The post Bobby Womack Got Sh*t For Doing Unthinkable With His Iconic Friend’s Adult-Daughter appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Who are the three lovely young ladies in the above photo? Well, there isn’t a simple answer to such a complicated question. These ladies go by the name, The Womack Sisters. So, your first guess would likely be ‘They must be Bobby Womack’s daughters,’ right? Nope, their truth is far more complex. So lets dig into their truth — it begins with Sam Cooke. Follow me on this web of relationships that produced these beautiful young ladies with a last name so renowned and respected in soul music.

The Breakdown Of Their Complicated, Yet Iconic Family Tree

Soul singer, Sam Cooke, married his then-wife, Barbara Cooke. After Sam passed away, Barbara then married his close friend, blues music legend, Bobby Womack. Barbara already had a daughter, Linda Cooke, who is the child from her prior marriage to Sam Cooke. Then the plot thickened even further. So, not only did Barbara and Bobby Womack wed, but Bobby had an affair with…wait for it…Barbara’s then-young daughter, Linda Cooke!

Yes, Bobby Womack married Sam Cooke’s widow, Barbara, and eventually began an affair with her and Sam’s daughter; Linda (for which he got shot, but that’s another story) during their marriage. You following me thus far ILOSM fam’? Okay, good. But hol’ up, wait a minute though…there’s more…

In short, The Womack Sisters are the children of Linda Cooke-Womack (Sam Cooke’s daughter) and Cecil Womack (Bobby Womack’s brother). They are also the granddaughters of both Sam Cooke, and his — and Bobby Womack’s — ex-wife, Barbara Cooke. And their Mother’s ex-boyfriend is their uncle, Bobby Womack. Whew…that was a loaded entanglement to unpack wasn’t it?!!

The Womack Sisters’ Parents, Cecil and Linda Womack

By the way, Linda and Cecil Womack had a successful recording career under the name, Womack & Womack, penning songs for artists such as Wilson Pickett, James Taylor, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, Debbie Harry, Eric Clapton and Elton John.

Watch The Womack Sisters Perform – They Can SANG!

 

 

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What do The Womack Sisters do, you ask? Their R&B group consists of sisters, BG, KC, and Imani – three soulful vocalists and songwriters, who also sometimes go by the name:

The Womack Sisters are performing to crowds of 10,000 plus, working with the Rolling Stones, Kid Rock, Bonnie Rait, Ozzy Osborne, Annie Lennox and many more, are all in their own way life changing moments that have crafted the sound, the feel and the depth of the Womack Sisters.

Wow, what a rollercoaster! But we’re glad to see that The Womack Sisters are in touch with their musical roots, because those ladies can SANG. Check out one of their live performances below…

As you can see, those musical genes rom their iconic family tree runs all up, down, and through their DNA. Wishing The Womack Sisters much continued success.

And simply because we dig Sam Cooke’s and Bobby Womack’s music, here at I Love Old School Music, enjoy two of their classics below…

Bobby Womack’s “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”

Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”

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The post Born Into Iconic Music Family Full Of Entanglement, Betrayal, Hostility…Their Story’s Complex appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bobby Womack seemed to have lived a reality show of a life so to speak. It was filled with some really tumultuous and/or strange events. It’s so bad that he should have created a movie about his life, well Bobby Womack did write a book about it, so that was good enough.

In his book, “Midnight Mover,” he revealed that he not only betrayed his music mentor/close friend when he married his friend’s wife, he also admitted to sexing his friend’s daughter! The friend whom Bobby stabbed in the back is none other than…

He Betrayed His Mentor, Sam Cooke…But There’s More…

The legendary Sam Cooke! Bobby confessed that just 3 months after his good friend, Cooke, died after having been shot to death by a hotel manager, Womack married Cooke’s wife, Barbara.

As if that wasn’t lowdown enough, he admitted to sleeping with Sam and Barbara’s teenage daughter, Linda (she was about 18 at the time). Here’s what Bobby wrote about how they eventually got caught in the act by his wife:

“I’m lying there kissing Linda and the light comes on — ‘You dirty fu**ing bastard. What are you doing with my daughter?’ It was Barbara.”

After that, Barbara shot Bobby with a .32 pistol and it grazed his scalp as he was running out of the house and into the garage. That is why they abruptly divorced in 1970. Barbara and her daughter never spoke again. [Sources: “Midnight Mover” book; Rolling Stone]

How did Bobby Womack fill about betraying his friend, Sam, and marrying his widow…then ultimately sexin’ up his wife and Sam’s daughter? :

“That was all really fu**ed up,” said Womack.

That was just foul on so many levels, wasn’t it?!!

Mr. Womack was one of the baddest blues legends in the game, and for that, we will always honor him for his contributions to music. What would music have been without songs like “Across 110th Street,” “If You Think You’re Lonely Now,” and “Harry Hippie?” Those songs are still CLASSICS to this day that cannot be denied.

Now as far as Mr. Womack’s  personal life, yeah he did some jacked up stuff to the folks he loved, but it just goes to show that celebrities are no different than us regular folks- they are perfectly flawed human beings. May Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke continue to rest peacefully.

The post Vintage Entanglement: Bobby Womack Got Shot For Sleeping With Daughter Of His Celebrity-Friend appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Who are the three lovely young ladies in the above photo? Well, there isn’t a simple answer to such a complicated question. These ladies go by the name, The Womack Sisters. So, your first guess would likely be ‘They must be Bobby Womack’s daughters,’ right? Nope, their truth is far more complex. So lets dig into their truth — it begins with Sam Cooke. Follow me on this web of relationships that produced these beautiful young ladies with a last name so renowned and respected in soul music.

