Somehow, Bobby Bland evaded my musical radar for decades. Acknowledged as one of the best blues-based R&B singers of his generation, I still managed to evade any real knowledge of his existence, although I knew at least a half-dozen songs that he originated.

“Turn On Your Lovelight” was ubiquitous, thanks to the Grateful Dead and Van Morrison (who must have studied Bland’s entire catalogue it as if it were the Talmud). In the ‘70s, I was such a Bowie fan that I dug deep into his past and discovered his version of “I Pity the Fool” (with Jimmy Page on guitar), a strange and raw performance that I (then) considered to be a credible dive into the blues. “Farther Up the Road” (aka “Further On Up the Road”) was a highlight of The Band’s “Last Waltz” album, made even more special by Martin Scorsese’s film that captures the moment when Eric Clapton’s strap slips and Robbie Robertson jumps in on a dime to hold the momentum of the performance. All the above are standout performances of classic songs that influenced me greatly, but once I heard Bland’s original versions, they all paled in comparison. The truth will inevitably reveal itself, but it didn’t happen in any predictable way. I needed a lesson, and I was about to be taught. 

For my entire adult life, I carried an obsession with New Orleans culture and in 1989, I made my first pilgrimage to the city that would irrevocably change my life. My visit deliberately coincided with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and my excitement would be impossible to exaggerate. I planned the trip for months, studied maps, restaurants and most importantly, the schedule for Jazz Fest. Finally, the day came when I walked onto the fairgrounds for the first time. Anybody who ever attended Jazz Fest will know what I mean when I say that despite my best-laid plans, I found myself completely overwhelmed as I wandered onto the fairground. By happenstance, I found myself standing in front of a lightly attended stage with a blues-based singer belting out classic material in a way that made me stop dead in my tracks. I had a pre-arranged schedule to abide, but I found myself hypnotized by the first strains of live music that ever hit my ears in the city of New Orleans. I heard “Farther Up the Road,” “Cry Cry Cry”, “I Pity the Fool” and “Stormy Monday” performed with an intensity that literally frightened me. There, up on stage was Bobby Bland, a phenomenal physical presence who until that moment was only a name that I heard but never investigated. He started most songs with a comforting, smooth as silk croon that inevitably built to an intense tonsil-rattling howl that made my hair stand up. He was a force, like a human hurricane, and I was blown away. The next morning I bought this very album because it had most of the song titles that I recognized, and it remains one of my all-time favorite discoveries.

Featured Tracks:

Two Steps from the Blues

Cry Cry Cry

I'm Not Ashamed

Don't Cry No More

Lead Me On

I Pity the Fool

I've Just Got to Forget You

Little Boy Blue

St. James Infirmary

I'll Take Care of You

I Don't Want No Woman

I've Been Wrong So Long

January 1961 – Billboard Did Not Chart