Bobby Womack, whose work spanned 6 decades of music has died at age 70. Womack was nicknamed the Preacher for his church-trained voice and it made him much more popular in England than here in the US. The pop stars of the day really considered him to be rock royalty, his many admirers including Keith Richards, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder. Womack had his first hit in 1964 when he wrote the song, “It’s All Over Now,” and recorded it with his group, the Valentinos. A new British band, called the Rolling Stones, then said that they wanted to record it and became their first number 1 single in the UK and their first international hit, while the Valentinos’ version disappeared. Womack later said;
“I was very upset about it. It was like, ‘They stole my song.’ I stopped being upset when we got our first royalty check. That changed everything.”
He was supposedly finically secure for the rest of his life from the royalties of that song alone. Many of his songs were recorded by others over the years, and not without trying, but he never really made it big like so many stars who revered him. In 2009 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hip-hop stars frequently sampled the soul music of his era, but Mr. Womack refused most all requests to use his recordings in their work. Despite his well-publicized marital problems and struggles with drugs and alcohol, he said he remained a gospel singer at heart.
“Me being from the old school, I would not say ‘bitch’ on a record. I couldn’t face my mother if I did.”
(via The NY Times)
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