking after their gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
-singing father, Womack and his four brothers Friendly, Jr., Cecil
Cecil Womack
In 1983, under the name of Womack & Womack, Cecil and Linda released a successful album, Love Wars, and continued to make albums until 1993. Their song "Love Wars" was covered by The Beautiful South for the 1990 compilation Rubáiyát. Their most successful single was "Teardrops" in 1988.-Albums:*...
, Harry and Curtis formed The Womack Brothers and began touring the gospel circuit. One night, soul singer Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
spotted the Womack Brothers performing and immediately began seeking the group out for a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
. Signing with SAR Records, Cooke's own imprint, they eventually agreed to leave the gospel circuit for a career in secular music and the group was renamed as the Valentinos. Shortly afterward, they scored their first charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Lookin' For a Love
Lookin' for a Love
"Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels. The song was originally a top ten hit on the US R&B Singles chart in 1962 for the Valentinos on the Sam Cooke-owned SAR record label. Cooke, Alexander and Samuels based the song's chord structure on the melodic motif...
", which peaked at #8 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
. In 1964, they scored a second hit with "It's All Over Now
It's All Over Now
"It's All Over Now" was written by Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack. It was first released by The Valentinos featuring Bobby Womack. The Valentinos version entered the Billboard Hot 100 on June 27, 1964, where it stayed on the chart for two weeks, peaking at No. 94...
". The latter song was written by Womack and would give the singer monetary royalties after The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' cover of "It's All Over Now" hit the top of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The Valentinos' career dwindled after the death of Cooke in December 1964. The group stayed together for a year and a half (recording for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
in the interim), before splitting up in 1966. They reformed in the late 1960s and recorded a few songs for Jubilee Records in the early 1970s, appearing on Soul Train in 1973. Womack struggled to get noticed in the music industry and secluded himself as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
.
Early solo career: sideman
As a session guitarist, Womack worked at record producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Chips Moman
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
's American Studios in Memphis, and played on recordings by Joe Tex
Joe Tex
Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...
and The Box Tops
Box Tops
The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group of the second half of the 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Neon Rainbow," "Soul Deep," "I Met Her in Church," and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period...
. Until this point, around 1967, he had had little success as a solo artist, but at American he began to record a string of hit singles, including 1968's "What Is This" (his first chart hit), "It's Gonna Rain" and "More Than I Can Stand". During this period he became known as a songwriter, contributing many songs to Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
's repertoire; these include "I'm in Love" and "I'm a Midnight Mover." He also applied guitar work on three of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's hit-making late 1960s recordings, including Lady Soul
Lady Soul
Lady Soul is an album by Aretha Franklin, released in 1968. The album was her second R&B chart-topper, the follow-up to "Aretha Arrives" and included some of her biggest hit singles, "Chain of Fools" , and A Natural Woman , and " Since You've Been Gone"...
, where he played guitar on Franklin's hit, "Chain of Fools
Chain of Fools
Chain of Fools is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk .-Plot:...
". Among his most well-known works as a session musician from this period, his appearance as guitarist on Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
's 1971 album There's a Riot Goin' On
There's a Riot Goin' On
There's a Riot Goin' On is the fifth studio album by American funk and soul band Sly & the Family Stone, released November 20, 1971 on Epic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place primarily throughout 1970 to 1971 at Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California...
and on Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
's Pearl
Pearl (album)
-Personnel:* Janis Joplin – vocals, guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee"* Richard Bell – piano* Ken Pearson – organ* John Till – electric guitar* Brad Campbell – bass guitar* Clark Pierson – drums-Additional personnel:...
, which features a song by Womack and poet Michael McClure
Michael McClure
Michael McClure is an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955 rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums...
entitled "Trust Me". In 1971, on an album with jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
, he introduced his song "Breezin'", which later became a hit for George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
.
Solo stardom
In 1968, Womack signed with Minit Records and put out his first charted single, "What Is This", following that up with "It's Gonna Rain", "More than I Can Stand", a soul-infused cover of Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's "Fly Me to the Moon" and his blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
y rendition of The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
' "California Dreamin'
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
", which gave him his first top 50 pop single.
After moving to the United Artists
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1971, he released the album Communication
Communication (1972 album)
Communication is a 1971 R&B album recorded by Bobby Womack. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 20 on the Billboard Jazz Chart in 1972. It included the hit single, "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", which charted at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and No...
