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Blues singer Bobby Bland passes away

Blues singer Bobby Bland passes away

THE American blues singer Bobby Bland has passed away at the age of 83.

He was regarded as having been a powerful influence as a pioneer of the modern soul-blues sound.

After moving to Memphis in the late 1940s, Mr. Bland began to experiment with mixing sounds from the blues, R&B and gospel. He joined the Beale Streeters — a loosely-knit group of musicians which included Junior Parker, B.B. King (see below) and Johnny Ace.

Bobby “Blue” Bland was acclaimed as a charismatic live performer. His singing voice in the early Fifties was more falsetto — mimicking B.B King — but over time he developed the more gravelly tones which were to become his trademark.

He enjoyed chart success in the late Fifties and in the Sixties with recordings such as Further On Up The Road (see below), Ain’t Nothing You Can Do and That’s The Way Love Is (see below).

Known as ‘The Lion Of The Blues’ , Mr. Bland was credited with influencing many other singers. He was a member the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

His long career was marked with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

To see B.B. King and Bobby Bland on stage, click here.

To see Bobby Bland perform Further On Up The Road, click here.

To view footage of Mr. Bland performing That’s The Way Love Is, click here.

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