Artist:Bobby Womack
Song:Holdin' On To My Baby's Love
Album:Midnight Mover:The Bobby Womack Collection
Bobby Womack is another R & B legend whose church roots come through loud and clear in his music. He was born Mar. 4, 1944 in Cleveland. His dad Friendly Womack Sr. was a gospel singer and Bobby & his brothers performed as The Womack Brothers when Bobby was a child. When they opened for The Soul Stirrers in 1953, Sam Cooke befriended the boys and when Cooke started his own label SAR he signed them as an R & B crossover act. Dad threw them out of the house when he learned they were doing secular music so Cooke sent them money and a car so they could come to Los Angeles. Cooke convinced them to change their name to The Valentinos in 1962 and they started to have success. The Rolling Stones 1964 recording of Womack's It's All Over Now made Bobby Womack rich. Sam Cooke's tragic death in 1964 left The Valentinos in limbo. Womack married Cooke's widow and that was not received very well in the R & B community. The mid 60s were a dry period for Womack as a singer but plenty of his songs were recorded by others and he was in demand as a guitarist. He also met producer Chips Moman in Memphis and that would pay off later. In 1968, he recorded an album of covers for Minit Records that was well received. Minit was taken over by United Artists and his 1971 debut Communication was produced by Chips Moman. He had several R & B hits and his remake of the old Valentinos hit Lookin' For A Love Again was his only pop top ten in 1974. Holdin' On To My Baby's Love is a great song from the 1973 album Facts Of Life. Midnight Mover is a 2CD comp of Womack's United Artists recordings and is worth getting. Bobby Womack continued to record in the 80s and still tours today though he hasn't recorded lately. Here's Bobby Womack Performing Lookin' For A Love Again on Soul Train in 1974.
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