Music >> Artists >> Blues
Birth Name:
Robert Calvin Bland

Born:
January 27, 1930 in Rosemark, TN

Genre:
Blues

Years Active:
'50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s






Bobby "Blue" Bland

Biography

Bobby Bland earned his enduring blues superstar status the hard way: without a guitar, harmonica, or any other instrument to fall back upon. All Bland had to offer was his magnificent voice, a tremendously powerful instrument in his early heyday, injected with charisma and melisma to spare. Just ask his legion of female fans, who deemed him a sex symbol late into his career.. Bobby Bland earned his enduring blues superstar status the hard way: without a guitar, harmonica, or any other instrument to fall back upon. All Bland had to offer was his magnificent voice, a tremendously powerful instrument in his early heyday, injected with charisma and melisma to spare. Just ask his legion of female fans, who deemed him a sex symbol late into his career.

For all his promise, Bland's musical career ignited slowly. He was a founding member of the Beale Streeters, the fabled Memphis aggregation that also included B.B. King and Johnny Ace. Singles for Chess in 1951 (produced by Sam Phillips) and Modern the next year bombed, but that didn't stop local DJ David Mattis from cutting Bland on a couple of 1952 singles for his fledgling Duke logo.

Bland's tormented crying style was still pretty rough around the edges before he entered the Army in late 1952. But his progress upon his 1955 return was remarkable; with saxist Bill Harvey's band (featuring guitarist Roy Gaines and trumpeter Joe Scott) providing sizzling support, Bland's assured vocal on the swaggering "It's My Life Baby" sounds like the work of a new man. By now, Duke was headed by hard-boiled Houston entrepreneur Don Robey, who provided top-flight bands for his artists. Scott soon became Bland's mentor, patiently teaching him the intricacies of phrasing when singing sophisticated fare (by 1962, Bland was credibly crooning "Blue Moon," a long way from Beale Street).

Most of Bland's savage Texas blues sides during the mid- to late '50s featured the slashing guitar of Clarence Hollimon, notably "I Smell Trouble," "I Don't Believe," "Don't Want No Woman," "You Got Me (Where You Want Me)," and the torrid "Loan a Helping Hand" and "Teach Me (How to Love You)." But the insistent guitar riffs guiding Bland's first national hit, 1957's driving "Farther Up the Road," were contributed by Pat Hare, another vicious picker who would eventually die in prison after murdering his girlfriend and a cop. Later, Wayne Bennett took over on guitar, his elegant fretwork prominent on Bland's Duke waxings throughout much of the '60s.

The gospel underpinnings inherent to Bland's powerhouse delivery were never more apparent than on the 1958 outing "Little Boy Blue," a vocal tour de force that wrings every ounce of emotion out of the grinding ballad. Scott steered his charge into smoother material as the decade turned: the seminal mixtures of blues, R&B, and primordial soul on "I Pity the Fool," the Brook Benton-penned "I'll Take Care of You," and "Two Steps From the Blues" were tremendously influential to a legion of up-and-coming Southern soulsters. Collected on the 1961 LP Two Steps from the Blues, they produced one of the classic full-lengths of modern blues.

Scott's blazing brass arrangements upped the excitement ante on Bland's frantic rockers "Turn on Your Love Light" in 1961 and "Yield Not to Temptation" the next year. But the vocalist was learning his lessons so well that he sounded just as conversant on soulful R&B rhumbas (1963's "Call on Me") and polished ballads ("That's the Way Love Is," "Share Your Love With Me") as with an after-hours blues revival of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues" that proved a most unlikely pop hit for him in 1962. With "Ain't Nothing You Can Do," "Ain't Doing Too Bad," and "Poverty," Bland rolled through the mid-'60s, his superstar status diminishing not a whit.

In 1973, Robey sold his labels to ABC Records, and Bland was part of the deal. Without Scott and his familiar surroundings to lean on, Bland's releases grew less consistent artistically, though His California Album in 1973 and Dreamer the next year boasted some nice moments (there was even an album's worth of country standards). The singer re-teamed with his old pal B.B. King for a couple of mid-'70s albums that broke no new ground but further heightened Bland's profile, while his solo work for MCA teetered closer and closer to MOR (Bland has often expressed his admiration for ultra-mellow pop singer Perry Como).

