Bobby Womack C/D

help me out with this one: I listened to a Bobby Womack "best of" some years ago, and there was this one song that had the exact same melody as Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"...(Womack's song was recorded earlier, I think)...what was the name of this track, and why isn't more made of this similarity?

I always want to like him more than I do.

Saw him on an oldies bill with the Dells in 2005 and said the following about his live show on the chitlin circuit soul thread:

Opener Bobby Womack has had quite a musical life -- teenage gospel singer, guitarist with Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and Sly Stone, pal of the Rolling Stones and successful solo artist off and on from the '60s through the '80s. Unfortunately, he left the strumming to a band mate, and either rushed through his hits or languidly lagged behind the beat. His voice retains a distinctive bittersweet feel, but his renditions of "Across 110th Street," "Harry Hippie" and "If You Think You're Lonely Now" lacked the melancholy passion of his studio versions.

-- steve-k, Monday, 9 May 2005 14:10 (2 years ago) Link

Need to get and listen to more of his studio efforts

I listened to a Bobby Womack "best of" some years ago, and there was this one song that had the exact same melody as Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"

Oh I think Rodders 'fessed up to that one. I think the Womack song is "If You Want My Love, Put Something Down On It", but couldn't swear to it.

People, it was Jorge Ben's "Taj Majal" that Rod ripped off with that song.

hmmm...sounds like there's a whole lotta rippin' goin' on...

The melody is definitely from the Womack song... or rather the instrumental hook is

Hm, looks like it was both.

On the other hand, Jim Ford didn't seem to happy with Bobby's attitude toward songwriting credits.

Up to and including So Many Rivers: mostly C.
Thereafter: almost always D.

i've never heard about him ripping a womack song, Jorge Ben successfully sued him for ripping taj mahal tho

He should have sued Womack too then!

well, as you say it was only the hook that was lifted from the Womack tune...(but man, it was lifted)...maybe it wasn't enough of a rip to justify legal action...

or, maybe Jorge Ben to this day isn't even aware of the Womack tune...maybe we can get him sue Womack, and maybe Jorge will share some of the settlement with us, the alert posters of ILM...maybe...

No, Womack didn't rip Jorge Ben, Rod ripped both Jorge and Bobby for different parts of the song.

Naughty Rod

Remember he got into that mix-up with The Rutles as well.

I like me some Womack but his recorded output is really erratic. C: Across 110th St sdtk, parts of Communication, his playing on Riot.

Across 110th Street = first R-rated movie I ever snuck into...

i like him, but his albums are all patchy. great rhythm guitarist, great voice, just wish he had more songs on the same level as everything else.

i must be the only person in the world who actually prefers k-ci's cover of if you think youre lonely now to womacks.

"his mannerisms can grate"

this is also OTM. was just listening to his cover of bacharach's close to you and its a bit parodic. or maybe time hasnt been very kind to that sort of soul singing. not sure.

classic. except for quite a few of his covers. including the remake of its all over now with bill withers which should be classic but isnt.

given the descriptions as 'patchy' i would love to examples of the classics - i only know across 110th street and have never got around to litening further.

Imagine there's a few good comps out there

his "california dreamin" is maybe the best song i've ever heard in my entire life

His "Sweet Caroline" is, well, sweet: "Here's my part, heh." "Secrets" and "110th St" are grand too. But his "Living in a Box" is just weird, and as the years went on, he increasingly simply ignored the song structure at hand and just scatted/vamped over the others' work.

I love "That's The Way I Feel About 'Cha," "Across 110th Street" and "If You Think You're Lonely Now." Classic, based on those three songs.

the thing about womack is you have to really LOVE what he does otherwise there isnt much chance of liking many of his albums as theyre all very samey and yes i know you could prob say that about a lot of artists but there isnt that much variation in what he does.

yeah but My Prescription is choice, his best record and pretty essential soul.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/Bobby_Womack.jpg

his c+w album is £3 on cd @ fopp, as one of the 2-fer-1 releases that $tateside put out.
very tempted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/Bobby_Womack.jpg

just wanted to get a '1 year passes ...' before that pic

anyway 'womack in memphis' sounds so good right now

Can I just put in a word for the joy that is 'If You Don't Want My Love (Give it Back)' , especially the bit where he quotes You Keep Me Hangin On.

his The Best of the Poet Trilogy CD is just absolutely killing me today. I've had it for a few years but today every single song is hitting me with some WHOA GENIUS ALERT stuff. A lot of his stuff has finally hit iTunes which is good news to me.

man though this record today is hitting me in a "you can't be my friend unless you LOVE THIS" way, damn.

