Bobby Bland
- Byname of:
- Robert Calvin Bland
- Died:
- June 23, 2013, Germantown, Tennessee (aged 83)
- Also Known As:
- Robert Calvin Bland
- Awards And Honors:
- Grammy Award
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1992)
Bobby (“Blue”) Bland (born January 27, 1930, Rosemark, Tennessee, U.S.—died June 23, 2013, Germantown, Tennessee) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer noted for his rich baritone voice, sophisticated style, and sensual delivery; from 1957 to 1985 he scored 63 single hits on the R&B charts.
Bland began his career in Memphis, Tennessee, with bluesman B.B. King and ballad singer Johnny Ace (all three were part of a loose aggregation of musicians known as the Beale Streeters). Bland—who, in addition to R&B, was influenced by gospel and by pop singers such as Tony Bennett and Andy Williams—became famous with early 1960s hits for Duke Records, including “Cry Cry Cry,” “I Pity the Fool,” “Turn on Your Love Light,” and “That’s the Way Love Is.” Joe Scott’s arrangements were pivotal to those successes, in which Bland alternated between smooth, expertly modulated phrases and fiercely shouted, gospel-style ones. For a time Bland, long a particular favourite of female listeners, sang some disco material along with his blues ballads, and in later years he developed the curious habit of snorting between lines. His 1974 song “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City” was covered by the band Whitesnake and singers Paul Weller and Paul Carrack; it was also reworked (“Heart of the City [Ain’t No Love]”) for rapper Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint (2001).
Although his recording output slowed in the early 2000s, Bland maintained an active touring schedule, and he was a guest performer with B.B. King and singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was awarded a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1997.