, scoring the hit "That's The Way I Feel About Cha
That's The Way I Feel About Cha
"That's the Way I Feel About Cha" is a 1972 single co-written, produced and recorded by American rhythm and blues/soul music performer, Bobby Womack, and also became the musician's first crossover Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 27...
", which became his first Top 40 single in 1972.
His follow-up album, Understanding, featured his original rendition of the single "I Can Understand It", which later became a funk hit for the Detroit-based band New Birth
New Birth (band)
New Birth is an American funk and R&B group, originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan by former Motown songwriter/producer and veteran musician Vernon Bullock, and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky by Vernon, with former Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua, and music industry veterans, Tony...
, and the Top 10 R&B hit, "Harry Hippie
Harry Hippie
"Harry Hippie" is a 1972 song written by Jim Ford, who wrote it for singer Bobby Womack as a dedication to his brother, bass guitarist Harry Womack, that became a top ten R&B hit for Womack when issued as a single in 1973 reaching number eight on the chart....
", loosely based on Womack's late brother Harry, who died two years after the song was recorded. "Harry Hippie" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A. in Fenruary 1973. Understanding also yielded his first R&B number one single with "A Woman's Gotta Have It", later to be covered by James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
in 1976, returning the favor of having Womack cover his seminal single, "Fire and Rain
Fire and Rain
"Fire and Rain" is a folk/rock song written and performed by James Taylor. As a song on his second album, Sweet Baby James, the song engendered widespread attention for him. The album was released in February 1970, with the song being released as a single that month. "Fire and Rain" quickly rose to...
". In 1973, Womack wrote, produced and recorded the soundtrack album to Across 110th Street, with its title track becoming another successful hit for Womack.
In 1974, Womack's remake of his old 1962 Valentinos single, "Lookin' for a Love
Lookin' for a Love
"Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels. The song was originally a top ten hit on the US R&B Singles chart in 1962 for the Valentinos on the Sam Cooke-owned SAR record label. Cooke, Alexander and Samuels based the song's chord structure on the melodic motif...
" reached the Top 10 of the pop singles chart. Later hits included the funk singles "Check It Out" and "Daylight" and the single, "You're Welcome, Stop On By", later covered by Rufus
Rufus (band)
Rufus was an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," and "Ain't Nobody."-Origins:...
featuring Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
.
In 1975, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood wrote his classic second solo album 'Now Look' in collaboration with Womack.
After 1976, few of Womack's songs hit the charts as he dealt with creative difficulties with his record labels. He left United Artists at the end of 1976, and fell out of favor with R&B audiences by the end of the 1970s.
In 1981, he made a comeback with the release of The Poet
The Poet (album)
The Poet is a 1981 album by Bobby Womack. The album reached the top of the Billboard Top Black Albums chart due to the success of the single, "If You Think You're Lonely Now, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart....
, which included his Top 10 R&B hit, "If You Think You're Lonely Now
If You Think You're Lonely Now
"If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a song recorded and released as a single by American soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack in 1981. It was released from his album The Poet...
". Womack gained a sizable European fan base which grew with the release of 1984's The Poet II
Poet II
Poet II is a 1984 album by Bobby Womack. The album featured the hit duets with fellow soul legend Patti LaBelle on the top three R&B charted ballad, "Love Has Finally Come at Last" and the more modest follow-up, "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye" and the top 75 UK dance hit, "Tell Me...
, which included the top ten R&B duet with Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
titled "Love Has Finally Come at Last". In 1985, he scored his final Top 10 R&B single with "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much".
In 1989, Womack sang on Todd Rundgren's "For the Want of a Nail" on the album Nearly Human
Nearly Human
Nearly Human is a 1989 album by Todd Rundgren, and his second for Warner Bros. Records. His first release in four years time - the longest break in Rundgren's discography up to that point, although he had been active as a producer in the intervening years - the album has a soulful, searching,...
. In 1998, he performed George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's "Summertime" with The Roots for the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
awareness and fighting the disease.
In 2010, Womack contributed lyrics and sang on "Stylo
Stylo (song)
"Stylo" is the first single from British alternative group Gorillaz's third studio album Plastic Beach. The song features guest vocals from Bobby Womack and Mos Def. The single was released on 26 January 2010.-Production:...