Across 101th St contributions aside, Womack has kinda underwhelmed me. given the Sly connection and the voice and the cross-genre goofiness and everything I *should* really dig him, but everything I've heard has been pretty hit and miss.

man get that best of the poet album, for real

if you already have then disregard obv

I have the 101th St one and then whatever one had Harry Hippie on it, forget what that was called. Some other random songs here and there

will check out and report back!

ah Understanding is the other one I have

dig this unstoppable jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK32ZAB0yts

The excellent recent UK film "Fish Tank" features California Dreamin' prominently.

The great man was on Jools Holland with Gorillaz last night, and did a small teaser for Friday's show, promising a full version of If You Don't Want My Love, Give it Back.
Probably one of my top five Bobby tunes, along with Across 110th Street, Girl You're Welcome (Stop on By), So Many Sides of You, What is This?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHkwzTKSdx8

Can't find a live version, but here you go...

didn't see Bobby Womack, but the other Bobby (McFerrin) was awesome!

Cool.

The "Oooooooooooooooooooooo" at the beginning of "Across 110th Street" is the best ever.

The "Oooooooooooooooooooooo" at the beginning of "Across 110th Street" is the best ever.

― Blecch Generation (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, April 28, 2010 6:38 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yes. The Saturday afternoon show on WKCR of the same name is pretty good too.

The album, which sets Womack's careworn voice and acoustic guitar against clattering electronics, and mixes old gospel songs with guest appearances by Lana Del Rey, is a triumph.

wtf with this shit

I had a friend tell me she was "our Nico." probably get used to people putting her on where she doesn't belong

this album just sounded a bit awkward to me

Nabisco asked Damon Albarn about it for New York magazine:

This morning, I was listening to the Bobby Womack record you worked on, and I was curious — for you, was that sort of a standard production job, or something you were pretty invested in?

Not really a “standard production job” — Bobby and I talked about it on tour, and it took about another eight or nine months to come to fruition. But he came over, and [XL label head] Richard Russell, who’s really into working with Bobby as well, so we just sort of got together, and in a two-week session, pretty much got the arch and structure of the record from scratch. There wasn’t really a lot of writing done outside of the studio. We all had a few little ideas we brought into the mix, but it was a very collaborative and quick process.

Lana Del Rey appears on one track — who brought her into the loop?

That would be Richard. My studio’s quite close to the BBC, kinda walking distance, so if anyone comes in from abroad and plays at Jools Holland — which is our one legitimate live music show — we’ve got easy access to them. We kidnap them as they’re on break. Which is what we did with Lana, basically. She was amazing, I have to say, she didn’t know any of us personally, she’d just finished her rehearsal at the BBC, came straight here, and, within half an hour, was singing, dueting with Bobby. Really natural, very gorgeous voice she’s got

http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/damon-albarn-on-blurs-london-olympics-reunion.html

her part sounds nice for the most part, but i just wish she'd enunciate.

the second half of this album is really great, though i'm not quite sure what to make of "love is gonna to lift you up" ... it sounds like he's singing over a casio keyboard demo, which is somehow both awesome and lame at the same time. i'm not too familiar with a lot of his older stuff, so maybe he was always open to sounding a bit weird, but it strikes me as a stretch.

I've been listening to the new one a lot this week. Loved "Please Forgive My Heart" since I first heard it but the whole thing is finally clicking in a big way. I don't even get that annoyed with Lana Del Ray.

Man, this guy's had some bad luck in the last year: http://pitchfork.com/news/49025-bobby-womack-diagnosed-with-early-signs-of-alzheimers/

Bravest Man In The Universe has really grown on me, by the way. Questionable production, definitely, but some of the songs he wrote for this are just too good to ignore.

Alzheimers. Poor guy.

BMITU just missed my Top Ten, but it was a very good year.

http://www.amoeba.com/sized-images/maxs/800/600/uploads/past-performances/hollywood/2012/06.15.2012_Bobby_Womack_Signing/bobbyWomackSigning-7.jpg

I saw D.C. old-school soul singer Eddie Jones do a great version of "Harry Hippie" the other night. Was listening to Womack this morning--"Across 110th Street" is so passionate.

I like his rendition of "California Dreamin'" too

I can't believe I've gotten this far in life without reading about the Womack clan...iirc Bobby married Sam Cooke's widow (2 months after Sam was killed) while steppin with her daughter Linda who married Cecil who married Mary Wells who later shacked up w another Womack brother whose name escapes me. If there's a biography there I'm going to read it.

The Bravest Man in the Universe, indeed.

Despite current health issues, he's doing some gigs

Live
Sunday May 4, 2014
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans

Thursday June 12, 2014
AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas

Saturday June 14, 2014
Bonarroo Music And Arts Festival, Manchester

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bobby-womack-dead-at-70-20140627

Teenie Hodges, Hi Rhythm and Al Green guitarist died the other day and now the great Bobby Womack (teenage gospel singer, guitarist with Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and Sly Stone, pal of the Rolling Stones and successful solo artist). RIP Bobby

So sad. A life and a legacy both.

