
Person
Bobby Womack
Acting · 1944–2014 · Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Biography
Robert Dwayne Womack (born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA on March 4, 1944, died June 27, 2014), was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Working in the soul and R&B genres, he achieved his greatest success in the 1970s and 1980s. Womack wrote and originally recorded The Rolling Stones' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now" and New Birth's "I Can Understand It" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It", "Harry Hippie", "Across 110th Street" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now". In 2009, Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After moving to the United Artists label in the early '70s, he released the album Communication, and on an album with guitarist Gabor Szabo introduced his song "Breezin'," which later became a hit for George Benson. He also became known for his interesting taste in cover versions, essaying Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin' " as well as "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" and James Taylor's "Fire and Rain'" and "California Dreamin'." Perhaps his most well-known work from this period is as guitarist on Sly & the Family Stone's 1971 There's a Riot Goin' On. He continued to have hits into the '70s; these include "Lookin' for a Love" (a remake of his 1962 Valentinos single), "Across 110th Street," "Woman's Gotta Have It" (covered by James Taylor in 1976), "You're Welcome, Stop on By," and the masterful "Daylight." All are excellent examples of burnished yet gritty 1970s soul music, and reveal a pop-music sensibility akin to that of Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield. Womack died on June 27, 2014 at age 70. He was cremated, and his ashes were inurned at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, in The Great Mausoleum, Memorial Terrace, Memorial Terrace Columbarium.
Known for

The Mike Douglas Show
Self

Sacrée soirée
Self

New York Undercover
Self

The Midnight Special
Self

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Self (archive footage)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Our Guests at Heartland

Gorillaz Present: The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God
Self (voice)

Across 110th Street
Songs

The Making of Plastic Beach
Self

Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music
Self
Filmography
- 2026Gorillaz Present: The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad GodSelf (voice)
- 2025SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)Self (archive footage)
- 2019Montreux Jazz Festival 2013 - Remember Claude NobsSelf
- 2015Kings of SoulSelf (archive footage)
- 2010Gorillaz: Plastic Beach Live at La MusicaleSelf
- 2010Gorillaz: Live at Roundhouse in LondonSelf
- 2010The Making of Plastic BeachSelf
- 2007Classic Soul at the BBCSelf (archive footage)
- 2005Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular MusicSelf
- 2003Sam Cooke: LegendSelf
- 1994New York UndercoverSelf
- 1987Sacrée soiréeSelf
- 1985The Making of Sun City
- 1978Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandOur Guests at Heartland
- 1972Across 110th StreetSongs
- 1972The Midnight SpecialSelf
- 1961The Mike Douglas ShowSelf
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