" alongside Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, the first single from the third Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
album, Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band and alternative hip hop supergroup Gorillaz, released 3 March 2010 on Parlophone and Virgin Records. Conceived from an unfinished Gorillaz project called Carousel, the album was recorded during June 2008 to November 2009 and produced...
. 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. He also provides vocals on the song "Cloud of Unknowing" in addition to the song "Bobby in Phoenix" on their December 2010 release "The Fall".
Legacy
JodeciJodeci
Jodeci is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & Jojo,...
'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
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
'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
Jaheim
Jaheim Hoagland is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, was released a year later,...
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.
Film director Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
used "Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Anthony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear...
" (which, in a different version, had been the title song of the 1972 movie
Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Anthony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear...
) in the opening and closing sequences of his 1997 film Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown (film)
Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard and pays homage to 1970s blaxploitation films....
. His work has been used in several other popular films, including Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
(2000), Ali
Ali (film)
Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
(2001) and American Gangster (2007). A 2003 Saab
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
commercial used Womack's interpretation of "California Dreamin'". In 2005, "Across 110th Street" appeared in the hit Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
video game True Crime: New York City
True Crime: New York City
True Crime: New York City is an urban sandbox-style action-adventure videogame published by Activision and developed by Luxoflux for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube consoles and Windows based computers. It is the second game of the True Crime series, released after True Crime: Streets of LA...
. "Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street
Across 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Anthony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear...
" was used in Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
video game Thug'z Depression:Live Or Die.
On the 1994 release 1-800-NEW-FUNK
1-800-NEW-FUNK
1-800-NEW-FUNK is a compilation album by Prince's NPG Records meant to showcase artists signed to the label. It was released on July 20, 1994...
, Nona Gaye
Nona Gaye
Nona Marvisa Gaye is an American singer, former fashion model, and screen actress. The daughter of soul music legend Marvin Gaye and granddaughter of jazz great Slim Gaillard, she began her career as a vocalist in the early 1990s...
covered "Woman's Gotta Have It
Woman's Gotta Have It
Woman's Gotta Have It is the second album by Cornershop, released in 1995.-Track listing:...
," produced by Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
and backed by his band, New Power Generation
New Power Generation
The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, is the current backing group of musician Prince.-History:The phrase "Welcome to the New Power Generation" was mentioned on the opening track of 1988's Lovesexy...
.
In 2008, Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
of Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
recorded her own version of his R&B hit "Daylight" with Travis McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
, which became a hit in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, where it was previously released as a single by Womack in 1976.
In 2009, Calvin Richardson
Calvin Richardson
Calvin Richardson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. In 1999 he released his debut solo album Country Boy.-Background:...
was chosen to record a tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to Womack to coincide with Womack's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. The Grammy-nominated album was entitled Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
Facts Of Life: The Soul Of Bobby Womack
Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack is a Grammy-nominated tribute album dedicated to Bobby Womack. It was recorded By Soul singer-songwriter Calvin Richardson....
. It reached #30 on the US R&B chart
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
.
Controversy
In March 1965, just three months after Sam CookeSam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's death, Womack created scandal by marrying Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell. Womack claimed he married her for fear that, if she were left alone, she would "do something crazy". They divorced in 1970.
Womack's younger brother, Cecil
Cecil Womack
In 1983, under the name of Womack & Womack, Cecil and Linda released a successful album, Love Wars, and continued to make albums until 1993. Their song "Love Wars" was covered by The Beautiful South for the 1990 compilation Rubáiyát. Their most successful single was "Teardrops" in 1988.-Albums:*...
, married Cooke and Campbell's daughter Linda
Linda Womack
Linda Womack , also known as Zeriiya Zekkariyas, is an American singer and songwriter.Womack is the daughter of Sam Cooke, and with her husband Cecil Womack has had a successful recording career under the name Womack & Womack. Their first album Love Wars proved a critical hit on the Elektra label. ...
. The controversy derailed Womack's career for some time. Womack and Linda collaborated on the hit song "Woman's Gotta Have It
Woman's Gotta Have It (song)
"Woman's Gotta Have It" is a song written by Darryl Carter, Bobby Womack and Linda Womack. Released as a single from Bobby's 1972 album Understanding, it reached number one on the R&B chart and peaked at number 60 on the pop chart in the US. The idea for the song came from a marital situation that...
" and he applied background vocals for his brother and Linda as the pair teamed up as Womack & Womack.