Did he make that Bonarroo date, I wonder.

I feel it is worth mentioning that his recent "comeback" album The Bravest Man in the Universe was a) one of the very few of these kinds of things that wasn't just him and a bunch of guest stars rehashing his old hits, but rather an album of new material, and b) was really, really good.

Not sure if he really played on "Suspicious Minds" but who cares. RIP.

Major RIP :(

This sucks, his music was a big part of my life

Never knew he was left-handed and played upside down.

Extra sad this came in the middle of a career revival. RIP.

i saw him a few months ago at jazzfest and he was absolutely incredible, no surprise. rip, blasting the shit out of the poet all day

Yeah RIP. Very significant in my teenage years. I never saw him perform, to me he had everything.

Not sure if he really played on "Suspicious Minds" but who cares. RIP.

― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, June 28, 2014 10:27 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

...especially when he is all the fuck over there's a riot goin' on.

blasting that's the way i feel about cha right now.

RIP bobby.

Hm. Didn't even realize he was on that. Must...read...the credits... carefully...as in the old days.

i don't think there are actually proper credits on that LP! but it's well-known.

I feel pretty silly for having listened to Riot for 25 years and not knowing Womack was on it until two days ago.

NYTimes obit:

Correction: June 28, 2014

An earlier version of this obituary rendered incorrectly one word in the title of Sly Stone’s most ambitious album, which Bobby Womack helped produce and which is now a soul classic. The title is “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” not “There’s a Riot Going On.”

He's got some credits that are hard to keep track of, like Kaylan and Volman.

RIP Bobby.

(Just noticed I started this thread and I never start threads...)

You must have been moved to do so by the passing of Jim Ford.

You can check the timing here

stones do all over now in tribute

First time I saw him he opened for the Stones

Extra sad this came in the middle of a career revival. RIP.

Not as sad as if it had happened before a career revival though. At least he got the chance to make a great record, get back on the road, play arena shows and festival headliners with Gorillaz and get adoring press.

Its sad that he died, period at age 70.

Fresh Air has been replaying the 1999 interview, which you can download---lots of good stories and musical excerpts (also at least one xpost goofy but invigorating cover so far):
http://www.npr.org/2014/07/11/330713212/fresh-air-remembers-soul-singer-and-songwriter-bobby-womack Also, at least one fairly recent Memphis show in the Beale Street Caravan archive:http://bealestreetcaravan.com/ But I just tried to download that one too, with Firefox's Flashgot, as I've done on BSC.com before; this time it crashed my computer. Oh well, gently down the stream.

http://images.junostatic.com/full/CS1703184-02A-BIG.jpg

just dunno

dunno what the world is coming to either. Wish Bobby was still around to share that

Ha I'm listening to that album right now... halfway thru the track "Git It", which I've just noticed (are you reading this Shakey + Kerr?) has lead guitar by Glen Goins... as does the next track.

Also just noticed that Bobby plays a lot of bass on this album ... and guess what? He's fucking good!

wicker game strong as well

RIP
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bobby-womack-dead-at-70-20140627

:((((((( RIP Bobby

... wait a minute, he's already dead!

Yes, I'm an idiot. Sorry. This is what happens when you see something on a friend's Facebook page and you fail to check.

I looked for a while and this Bobby Womack "Soul Sides" 2 cd compilation that came out on Metro Select in the Uk is a good compilation. He did alot of ballad material (stuff not unlike Isaac Hayes), but I love his stuff when it gets funky as his guitar is always really tasty. Good comp. 'Across 110th Street' was always the tune that got me interested in Womack's music.

"Daylight" is his ultimate masterpiece. The catchier things he did, the more ornate work, is his best; as a conventional soul singer doing the conventional cover versions, except for "Fly Me to the Moon," he wasn't all that interesting. "How I Miss You Baby," "What Is This," "It's Gonna Rain" (Tommy Cogbill's bass rules), "Arkansas State Prison," "That's the Way I Feel About Cha," and the mind-boggling "You're Welcome, Stop on By" are amazing. I don't care for his '70s albums, by and large--the material isn't there and his covers are forgettable. "If You Think You're Lonely Now" from '80 is his last great moment. I like his more obvious stuff from the Moman recordings, "Broadway Walk" and so forth. But he was never really the soul vocalist his peers were, so it has a self-regarding edge that detracts from its impact--he was just conceptually a bit soft, undefined. I love him, beautiful guitarist, but I think his career boils down into a fairly small set of tunes. Maybe someone could compile the later stuff to some effect.