Bobby "Blue" Bland
Bobby "Blue" Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks, January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013)… Read Full Bio ↴Bobby "Blue" Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks, January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013) was an American rhythm & blues singer. 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", all included on the 1961 album "Two Steps From The Blues".
Bobby Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".
He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues". His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee. His father, I.J. Brooks, abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland. Robert dropped out of school in third grade to work in the cotton fields and never graduated from school.
With his mother, Bland moved to Memphis in 1947, where he started singing with local gospel groups, including the Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street, where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively called themselves the Beale Streeters.
Between 1950 and 1952, Bland recorded commercially unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records (which licensed its recordings to Chess Records). He then signed a contract with Duke Records. Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but his progress was halted for two years while he served in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with the singer Eddie Fisher.
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954, several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, were enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue and returned to Duke Records, which was then being run by the Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. 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". The contract gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955. In 1956 he began touring on the chitlin' circuit with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver. 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. Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.
Bland's first chart success came in 1957 with "Farther Up the Road", which reached number 1 on the R&B chart and number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was followed by a series of hits on the R&B chart, including "Little Boy Blue" (1958). He also recorded an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958. 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 the Grateful Dead and other bands. Despite credits to the contrary—often claimed by Robey—many of these classic works were written by Joe Scott. 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".
His last record to reach number 1 on the R&B chart was "That's the Way Love Is", in 1963, but he continued to produce a consistent run of R&B chart entries through the mid-1960s. 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. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B chart. In the book Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995, by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked number 13 of the all-time top-charting artists.
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol, but he stopped drinking in 1971. His record company, Duke Records, was sold to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues and soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staffer Steve Barri. 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.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone for Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The opening track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. A version of it was released in 1978 by the hard-rock band Whitesnake, featuring the singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip-hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), starring Matthew McConaughey. 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). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco flavor were mostly unsuccessful. 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.
In 1985, Bland signed a contract with Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music, for which he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with B. B. King. The two had collaborated on two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with the guitarist and producer Angelo Earl and also with B. B. King, and performed at blues and soul festivals worldwide. 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. It was his last chart single, and became Bland's signature song for the rest of his career. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".
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. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released the album Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death.
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". He was 83.
He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... who created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."
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.
Bobby Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".
He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues". His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee. His father, I.J. Brooks, abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland. Robert dropped out of school in third grade to work in the cotton fields and never graduated from school.
With his mother, Bland moved to Memphis in 1947, where he started singing with local gospel groups, including the Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street, where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively called themselves the Beale Streeters.
Between 1950 and 1952, Bland recorded commercially unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records (which licensed its recordings to Chess Records). He then signed a contract with Duke Records. Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but his progress was halted for two years while he served in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with the singer Eddie Fisher.
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954, several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, were enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue and returned to Duke Records, which was then being run by the Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. 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". The contract gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955. In 1956 he began touring on the chitlin' circuit with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver. 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. Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.
Bland's first chart success came in 1957 with "Farther Up the Road", which reached number 1 on the R&B chart and number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was followed by a series of hits on the R&B chart, including "Little Boy Blue" (1958). He also recorded an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958. 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 the Grateful Dead and other bands. Despite credits to the contrary—often claimed by Robey—many of these classic works were written by Joe Scott. 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".
His last record to reach number 1 on the R&B chart was "That's the Way Love Is", in 1963, but he continued to produce a consistent run of R&B chart entries through the mid-1960s. 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. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B chart. In the book Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995, by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked number 13 of the all-time top-charting artists.
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol, but he stopped drinking in 1971. His record company, Duke Records, was sold to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues and soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staffer Steve Barri. 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.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone for Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The opening track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. A version of it was released in 1978 by the hard-rock band Whitesnake, featuring the singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip-hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), starring Matthew McConaughey. 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). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco flavor were mostly unsuccessful. 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.
In 1985, Bland signed a contract with Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music, for which he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with B. B. King. The two had collaborated on two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with the guitarist and producer Angelo Earl and also with B. B. King, and performed at blues and soul festivals worldwide. 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. It was his last chart single, and became Bland's signature song for the rest of his career. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".
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. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released the album Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death.
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". He was 83.
He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... who created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."
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.
