Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack's entire career has been surrounded by legendary stardom, though success for him has always been an inch away. While he was with his brothers and sisters in the Gospel outfit called the Womack Brothers, he befriended Sam Cooke. He began doing session guitar work for Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin and was one of the first to appreciate the abilities of a young Jimi Hendrix. That's Womack playing guitar on Sly Stone's seminal "There's a Riot Goin' On." His own solo work began charting in the early 1970s with tracks like "Woman's Gotta Have It" and "Harry Hippy." The soul and pain of Bobby's voice is best coupled with his thrifty guitar playing on the brilliant soundtrack Across 110th Street. His output has not diminished as he continues to record and maintain his status as a purveyor of pure emotion.