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Bobby Womack, a colorful and highly influential R&B singer-songwriter who influenced artists from the Rolling Stones to Damon Albarn, has died. He was 70.
Womack’s publicist Sonya Kolowrat said that the singer had died, but she could provide no other details.
With an incomparable voice few could match, Womack was a stirring singer and guitarist in his own right and a powerful songwriter whose hits like “Across 110th Street,” ”If You Think You’re Lonely Now” and “I Wish He Didn’t Trust Me So Much” captured the imagination of future stars in rock ‘n’ roll and R&B.
“He had a style that nobody else could ever capture,” longtime friend, gospel singer Candi Staton, said in a statement. “I loved him and I will miss him so, so very much.”
Womack’s death comes as something of a surprise. Though he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease two years ago and overcame addiction and multiple health issues, including prostate and colon cancer, recently, he seemed in good health and spirits when he performed earlier this month at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.
He told the BBC in 2013 the Alzheimer’s diagnosis came after he began having difficulty remembering his songs and the names of people he had worked with.
And there have been many. The soul singer cut a wide path through the music business as a performer and songwriter in a career that spanned seven decades. Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, long after he’d lost his fortune and his career to addiction.
He spoke of kicking his substance abuse problems in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press and all the friends he’d lost to drugs over the years.
“I think the biggest move for me was to get away from the drug scene,” Womack said. “It wasn’t easy. It was hard because everybody I knew did drugs. … They didn’t know when to turn it off. So for me looking at Wilson Pickett, close friends of mine, Sly Stone, Jim Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and I can go on and on and on, and I say all of them died because of drugs.”
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, Womack was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and sang gospel music at a young age, performing with his brothers in The Womack Brothers. Under the influence of gospel and R&B legend Sam Cooke, who signed the group to his personal label, Womack moved into secular music. In the early 1960s his group recorded “It’s All Over Now,” which was covered and by the Stones and became the band’s first number-one hit.
His songs have been recorded by multiple artists, and he played as a session musician in Memphis in the 1960s.
Albarn and XL Recordings president Richard Russell helped Womack regain his career with 2012 comeback album “The Bravest Man in the Universe.” The album was a departure for Womack, full of electronic music and beats. But it was lauded by critics for a simple reason: That distinctive voice of his still brought chills.
“I don’t think he ever really thought that he would do anything again,” Albarn said of Womack in March. “Watching his rehabilitation and watching his ability to confront new material and new challenges was nothing short of miraculous at the time, and he still today continues to battle his demons and his illness. But he’s a beautiful person and when he opens his mouth and that voice comes out, it is something that is somehow touched by God.”
Windows phone hasn’t really got any traction in the market. One interesting thing is that a lot of people who have the phones really like them. I have used a Windows phone since Windows 7 and I am on my third upgrade. I think to fully appreciate the advantages you have to use the features. There is excellent integration of cloud storage, email and contacts with your Microsoft account. You can open office attachments in email and edit on the go. It is also excellent if you want to add a work email account and have in a separate window with it’s own tile. For the game enthusiasts there is an excellent selection of Xbox games. Most of the popular social media apps are available bit it is true that there is less choice than apple or android. I think the failure of windows 8.1 on desktop probably put a lot of people off windows phones. Ironically Windows 8.1 is really nice on a windows phone. The emergence of Windows may make people look a bit closer at Windows phone. Anyway looking forward to my Windows 10 upgrade in the new year.
By the way I don’t work for microsoft
That’s some decent storage
Due upgrade was thinking of switching to android Samsung s6 but my cloud storage, contacts email etc arevon Microsoft I wonder is there much hassle or should I get a 950
It’s useful for my purposes with OneNote, Office Lens and integration with Office but not as adaptable as Android.
I just upgraded to the 950 from a Samsung Galaxy S5. So far, I’m impressed. What I find nice are the little things that make using the phone easy. Searching for apps / contacts on the phone is really intuitive. the groove music app is great too. And one nice feature is the ability to put playlists directly on the front tiles. great for Bluetooth integrated cars / speakers etc…
On the downside, I does overheat a fair bit, and I would recommend a cover for it, but generally I’m impressed. I haven’t tried out the continuum integration yet, but I will get to that at some stage.
The devices look great but no one is going to fork out €600 or a long contract on something they might hate. Maybe some sort of like it or your money back guarantee could be good.
It may be a device you can flip to Android if you don’t like Windows
To write as a CON that Windows 10 is buggy and needs works is just pathetic if you don’t back it up with examples. Anyway have you ever seen an OS without bugs??? I feel the CONS are just written because you couldn’t find any…
In the same boat dropped my 925 on a wooden floor and the screen went in bits. Not it’s first fall to be fair!
“With an infrared light glowing while it searches for you, it quickly recognises you and unlocks your phone, making for a more convenient experience than a fingerprint.” .. I got the new iPhone 6s plus and I just have to touch the sensor and they thing unlocks. the problem is that the Camera on the Lumia is not as good as iPhone. I moved to android for a year, got the note 3, liked the phone and size, but the camera was not great and I didn’t really use the stylus much. its hard to beat an iPhone.
It’s quite easy to beat an Iphone. Drop it on a soft pillow and the screen cracks! I’ve dropped the Lumia on a tiled floor and it was grand.Tough aul phones Nokias!
You`re are one of the lucky one`s RTibe . I dropped my 925 Lumia about a year ago, and the screen went to s**t. Loved that phone. Replaced it with a 1520 Lumia, which I picked up preowned for a steal. If you can get past it`s size it`s a superb phone with excellent specs. Everybody too their own I say. And Robert in my opinion the Lumia camera is the best you can get on a phone, just saying!
Hardcore fans = codeword for employees of Microsoft, the only people who seem to use Lumina phones
I don’t work for them and am on my third Lumia. Excellent storage, really good camera and feels more solid than most androids. However I will admit, the lack of apps is an issue. Not enough to put me off though!
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