Taking after their father, who sang gospel music, Bobby Womack and his brothers formed their own group in 1952. In 1954, under the moniker Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, the group issued the Pennant single, "Buffalo Bill". Bobby Womack was only ten years old at the time. Sam Cooke took an interest in the Womack Brothers, and they recorded for Cooke's SAR record label in the early 1960s. Renamed the Valentinos, and encouraged by Cooke to go in a more secular and commercial direction, they scored a hit with Womack's "It's All Over Now" in 1964; the Rolling Stones' version of the song became a major hit, earning Womack generous royalty payments.
Sam Cooke died in late 1964; Womack married Cooke's widow, Barbara, a short time later, creating something of a scandal. Things became even more complicated when his younger brother, Cecil, married Cooke's daughter, Linda. As a session guitarist, Womack worked at producer 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 classic soul-music singles including the 1968 "What Is This" (his first chart hit), "It's Gonna Rain" and "More Than I Can Stand," all of which featured his elegant, understated rhythm-guitar work and his impassioned vocals. During this period he became known as a songwriter, contributing many songs to the repertoire of Wilson Pickett; these include "I'm in Love" and "I'm a Midnight Mover."
After moving to the United Artists label in the early '70s, he released the album Communication, and on an album with guitarist Gabor Szabo introduced his song "Breezin'," which later became a hit for George Benson. He also became known for his interesting taste in cover versions, essaying Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin' " as well as "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" and James Taylor's "Fire and Rain'" and "California Dreamin'." Perhaps his most well-known work from this period is as guitarist on Sly & the Family Stone's 1971 There's a Riot Goin' On.
He continued to have hits into the '70s; these include "Lookin' for a Love" (a remake of his 1962 Valentinos single), "Across 110th Street," "Woman's Gotta Have It" (covered by James Taylor in 1976), "You're Welcome, Stop on By," and the masterful "Daylight." All are excellent examples of burnished yet gritty 1970s soul music, and reveal a pop-music sensibility akin to that of Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield.
Bobby Womack's 1981 album The Poet was a surprise hit and contained the hit single "If You Think You're Lonely Now." K-Ci Hailey, a notable admirer of Womack's work, covered "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1994. 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.'"
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.
A 2003 Saab commercial shone a spotlight on Womackâs interpretation of "California Dreamin'".
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.[4] He also provides vocals on the song "Cloud of Unknowing".
In 2010 Bobby Womack appeared on the main pyramid stage at Glastonbury with the Gorillaz.
The Bravest Man in the World Songfacts reports in 2012, Womack's first album of original material since 1994's Resurrection was released. The Bravest Man in the World was produced by Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and XL Recordings boss, Richard Russell.
Womack died on June 27, 2014 at age 70.
Copper Kettle
Bobby Womack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get you a kettle, a coil,
Geat you a kettle filled with corn
And cover it with new-made corn mash
and never more will you toil
You'll just lay there
by the juniper
while the moon shines bright, yeah
In the pale moonlight
Yeaahh, Ohhhh, Ohhhh, Ohhh
My daddy, he made whiskey;
Well -- and I think, my granddaddy, he did too.
Ohhh! We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792. And look what they've done!
We just lay there by the juniper...
You'll just lay there by the juniper
while the moon is bright, yeah
Watch them bottles a-filling
in the pale moonlight
The moonlight
I used to sit back and watch 'em, you know,
playin' my guitar something like this
The lyrics to Bobby Womack's "Copper Kettle" describe a process of moonshining, or the illegal production of alcohol in a homemade still. The song speaks to the tradition of moonshining within the singer's family, with the lyrics "My daddy, he made whiskey; Well -- and I think, my granddaddy, he did too." The song is essentially a how-to guide for making moonshine, with references to a "kettle," "coil," and "corn mash." The singer emphasizes the ease of this process, stating that "never more will you toil," and the pleasures of "just lay[ing] there by the juniper / while the moon shines bright." The chorus of the song emphasizes the secrecy of this process, with the moonlight providing cover for the production of "bottles" of alcohol.
The second verse of the song adds a political dimension, referencing the whiskey tax that was levied in the United States from the 1790s until the early 20th century. The singer proudly declares that his family "ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792." The song can be read as a celebration of a certain kind of self-sufficient rural lifestyle in which alcohol production is a part of a long-standing family tradition. The final line of the song, which refers to the singer playing guitar while others produce alcohol, suggests perhaps an artistic heritage that is intertwined with more practical forms of labor.
Line by Line Meaning
Get you a kettle, a coil,
Acquire a distillation setup consisting of a kettle and a coil
Geat you a kettle filled with corn
Fill the kettle with corn as the source of mash for distillation
And cover it with new-made corn mash
Use fresh corn mash to cover the kettle for the fermentation process
and never more will you toil
Once the setup is ready, there will be no more hard labor required
You'll just lay there
After the setup, there will be nothing to do but relax
by the juniper
Next to a juniper tree or shrub
while the moon shines bright, yeah
In the serene night illuminated by a bright moon
Watch them bottles a-filling
Observe the bottles being filled with the distilled product
In the pale moonlight
The subdued, silvery light cast by the moon
My daddy, he made whiskey;
My father distilled whiskey himself
Well -- and I think, my granddaddy, he did too.
I believe my grandfather also distilled whiskey
Ohhh! We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792. And look what they've done!
We have been avoiding whiskey taxes for a long time, but now we face the consequences
The moonlight
The soft, silvery light that bathes the surroundings at night when the moon is visible
I used to sit back and watch 'em, you know,
I used to gaze at the people who were engaged in the distilling process, in this serene setting
playin' my guitar something like this
I would often play my guitar to accompany this peaceful scene
Contributed by Adalyn S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.