Bobby Bland

Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.

Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.^[1] 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."^[2] The inspiration behind his unique style was a Detroit Preacher, CL Franklin, because Bland studied his sermons.^[3] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues".^[4] His music was influenced by Nat King Cole.^[5]

Bland was inducted into the

Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee.^[1][9][10] 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.^[10] Robert dropped out of school in third grade to work in the cotton fields and never graduated from school.^[11]

With his mother, Bland moved to

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.^[18]

Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955.^[12] 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.^[20] 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.^[18] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.^[4]

Commercial success

Bland's first chart success came in 1957 with "

Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up.^[22] He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol,^[1] but he stopped drinking in 1971.^[22] His record company, Duke Records, was sold to the larger ABC Records group.^[22] This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues and soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer,^[22] 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.^[23]

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, "

In 1985, Bland signed a contract with Malaco Records,^[22] 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. In the late 70s and throughout the 80s most blues artists were performing for white audiences; however, Bobby wanted to continue performing for African American audiences and felt that signing with Malaco Records would help him to do that.^[26] 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".^[4]

Collaborations and tributes

The Irish singer-songwriter

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.^[30][31]

Death

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.^{[10][32][33][34]} He is interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.^[35] He is survived by his wife, Willie Martin Bland, and his son Rodd, who is also a musician.^[2] After his death, his son Rodd told news media that Bland had recently told him that the blues musician James Cotton was Bland's half-brother.^[10]

Accolades

Bland was nominated for seven Grammy Awards in the course of his career.^[36]

He received the following honors:

• Blues Hall of Fame – inducted 1981
• Rhythm and Blues Pioneer Award – 1992
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – inducted 1992^[37]
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award – 1997^[36]
• Rhythm & Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award – 1998^[38]
• Grammy Hall of Fame – "Turn On Your Love Light" (1999)^[39]
• Memphis Music Hall of Fame – inducted 2012^[6]
• National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame – inducted 2021

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Collaborative album

• Blues Consolidated, 1958 (Duke Records) (with Junior Parker)

Compilations

• The Best of Bobby Bland, 1967 (Duke Records)
• The Best of Bobby Bland, vol. 2, 1968 (Duke Records)
• First Class Blues, 1987 (Malaco Records)
• The "3B" Blues Boy: The Blues Years 1952–1959, 1991 (Ace Records)
• I Pity the Fool: The Duke Recordings, vol. 1, 1992 (MCA)
• Turn on Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings, vol. 2, 1994 (MCA)
• That Did It!: The Duke Recordings, vol. 3, 1996 (MCA)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings, 1998 (MCA, Duke/Peacock)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: The ABC–Dunhill/MCA Recordings, 1998 (MCA)
• The Anthology, 2001 (MCA)
• Unmatched: The Very Best of Bobby Bland, 2011 (Malaco)
• Angel in Anguish: The Deep, Deep Soul of Bobby Blue Bland, 2013 (Fingertips)

Singles

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bobby Bland.

• Bobby Bland at
  IMDb
• "Bobby Bland". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Bobby Bland discography
• Bobby Bland at Wenig-Lamonica Associates
• Bobby Blue Bland Archived July 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at AuthenticBlues.com