American blues and soul singer and musician (1930–2013)
Not to be confused with Bob Bland.
Bobby Bland
Bland in 1998
Background information
Birth name
Robert Calvin Brooks
Also known as
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Born
(1930-01-27)January 27, 1930 Barretville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died
June 23, 2013(2013-06-23) (aged 83) Germantown, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Blues
soul blues
R&B
soul
Occupation(s)
Singer-songwriter
arranger
bandleader
Instrument(s)
Vocals
Labels
Duke
ABC
MCA
Malaco
Formerly of
B.B. King
Junior Parker
Musical artist
Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.[1] He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."[2] The inspiration behind his unique style was a Detroit Preacher, CL Franklin, because Bland studied his sermons.[3] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues".[4] His music was influenced by Nat King Cole.[5]
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012.[6] He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[7] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[4] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Bland at number 163 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[8]
^"Bobby 'Blue' Bland". Livinblues.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
^Cite error: The named reference guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Russell, Tony (June 24, 2013). "Bobby 'Blue' Bland obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
^ ab"Bobby Bland". BBC News. June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
^"Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Known for 'Further On Up the Road' and 'Turn on Your Love Light', Dies". Washingtonpost.com. June 24, 2013. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^"Bobby "Blue" Bland | Memphis Music Hall of Fame". memphismusichalloffame.com.
^"Bobby Bland: Biography". AllAboutJazz.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
^"The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed...
"Further on Up the Road" is a blues song first recorded in 1957 by Bobby "Blue" Bland. It is an early influential Texas shuffle and features guitar playing...
Swann 1969, Connie Smith 1969, Barbara Mandrell 1974, Sammi Smith 1975, BobbyBland 1975, Emmylou Harris 1986, Skeeter Davis 1970 and Dolly Parton 1996....
May 2008 and is a collection of songs in tribute to the blues singer BobbyBland. The album charted at number 18 in the UK Official Albums Chart and spent...
is a rhythm and blues song recorded by BobbyBland in 1961. It was an important R&B and pop chart hit for Bland and has become one of his most identifiable...
ISBN 978-1-4027-6623-7. Farley, Charles (2011). Soul of the Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-920-6. Field, Kim...
R&B coalition called the Beale Streeters, which included Johnny Ace, BobbyBland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Roscoe Gordon. Forest had a hit record...
Holly, Booker T & the MG's, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Muddy Waters and BobbyBland. In his later life, Marriott distanced himself from the mainstream music...
song), 2008 Blind Man (film), 2012 French film "Blind Man", a song by BobbyBland "Blind Man", a song by Trife Diesel from Better Late Than Never "Blind...
Two Steps from the Blues is the debut album by American blues singer BobbyBland, in 1961. It compiles five songs recorded between 1956 and 1960 and seven...
Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, BobbyBland, Sammy Davis, Jr., Paulinho Da Costa, Charly García, the Fifth Dimension...
"I Pity the Fool" is a soul blues song originally recorded by BobbyBland in 1961 for his first Duke Records album, Two Steps from the Blues. Many music...
playing with James Brown as well as other notable musicians including BobbyBland and B.B. King. A self-taught musician, he was known for his effective...
Ranji Steve Allen Andwella Attlee Bangor Flying Circus Birtha Hal Blaine BobbyBland The Brass Ring Jimmy Buffett The Bully Boys Band Solomon Burke Bush Eddie...
reported missing on January 1, 1994. According to District Attorney BobbyBland, she had been strangled. Little pleaded guilty to killing her, receiving...
song were included on King's albums Live in Cook County Jail (1971), BobbyBland and B.B. King Together Again...Live (1976), and Live at San Quentin (1991)...
Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Otis Redding fused blues and soul music. BobbyBland was one of the pioneers of this style. List of soul-blues musicians Soul...
home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, BobbyBland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little...
Global Information