The late American blues singer Robert Calvin Bland, who is known professionally as Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. 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.” He was sometimes referred to as the “Lion of the Blues” and as the “Sinatra of the Blues”. His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.
What happened to Bobby Blue Bland?
Bobby “Blue” Bland passed away at the age of 83 years on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as “an ongoing illness.” He is interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis. He is survived by his wife, Willie Martin Bland, and his son Rodd, who is also a musician. After his death, his son Rodd told news media that Bland had recently told him that the blues musician James Cotton was Bland’s half-brother.
Bland was born and raised in the small town of Barnesville, Tennessee. His father I. J. Brooks abandoned the family before the birth of Robert. Robert later acquired the name “Bland” from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland. Robert dropped out of school in third grade to work in the cotton fields and never graduated from school.
Bland moved to Memphis in 1947 with his mother, where he started singing with local gospel groups, including the Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city’s famous Beale Street, where he became associated with a circle of aspiring musicians, including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker, and Johnny Ace, who collectively were known as the Beale Streeters.
Please keep the comments coming. We appreciate them.
Source: celebfaqs.com
