Blues singer Bobby Blue Bland succumbs
buzzz worthy. . .
Blues legend Bobby Blue Bland, the man credited with helping pioneer the modern Blues movement, has died.
Bland's son Robb, the drummer in his band, confirmed his father died in Germantown, TN outside of Memphis late Sunday.
Like numerous African American entertainers, Bland began in the church as a member of a group that sang spirituals. It was on Memphis Tennessee's famous Beale Street that Bland forayed into Blues and other styles when he joined the Beale Streeters.
A member of the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the early 50's Bland recorded his first songs as a solo act. Later he became the opening act for his contemporary, Blues Guitarist B.B. King.
"Midnight Special ," "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City," "Cheating in the Next Room," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I Stand Accused," "Turn on Your Love Light," "Further on Up the Road" and "I Pity the Fool" are among his greatest hits.
"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" was sampled by rapper Jay -Z and is played in Chrysler commercials.
Bland brought an air of sophistication to the Blues, a quality usually absent from the folkish character of the genre. Beneath throat clearing squalls and a nasally tone, his baritone voice possessed gracefulness that was just as well matched to string and big band accompaniments and never lost in traditional blues arrangements.Jay Sieleman with the Blues Foundation called Bland the greatest Blues singer in the world.“He was respected by so many people in the rock world and in the jazz world. He’s the Frank Sinatra of the blues. He’s respected for his voice and his phrasing. It’s going to be a huge loss to blues music,” Sieleman said.Listen to Bobby Blue Bland's "I Stand Accused" by clicking the video above.
From the NY Times:
It wasn’t until 1958’s “Little Boy Blue,” a record inspired by the homiletic delivery of the Rev. C. L. Franklin, that Mr. Bland arrived at his trademark vocal technique.
Mr. Bland said, referring to the sermons of Mr. Franklin — “Aretha’s daddy,” as he called him — in a 1979 interview with the author Peter Guralnick. “That’s where I got my squall from. After I had that I lost the high falsetto. I had to get some other kind of gimmick, you know, to be identified with.”
In 1985, the crooner signed with the Mississippi-based Malaco label and a and produced several Blues, Soul and R&B albums.
Mr. Bland received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1997.
One elderly fan from Shreveport, LA where the singer was immensely popular won't remember Bland for his distinct audible antics, but for "singing like he knew what he was talking about."
Bobby Blue Bland, dead at the age of 83.
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Blues legend Bobby Blue Bland, the man credited with helping pioneer the modern Blues movement, has died. Bland's son Robb, the drummer in his band, confirmed his father died in Germantown, TN outside of Memphis late Sunday.
Like numerous African American entertainers, Bland began in the church as a member of a group that sang spirituals. It was on Memphis Tennessee's famous Beale Street that Bland forayed into Blues and other styles when he joined the Beale Streeters.
A member of the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the early 50's Bland recorded his first songs as a solo act. Later he became the opening act for his contemporary, Blues Guitarist B.B. King.
"Midnight Special ," "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City," "Cheating in the Next Room," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I Stand Accused," "Turn on Your Love Light," "Further on Up the Road" and "I Pity the Fool" are among his greatest hits.
"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" was sampled by rapper Jay -Z and is played in Chrysler commercials.
Bland brought an air of sophistication to the Blues, a quality usually absent from the folkish character of the genre. Beneath throat clearing squalls and a nasally tone, his baritone voice possessed gracefulness that was just as well matched to string and big band accompaniments and never lost in traditional blues arrangements.Jay Sieleman with the Blues Foundation called Bland the greatest Blues singer in the world.“He was respected by so many people in the rock world and in the jazz world. He’s the Frank Sinatra of the blues. He’s respected for his voice and his phrasing. It’s going to be a huge loss to blues music,” Sieleman said.Listen to Bobby Blue Bland's "I Stand Accused" by clicking the video above.
From the NY Times:
It wasn’t until 1958’s “Little Boy Blue,” a record inspired by the homiletic delivery of the Rev. C. L. Franklin, that Mr. Bland arrived at his trademark vocal technique.
Mr. Bland said, referring to the sermons of Mr. Franklin — “Aretha’s daddy,” as he called him — in a 1979 interview with the author Peter Guralnick. “That’s where I got my squall from. After I had that I lost the high falsetto. I had to get some other kind of gimmick, you know, to be identified with.”
In 1985, the crooner signed with the Mississippi-based Malaco label and a and produced several Blues, Soul and R&B albums.
Mr. Bland received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1997.
One elderly fan from Shreveport, LA where the singer was immensely popular won't remember Bland for his distinct audible antics, but for "singing like he knew what he was talking about."
Bobby Blue Bland, dead at the age of 83.
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