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Bobby "Blue" Bland Lyrics
(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right If being…
Ain't Doin' Too Bad Part 1 Well, I got me some money And a fine place to…
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City Ain't no love in the heart of the city Ain't no…
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City - Single Version Ain't no love in the heart of the city Ain't no…
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's…
Ain't Nothing You Can Do A-when you got a headache A-headache powder soothe the pain…
Ain't Nothing You Can Do - Single Version A-when you got a headache A-headache powder soothe the pain …
Ain't That Lovin' You Before you think I love you For just one thing To you,…
Ain't That Lovin' You - Single Version You build my hopes so high And then you let me…
Ain't That Loving You Before you think I love you For just one thing To you,…
Aint No Love in the heart of the city Ain't no love in the heart of the city Ain't no…
As Soon as the Weather Breaks Soon as the weather breaks baby, I think I pack…
Blind Man Blind man standing on the corner Crying out the blues Sa…
Blue Moon Blue moon you saw me standing alone Without a dream in…
Call On Me Love and affection A heart so true Are your's for the aski…
Chains Of Love Chains of love have tied my heart to you Chains of…
Cry Cry Cry Cry, cry, cry, cry That's what I want you to do And…
Cry, Cry, Cry Everybody knows where you go when the sun goes down. I…
Cry, Cry, Cry - Single Version Cry, cry, cry, cry That's what I want you to do Then…
Deep in My Soul There are somethings I may not know Places in this world…
Don't Answer The Door Hey, everybody, let's have some fun You only live but once …
Don't Cry No More Don't cry no more, wipe away your tears Don't cry no…
Driftin' Blues Well I'm drifting and drifting, Like a ship out on the…
Farther Up the Road Further on up the road Someone gonna hurt you like you…
Further on Up the Road Further on up the road, someone gonna hurt you like…
Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time My lord... Baby... Oh Lord....…
Goin' Down Slow I've had my fun if I don't get well no…
help me through the day You look, so good I cant, believe it I'm out (my), my…
Honey Child Sometimes your love is just like honey So sweet and wild,…
I Don't Want No Woman I don't want no woman telling me what to do I…
I Don't Want To Be Right If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right If being…
I Like To Live The Love My song is a serious matter It reflects what I feel If…
I Pity The Fool I pity the fool I said, I pity the fool Well, I…
I Pity The Fool - Single Version I pity the fool, I pity the fool, I pity…
I Smell Trouble The Lord knows I've tried To do what's right For five whole…
I Take It on Home Now sometimes at the end of the day Before I head…
I Wouldn't Treat a Dog Well, mm hmm, listen When I was up You would always come…
I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) - Single Version (Stereo) Well, mm hmm, listen When I was up You would always come…
I Wouldn't Treat a Dog the Way You Treat Me Well, mm hmm, listen When I was up You would always come…
I'll Take Care of You I know you've been hurt by someone else I can tell…
I'll Take Care Of You - Single Version know you've been hurt by someone else I can tell by…
I'm Not Ashamed I'm not ashamed 'cause you saw me crying I'm not angry…
I'm Too Far Gone to Turn Around (I'm too far gone to turn around) If I reach out…
I've Been Wrong So Long I never knew love could be so strong Until I held…
I've Got to Forget You I just got to forget you That's one thing I've got…
I've Got To Use My Imagination I've really got to use my imagination To think of good…
If I Hadn't Called You Back Well, uh, where would you be, yeah If you'd kept on…
If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right If being…
If You Could Read My Mind If you could just read my mind Then you'd know what…
It's My Life Baby Ell, it's my life, baby, don't try to change my…
Jelly Jelly Jelly Hello baby, I had to call you on the phone Hello…
Lead Me On You know how it feels, you understand What it is to…
Let the Good Times Roll Hey, everybody, let's have some fun You only live but once …
Little Boy Blue When I thought I was so high above you You were…
Love Me Or Leave Me Love me or leave me and let me be lonely You…
Love of Mine Woke up this morning - I looked around I thought about…
Members Only Members only It's a private party Don't need no money To …
Never Let Me Go Never let me go Love me much too much If you let…
Poverty Up every morning with the sun I work all day till…
Poverty - Single Version (Stereo) Up every morning with the sun I work all day 'til…
Queen for a Day Don't leave and cry Don't cry when you're gone Lord, you j…
Rockin' in the Same Old Boat There's a frown on your face I see a teardrop on…
Share Your Love With Me It's an ill wind that blows no good And it's a…
St. James Infimary I went down to St. James Infirmary Then I heard my…
Stormy Monday They call it Stormy Monday but Tuesday's just as bad They…
Stormy Monday Blues (Single Version) [Stereo] They call it Stormy Monday but Tuesday's just as bad They…
Sunday Morning Love It must be Sunday morning Or else why do you lay…
Take Off Your Shoes If you're gonna walk on my love, baby The least you…
That's The Way Love Is As the bitter tears fall from your eyes a thousand…
The Soul of a Man Won't somebody tell me, answer if you can! Want somebody te…
These hands These hands aren't the hands of a gentleman these hands…
This Time I'm Gone for Good I shoulda stayed gone When I left before 'Cause you do me…
Tonight's The Night Stay away from my window Stay away from my back door…
Turn on Your Love Light Without a warning you broke my heart, takin' it baby,…
Two Steps From The Blues One month from the day I first met you Your promises…
Who Will The Next Fool Be After you get rid of me Tell me who will the…
Wishing Well Well, I'm standing at the wishing well Gazin' up at a…
Yield Not To Temptation Yield not to temptation Oh my love, while I am away Don'…
Yolanda If you're in Charleston look out for a woman Hanging out…
You're All I Need You're medicine for my Tooth when it aches Like a handyman…
You're the One You're the one that I adore You're the one that I…
You're Worth It All Soft tears that I shed for you The little favors that…
You've Got to Hurt Before You When you lose the one you love You heart goes through…