Use in film
Womack's 1968 cover of "California Dreamin'California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
" featured prominently in 2009 British film Fish Tank
Fish Tank (film)
Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama film directed by Andrea Arnold. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. It was filmed in the Mardyke Estate in Havering, the town of Tilbury, and the A13, and funded by BBC Films and the UK...
by Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold OBE is a filmmaker and former actress from England, who made her feature film directorial debut in 2006 with Red Road.-Early TV work:...
, 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.
Womack's "Across 110th Street" featured in the opening and elsewhere in the film Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown (film)
Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard and pays homage to 1970s blaxploitation films....
, directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
. It is used to emphasise the blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
tone of the film. It was used again in the Denzel Washington film, American Gangster, which depicted the actual circumstances described in the song. This song is also used for the closing credits of S2 E3 of TV Show How to Make It in America
How to Make It in America
How to Make It in America is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on February 14, 2010. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein and his friend Cam Calderon as they try to succeed in New York City's fashion scene...
.
Studio albums
- 1968: Fly Me to the Moon (MinitMinit RecordsMinit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law by Ernie K-Doe. A number of Allen Toussaint productions were issued on Minit, including...
) - US #174, R&B #34 - 1969: My Prescription (Minit) - R&B #44
- 1971: CommunicationCommunication (1972 album)Communication is a 1971 R&B album recorded by Bobby Womack. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 20 on the Billboard Jazz Chart in 1972. It included the hit single, "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", which charted at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and No...
(United ArtistsUnited Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
) - US #83, R&B #7, Jazz #20 - 1972: Understanding (United Artists) - US #43, R&B #7
- 1972: Across 110th Street (United Artists) - US #50, R&B #6
- 1973: Facts of LifeFacts of Life (album)Facts Of Life is a 1973 R&B album recorded by Bobby Womack. for United Artists Records.-Reception:Released in June 8, 1973 it raced to #6 on the Billboard R&B Charts. It also charted at #37 on the Billboard U.S. Pop Charts. The album included the hit single "Noboby Wants You When You're Down and...
(United Artists) - US #37, R&B #6 - 1974: Lookin' for a Love AgainLookin' for a Love Again-Reception:Released January 11, 1974 the album reached #85 on the Billboard U.S. Pop Charts, and #5 on the Billboard R&B Charts. It included the hit single "Lookin' For A Love" which charted No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart , and #10 The Billboard U.S...
(United Artists) - US #85, R&B #5 - 1975: I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To (United Artists) - US #126, R&B #20
- 1976: Safety Zone (United Artists) - US #147, R&B #40
- 1975: I Can Understand It (United Artists) - same tracks as on Greatest Hits
- 1976: BW Goes C&W (United Artists)
- 1976: Home Is Where the Heart Is (ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - 1977: Pieces (Columbia) - US #205
- 1979: Roads Of LifeRoads Of Life-Reception:This album was Bobby's only album for Arista Records. It did not chart well landing at number 55 on the Top Soul Albums charts. This album was also dedicated to his late son Truth Womack, Jan...
(AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
) - US #206, R&B #55 - 1981: The PoetThe Poet (album)The Poet is a 1981 album by Bobby Womack. The album reached the top of the Billboard Top Black Albums chart due to the success of the single, "If You Think You're Lonely Now, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart....
(Beverly Glen) - US #29, R&B #1 - 1984: The Poet IIPoet IIPoet II is a 1984 album by Bobby Womack. The album featured the hit duets with fellow soul legend Patti LaBelle on the top three R&B charted ballad, "Love Has Finally Come at Last" and the more modest follow-up, "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye" and the top 75 UK dance hit, "Tell Me...
(Beverly Glen) - US #60, R&B #5, UK #31 - 1985: So Many Rivers (MCAMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
) - US #66, R&B #5, UK #28 - 1985: Someday We'll All Be Free (Beverly Glen) - US #207, R&B #59
- 1986: Womagic (MCA) - R&B #68
- 1987: Last Soul Man (MCA)
- 1989: Save The Children (SolarSOLAR RecordsS.O.L.A.R. Records was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.-Company history:In 1975, Soul Train Records was founded by Dick Griffey and...