Bland began recording for Jackson, Mississippi's Malaco Records in the mid-'80s. His pipes undeniably reflected the ravages of time, but he endured as a blues superstar of the loftiest order, resurfacing in 1998 with Memphis Monday Morning, and five years later with Blues in Memphis. Bland died in Memphis in June 2013 at the age of 83.

Top Albums

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 -  The ABC-Dunhill / MCA Recordings, Bobby "Blue" Bland
1. Bobby "..
Bobby Blue Band: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 - The Duke Recordings, Bobby "Blue" Bland
2. Bobby Blue B..
Two Steps from the Blues (Bonus Tracks), Bobby "Blue" Bland
3. Two Steps fr..
Together for the First Time...Live, B.B. King
4. Together for..
Bobby Bland: The Anthology, Bobby "Blue" Bland
5. Bobby Bland:..
Midnight Run, Bobby "Blue" Bland
6. Midnight Run
Together Again...Live, B.B. King
7. Together Aga..
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Best of Bobby Bland, Bobby "Blue" Bland
8. 20th Century..
Dreamer, Bobby "Blue" Bland
9. Dreamer
"Live" On Beale Street, Bobby "Blue" Bland
10. "Live&q..
Members Only, Bobby "Blue" Bland
11. Members Only
The Definitive Collection, Bobby "Blue" Bland
12. The Definiti..
Six Pack - Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone! - EP, Bobby "Blue" Bland
13. Six Pack - A..
Best of Bobby Bland, B.B. King and Little Junior Parker, B.B. King
14. Best of Bobb..
His California Album, Bobby "Blue" Bland
15. His Californ..
Blues & Ballads, Bobby "Blue" Bland
16. Blues & ..
Blues At Midnight, Bobby "Blue" Bland
17. Blues At Mid..
I Like to Live the Love (Live), B.B. King
18. I Like to Li..
Years of Tears, Bobby "Blue" Bland
19. Years of Tea..
After All, Bobby "Blue" Bland
20. After All

Top Songs

NameAlbumTimePrice
1.
Ain't No Sunshine When She's..Midnight Run3:55$1.29
2.
Ain't No Love in the Heart of th..Bobby Bland: The Anthology3:51$1.29
3.
Members OnlyMembers Only4:09$1.29
4.
Ain't No Love in the Heart of th..Dreamer3:53$1.29
5.
You've Got to Hurt Before You He..Midnight Run5:16$1.29
6.
Stormy MondayBobbie "Blue" Bland..4:01$0.99
7.
Jelly, JellyBobbie "Blue" Bland..3:22$0.99
8.
Ain't That Lovin' YouBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:31$0.99
9.
Your FriendsBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:29$0.99
10.
You're Worth It AllBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:22$0.99
11.
Turn on Your Love LightBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:34$0.99
12.
Don't Want No WomanBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:39$0.99
13.
Woke up ScreamingBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:47$0.99
14.
You've Got Bad IntentionsBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:32$0.99
15.
Farther up the RoadBobbie "Blue" Bland..3:00$0.99
16.
I Can't Put You Down BabyBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:39$0.99
17.
I'll Take Care of YouBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:26$0.99
18.
Don't Cry No MoreBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:28$0.99
19.
I'm Not AshamedBobbie "Blue" Bland..2:37$0.99
20.
Ain't That Lovin' YouBlues! Live In Concert5:28$0.99
21.
Drifting from Town to TownBobby Blue Bland Sings the ..3:02$0.99
22.
Good Lovin'Bobby Blue Bland Sings the ..2:23$0.99
23.
Today I Started Loving You Again (Li..Bobby Blue Bland, Master of..2:58$0.99
24.
Medley: Feeling Is Gone / Stormy Mon..Bobby Blue Bland, Master of..4:48$0.99
25.
Mel's Groove (Live)Bobby Blue Bland, Master of..8:10$0.99

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