The passing of soul music legend Bobby Womack on Friday, June 27, 2014, sent shock waves throughout the musical world.
Bobby Womack: March 4, 1944 - June 27, 2014.
In his 70 years of life, Womack influenced countless music fans and musicians, especially those who were lucky enough to see him perform live.
Two of those devotees – Jon Cleary and Nigel Hall – happened to be holding an informal recording/jam session at the time of Womack’s death.
Hall was over at Cleary’s home recording studio working on a new song for most of the afternoon on Friday, when Bobby Womack’s music spontaneously filled the air.
“We were working together and having fun, just the two of us, because between the two of us, we play all the instruments,” Cleary said. “At one point early in the evening, Nigel picked up a guitar and just played one note, and just the way he phrased it I recognized it as the first guitar note of ‘If You Think You’re Lonely Now.’”
Cleary said his first reaction was to laugh and say “go ahead, Bobby” as a way to note the deep influence Womack had on each of the world class musicians.
But less than 30 minutes later, things got serious.
“We finished that tune and he [Hall] got in the car and sent me a text saying ‘Have you heard the news?’” Cleary said. “Bobby Womack had just died.”
For Cleary, Womack’s influence stretches back as far as he can remember.
“The first tune that I think really pressed all my buttons was ‘I Wish You Didn’t Trust Me So Much,’” he said. “I loved that. It just seemed musically intelligent to me, just the chord structures and the voicings and the production. It was everything I loved about soul music. It was kind of my entree into his world. Every time I heard Bobby Womack, all my lights went on.”
From there, Cleary’s love of Womack’s music grew, deepening even more after Cleary moved to New Orleans in 1981 and began seeping up New Orleans R&B music from people like Johnny Adams, Earl King, Ernie K-Doe, and Jessie Hill.
“I was in Johnny Adams’ band for a few years,” Cleary said. “We would play a lot of black clubs around town, and in the breaks I’d just be glued to the jukebox. You’d always find Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson and Bobby Womack on the jukeboxes.”
Above all, starting in those formative days in Johnny Adams’ band and stretching through today, Bobby Womack was one of the musicians Cleary always wanted to be.
Jon Cleary. Photo by Golden Richard III.
“I really admire cats like him,” Cleary said. “Guys that are great singers and performers, and play different instruments, and arrange records, and write songs, and deliver the songs. That’s always been my ambition, to be one of those kind of cats.”
Womack’s live performances have always been of special interest to Cleary.
“I was very lucky this year because I got to see Bobby Womack three times,” Cleary said. “When I was in Japan with my band, we had two nights off, and he happened to be in town both nights. We got to see him and to hang out with him a little bit after the show. He was very gracious and very friendly.”
Cleary said he was amazed at how much stamina Womack seemed to have throughout his 2014 performances, which included a stop at Jazz Fest. The only time he had really noticed Womack slow down was in 2012 shortly before it was announced that Womack was battling cancer.
“The last few times I saw him, he seemed to be on top of his game,” Cleary said. “It seemed to me this year at Jazz Fest he cut his show short. That was a signal to me that he felt like that was as much as he could do. It was apparent that there were some physical limitations, but when you sing that hard, and use that much muscle power, burn up that much energy on a gig, especially at the age of 70, it really wears you out.”
With all of these emotions, connections, and influences hanging in the air, Cleary said the decision to record a Womack song with Hall the day after Womack’s death was almost automatic.
“Both Nigel and I are kind of soul music nerds,” Cleary said. “It was just the obvious thing for us both to do because our musical personalities were largely informed by what Bobby Womack contributed. It was a debt of gratitude, really, and just an exercise in fun to just take one of his tunes and put a little flip on it and then just use the Internet to put it out there.”
Hall and Cleary recorded “Woman’s Gotta Have It” from Womack’s Understanding album, released in 1971, and Hall tweeted the Soundcloud link Saturday afternoon so fans, new and old alike, could stream their version for free.
“We’re spreading some good Bobby vibes out into the world,” Cleary said.
Go ahead, Jon and Nigel.
Click here to listen to Jon Cleary and Nigel Hall’s Bobby Womack tribute song