) - 1994: Soul Seduction Supreme (Castle)
- 1994: Resurrection (Continuum) - R&B #91
- 1999: Back to My Roots (CapitolCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
) - Gospel #27 - 1999: Traditions (Capitol)
- 2000: Christmas Album (Indigo)
Live albums
- 1970: The Womack "Live" (United Artists) - US #188, R&B #13
- 1998: Soul Sensation Live (Sequel)
Compilation albums
- 1975: Greatest Hits (United Artists) - US #142, R&B #30
- 1986: Check it Out (Stateside) - UK SSL 6013
- 1998: Red Hot + Rhapsody
- 1999: Traditions (Capitol)
- 2003: Lookin' For a Love: The Best of 1968-1976 (Stateside Records)
- 2004: Fly Me To The Moon/My Prescription on one CD (Stateside Records)
- 2004: Understanding/Communication (Stateside Records)
- 2004: Womack Live/The Safety Zone (Stateside Records)
- 2004: Lookin' For A Love Again/BW Goes CW (Stateside Records)
- 2004: Facts of Life/I Don't Know What the World Is Coming To (Stateside Records)
- 2010: Plastic Beach-Gorillaz (Parlophone)
- 2010: The Fall-Gorillaz (Parlophone)
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop chart Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B chart Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 1962 | "Lookin' For a Love Lookin' for a Love "Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels. The song was originally a top ten hit on the US R&B Singles chart in 1962 for the Valentinos on the Sam Cooke-owned SAR record label. Cooke, Alexander and Samuels based the song's chord structure on the melodic motif... " (with The Valentinos The Valentinos The Valentinos , was a Cleveland, Ohio-based family R&B group, mainly famous for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack, the former brother finding bigger fame as a solo artist and the latter finding success as a member of the husband and wife team of Womack & Womack with... ) |
72 | 8 | – |
| 1964 | "It's All Over Now It's All Over Now "It's All Over Now" was written by Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack. It was first released by The Valentinos featuring Bobby Womack. The Valentinos version entered the Billboard Hot 100 on June 27, 1964, where it stayed on the chart for two weeks, peaking at No. 94... " (with The Valentinos) |
94 | – | – |
| 1968 | "California Dreamin' California Dreamin' "California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time... " |
43 | 20 | – |
| "Fly Me to the Moon Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was originally titled "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets... " |
52 | 16 | – | |
| "What Is This" | – | 33 | – | |
| 1969 | "How I Miss You Baby How I Miss You Baby "How I Miss You Baby" is a song written by Bobby Womack and Darryl Carter. Womack released it as a single in 1969 and was included on his 1970 album My Prescription... " |
94 | 13 | – |
| "I Left My Heart in San Francisco I Left My Heart in San Francisco "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in 1954 by George Cory and Douglass Cross, and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett... " |
– | 48 | – | |
| "It's Gonna Rain" | – | 43 | – | |
| 1970 | "I'm Gonna Forget About You" | – | 30 | – |
| "More Than I Can Stand" | 90 | 23 | – | |
| 1971 | "Communication" | – | 40 | – |
| "The Preacher (Part 2) /More Than I Can Stand" | – | 30 | – | |
| 1972 | "That's The Way I Feel About Cha That's The Way I Feel About Cha "That's the Way I Feel About Cha" is a 1972 single co-written, produced and recorded by American rhythm and blues/soul music performer, Bobby Womack, and also became the musician's first crossover Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 27... " |
27 | 2 | – |
| "Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good) Sweet Caroline "Sweet Caroline" is a pop song written and performed by Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16, 1969, as a single. It was later released on December 9, 1972 as a part of Diamond's Hot August Night album. There are three distinct mixes of this song... " |
51 | 16 | – | |
| "Woman's Gotta Have It Woman's Gotta Have It (song) "Woman's Gotta Have It" is a song written by Darryl Carter, Bobby Womack and Linda Womack. Released as a single from Bobby's 1972 album Understanding, it reached number one on the R&B chart and peaked at number 60 on the pop chart in the US. The idea for the song came from a marital situation that... " |
60 | 1 | – | |
| 1973 | "Harry Hippie Harry Hippie "Harry Hippie" is a 1972 song written by Jim Ford, who wrote it for singer Bobby Womack as a dedication to his brother, bass guitarist Harry Womack, that became a top ten R&B hit for Womack when issued as a single in 1973 reaching number eight on the chart.... " |
31 | 8 | – |
| "Across 110th Street Across 110th Street Across 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Anthony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear... " |
