Bobby Bland

Bobby Bland at the Long Beach Blues Festival 1996

Bobby "Blue" Bland (born January 27, 1930 in Rosemark , Tennessee ; actually Robert Calvin Bland ; † June 23, 2013 in Memphis , Tennessee) was an American blues and soul singer .

Career

Bland grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he sang in various gospel choirs as a teenager . He later joined the rhythm and blues band "The Beale Streeters". There he also met popular musicians such as Rosco Gordon , Johnny Ace , Earl Forrest and Junior Parker . The first studio recordings followed with Ike Turner . But shortly after his first single, Army Blues , he had to do military service in 1951. In 1953 Bland moved to Houston , where he won a talent competition and recorded the single It's My Life .

As a result, the record company Duke Records became aware of him, and in 1957 Bland appeared with Farther Up the Road for the first time in the American pop charts . Until 1970 he was represented almost continuously in the top 10 of the rhythm and blues charts and made it into the top half of the pop charts with numerous titles. Most of his songs were works by the composing team Joe Scott , Don Robey and Deadric Malone . During his live performances, Bland was mostly accompanied by the gospel girl group "The Bland Dolls".

In the early 1970s, Bland turned its back on Duke Records after its successes waned. Instead, he signed with ABC Records in 1973 . His debut LP, His California Album , did not have any notable success, but it received very good reviews. Bland's producer Steve Barri has now added elements of white rock to the black blues music . This change can also be heard on the 1974 production Dreamer . The LP Together for the First Time… a live recording together with BB King was Bland's greatest success by then and achieved gold status . Together Again… Live followed in 1976 . This second live album with King did not sell as well as the first.

From 1979 Blands records appeared on MCA Records . Five of his albums there reached the rhythm and blues charts, but he was no longer in the pop charts. He was now mainly active in show entertainment, for which he collected quite a bit of money. However, his songs received bad reviews. Still, many fans showed up when he toured the UK in 1982. 1985 signed with the label Malaco Records from Jackson (Mississippi) and said goodbye to show business. After performing without his nickname "Blue" for a long time, he took it up again and now played traditional blues music again. With the single Midnight Run , recorded in 1989 , he made it into the rhythm and blues charts for another 70 weeks. After 1990, Bland toured several times with B. B. King and often performed in sold-out arenas. His albums Portrait of the Blues (1991) and Years of Tears (1993) received excellent reviews.

In 1992 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation . At the 1997 Grammy Awards , he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.

In 2008 Rolling Stone listed Bland 44th of the 100 best singers of all time .

Discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title music label	US	R&B	Remarks
1963	Call on Me / That's the Way Love Is Duke 77	US11 (21 weeks) US	-	First published: August 1963
1964	Ain't Nothing You Can Do Duke 78	US119 (8 weeks) US	-	First published: July 1964 Arranger: Joseph Scott
1966	The Soul of the Man Duke 79	-	R&B17 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1966 Arranger: Joseph Scott
1968	Touch of the Blues Duke 88	-	R&B38 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1968 Producers: Clyde Otis, D. Malone, Joseph Scott
1969	Spotlighting the Man Duke 89	-	R&B24 (14 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1969 Producer: Andre Williams
1973	His California album ABC / Dunhill 50163	US136 (19 weeks) US	R&B3 (22 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1973 Producer: Steve Barri
1974	Dreamer ABC / Dunhill 50169	US172 (7 weeks) US	R&B5 (31 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1974 Producer: Steve Barri
1975	Get on Down with Bobby Bland ABC 895	US154 (5 weeks) US	R&B14 (12 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1975 Producers: Don Gant, Ron Chancey
1977	Reflections in Blue ABC 1018	US185 (4 weeks) US	R&B47 (10 weeks) R&B	First published: May 1977 Producer: Steve Barri
1978	Come Fly with Me ABC 1075	US185 (3 weeks) US	R&B31 (16 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1978 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1979	I Feel Good, I Feel Fine MCA 3157	US187 (2 weeks) US	R&B34 (21 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1979 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1980	Sweet Vibrations MCA 5145	-	R&B29 (24 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1980 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1981	Try Me, I'm Real MCA 5233	-	R&B52 (11 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1981 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1982	Here We Go Again MCA 5297	-	R&B22 (36 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1982 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1983	Tell Mr. Bland MCA 5425	-	R&B50 (16 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1983 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1984	You've Got Me Loving You MCA 5503	-	R&B35 (20 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1984 Producers: Al Bell, Monk Higgins
1985	Members Only Malaco 7429	-	R&B45 (24 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1985 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson
1986	After All Malaco 7439	-	R&B65 (9 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1986 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson
1988	Blues You Can Use Malaco 7444	-	R&B71 (2 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1988 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson
1989	Midnight Run Malaco 7450	-	R&B26 (70 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1989 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson
1992	Portrait of the Blues Malaco 7458	-	R&B50 (32 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1991 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson
1993	Years of Tears Malaco 7469	-	R&B80 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1993 Producers: Tommy Couch, Wolf Stephenson, Frederick Knight

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

1961: Two Steps from the Blues (Duke 74)
1962: Here's the Man (Duke 75)
1963: Bobby “Blue” Bland and Johnny “Guitar” Watson (with Johnny Guitar Watson ; Crown 358)
1987: First Class Blues (Malaco 5000)
1995: Sad Street (Malaco 7478)
1998: Memphis Monday Morning (Malaco 7495)
2003: Blues at Midnight (Malaco 7512)

effect

Mick Hucknall (singer and head of the Simply Red group ) released the solo CD "Hucknall: Tribute to Bobby" with songs by Bobby Bland in spring 2008.

The British hard rock band Whitesnake covered Blands Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City on their 1978 Snakebite EP and also played the piece more often live (documented on the 1980 live album Live ... in the Heart of the City ).

literature

Charles Farley: Soul of the Man. Bobby "Blue" Bland . The University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 2011. ISBN 978-1-60473-919-0 .
Siegfried Schmidt-Joos and Wolf Kampmann: Rock Lexicon . rororo-Verlag, Reinbek 2008 ISBN 978-3-499-62133-8 (page 182f).
Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 59f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .

Web links

Commons : Bobby Bland - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Literature by and about Bobby Bland in the catalog of the German National Library
Bobby Bland in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Bobby Bland in the nndb (English)
www.soulfulkindamusic.net - Discography (English)
The "Sinatra of the Blues" - an addendum to the 80th birthday of Bobby Bland, nmz online / 2011

Individual evidence

^ Obituary in The Guardian
↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bobby Bland in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
↑ 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 9, 2017 .
↑ Chart sources: Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200
^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
↑ "You can store it forever!" Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall on [...] his idol Bobby "Blue" Bland . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 14, 2008, online .

personal data
SURNAME	Bland, Bobby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bland, Bobby Blue (nickname); Bland, Robert Calvin (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American blues and soul singer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 27, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rosemark , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH	June 23, 2013
Place of death	Memphis (Tennessee)

[1] Obituary in The Guardian

[2] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bobby Bland in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[3] 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 9, 2017 .

[charts-4] Chart sources: Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200

[5] Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .

[6] "You can store it forever!" Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall on [...] his idol Bobby "Blue" Bland . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 14, 2008, online .