56 | 19 | – | |
| "Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out" | 29 | 2 | – | |
| "I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You" | – | 80 | – | |
| 1974 | "Lookin' For a Love Lookin' for a Love "Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels. The song was originally a top ten hit on the US R&B Singles chart in 1962 for the Valentinos on the Sam Cooke-owned SAR record label. Cooke, Alexander and Samuels based the song's chord structure on the melodic motif... " (solo re-release) |
10 | 1 | – |
| "You're Welcome, Stop On By" | 59 | 5 | – | |
| 1975 | "Check It Out" | 91 | 6 | – |
| "It's All Over Now" (with Bill Withers Bill Withers William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"... ) |
– | 68 | – | |
| 1976 | "Daylight" | – | 5 | – |
| "Where There's A Will, There's A Way" | – | 13 | – | |
| 1977 | "Home Is Where The Heart Is" | – | 43 | – |
| 1978 | "Trust Your Heart" | – | 47 | – |
| 1979 | "How Could You Break My Heart" | – | 40 | – |
| 1981 | "Secrets" | – | 55 | – |
| 1982 | "If You Think You're Lonely Now If You Think You're Lonely Now "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a song recorded and released as a single by American soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack in 1981. It was released from his album The Poet... " |
– | 3 | – |
| "Where Do We Go From Here" | – | 26 | – | |
| 1984 | "It Takes a Lot of Strength to Say Goodbye" | – | 76 | – |
| "Love Has Finally Come at Last" (with Patti LaBelle Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry... ) |
88 | 3 | – | |
| "Tell Me Why" | – | 54 | 60 | |
| 1985 | "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much" is a song written and recorded by soul musician Bobby Womack, released as the leading track off his 1985 album, So Many Rivers, the so-called trilogy to The Poet series of records Womack recorded for Los Angeles-based Beverly Glen Records... " |
– | 2 | 64 |
| "Let Me Kiss It Where It Hurts" | – | 50 | – | |
| "Someday We'll All Be Free Someday We'll All Be Free "Someday We'll All Be Free" is a 1973 song by Donny Hathaway from the album Extension of a Man. The song was released as the flipside to the single "Love, Love, Love"... " |
– | 74 | – | |
| 1986 | "(I Wanna) Make Love to You" | – | 57 | - |
| 1987 | "How Could You Break My Heart" (UK-only release of 1979 single) | – | – | - |
| "So The Story Goes" (with Living in a Box Living in a Box Living in a Box were a British band from the 1980s and early 1990s. They are best known for their eponymous debut single, produced by Richard James Burgess.-Formation and split up:... ) |
81 | – | 34 | |
| "Living in a Box Living In A Box (song) "Living in a Box" is a song by Living in a Box released in 1987 as their debut single and the first single from their self-titled debut album of the same name.... " |
– | – | 70 | |
| 1989 | "Save the Children" | – | 83 | – |
| 1991 | "I Wish I'd Never Met You" (with Mica Paris Mica Paris Mica Paris is an English soul singer, radio and television presenter, and occasional actress. Her forename is pronounced Misha.-Beginnings:Paris' roots are in soul and gospel music... ) |
– | – | – |
| 1993 | "I'm Back For More" (with Lulu Lulu (singer) Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day... ) |
– | – | 27 |
| 1995 | "It's A Man's Man's Man's World It's a Man's Man's Man's World "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966 in a New York studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached #1 on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts and #8 in the Billboard Hot 100... " (with Jeanie Tracy Jeanie Tracy Jeanie Tracy is a female African American R&B, Dance-pop, Hi-NRG and house singer-songwriter and actress, born in Houston, Texas and raised in Fresno, California.-Career:Growing up Tracy sang in a church choir in addition to studying opera and piano... ) |
– | – | 73 |
| 2004 | "California Dreamin'" (re-release) | – | – | 59 |
| 2010 | "Stylo" (with Gorillaz Gorillaz Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters... ) |
- | – | – |
| 2010 | "Cloud of Unknowing" (with Gorillaz Gorillaz Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters... ) |
- | – | – |
| 2011 | "Bobby In Phoenix" ("with Gorillaz Gorillaz Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters... ") |
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Quotation
NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
- March 1976
Awards/Nominations
- Grammy Awards
- 2011, Best Short-Form Music Video: "Stylo" shared w/ Mos DefMos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
& GorillazGorillazGorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
(Nominated)
- 2011, Best Short-Form Music Video: "Stylo" shared w/ Mos Def