The Breakdown Of Their Complicated, Yet Iconic Family Tree

Soul singer, Sam Cooke, married his then-wife, Barbara Cooke. After Sam passed away, Barbara then married his close friend, blues music legend, Bobby Womack. Barbara already had a daughter, Linda Cooke, who is the child from her prior marriage to Sam Cooke. Then the plot thickened even further. So, not only did Barbara and Bobby Womack wed, but Bobby had an affair with…wait for it…Barbara’s then-young daughter, Linda Cooke!

Yes, Bobby Womack married Sam Cooke’s widow, Barbara, and eventually began an affair with her and Sam’s daughter; Linda (for which he got shot, but that’s another story) during their marriage. You following me thus far ILOSM fam’? Okay, good. But hol’ up, wait a minute though…there’s more…

In short, The Womack Sisters are the children of Linda Cooke-Womack (Sam Cooke’s daughter) and Cecil Womack (Bobby Womack’s brother). They are also the granddaughters of both Sam Cooke, and his — and Bobby Womack’s — ex-wife, Barbara Cooke. And their Mother’s ex-boyfriend is their uncle, Bobby Womack. Whew…that was a loaded entanglement to unpack wasn’t it?!!

The Womack Sisters’ Parents, Cecil and Linda Womack

By the way, Linda and Cecil Womack had a successful recording career under the name, Womack & Womack, penning songs for artists such as Wilson Pickett, James Taylor, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, Debbie Harry, Eric Clapton and Elton John.

Watch The Womack Sisters Perform – They Can SANG!

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The post Born Into Iconic Music Family Full Of Entanglement, Betrayal, Hostility…Their Story’s Complex appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In case you’re wondering…yep, there was such a thing as in Old School R&B beef in the ’70s. The feud that Teddy Pendergrass described in his autobiography, “Truly Blessed,” between he and Bobby Womack, is proof that the term, “beef,” doesn’t just apply to rappers.

Like we also say, regardless of if the stories of some of our favorite old school entertainers are good, bad, or ugly, there is always a very valuable lesson we can learn from their life stories… and we’ll always make sure that we share those lessons with our community. With that said, take a look at what actually went down between Teddy and Bobby below…

Teddy Pendergrass Told His Side Of The Story About His Feud With Bobby Womack

Pendergrass once revealed that after he’d broke away from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and went on to form his own group, they eventually went on tour with former group member, Bobby Womack. Teddy said that the performance arrangement was “we would alternate opening and closing with Womack. Bobby had been around a little while longer than us and I guess he felt that he should headline every night. All through the tour he bitched and moaned until one night he decided to do something about it. It was our night to close the show but shortly before show time, we got word that Bobby would try to pull something.’

I announced from the stage that the show was over, good night! The houselights went up and we headed offstage. I hadn’t even gotten backstage, and what do I see but Bobby and his band hauling ass, heading for the stage, ready to go. I ran backstage where I found Bobby in the wings, he looked perfectly healthy to me. “You are not going on!” I shouted in his face. “This damn show is over! I just closed it!”

He replied, “No, Ted, you just opened it, he replied sarcastically. “I’m going on.” When the emcee announced that Womack had recovered and was going to play, the crowd applauded. I stood backstage glaring and thinking; he’s not going to get away with this.

I shouted for the sound man ‘unplug that asshole.’ The stage went dark and silent and that was it. You should have seen the look on Bobby’s face when he realized he wasn’t going to be headlining that night. A member of Womack’s crew threatened to shoot me, forcing me to hide out in my dressing room.”

Some would say Bobby and Teddy P. should have been more mature about the situation. But truth be told, their past beef was an example of the intense energy they put into protecting what’s theirs – their craft, their brand, their reputation, their honor, their pride, etc.

Oftentimes, many soul artists – just like a lot of us regular folks – didn’t come from much. Therefore, when we put so much energy into building something that we love so passionately, we tend to protect it with our lives…mainly because we weren’t born with silver spoons in our mouths, and would be damned if we allow anyone to snatch it from us. For Teddy and Bobby, that ‘great love’ was their music.

It’s evident that Teddy Pendergrass and Bobby Womack put a ton of energy and creativity into their crafts. And although the competition was fierce back then, that is what produced some great bodies of work from many artists of the Old School era. For that, we are forever grateful.

The post Teddy Pendergrass Once Revealed How Petty Feud With Bobby Womack Almost Got Him Shot appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

How Bobby Womack Ended Up Marrying Friend, Sam Cooke’s, Wife Wife

For starters, let’s dig into what Mr. Womack revealed in his book, about his family abandoning him after he married Barbara Cooke. Bobby married his mentor, Sam Cooke’s, wife, Barbara, just a few months after Sam was killed in 1964. That caught many by surprise, because they’re history goes way back. Sam helped Bobby and his brothers get a recording contract and they became good friends after that.

However, shortly after Cooke’s death, Womack offered counsel and comfort to Cooke’s widow, Barbara. But just three months after Cooke’s death -and just as Womack turned 21 years old- he went a step further, marrying Cooke’s still-grieving wife. He claimed she needed a shoulder to lean on at that time, so he went for it.

Womack’s Career Suffered & Cooke’s Brothers Beat Him

That caused a myriad of problems for Bobby Womack back then. Black radio reportedly abandoned him, by not playing any of his music for a long while.

Sam’s brothers beat him up in Chicago and wanted to kill him.

Then his own family abandoned him. According to Bobby Womack:

“My brothers were reluctant to be around me. They knew the threats that were out there against me for marrying Barbara (Sam Cooke’s widow). They didn’t know what to do, but without them I was totally alone, all by myself, and, because my father and mother had been against the marriage to Barbara, there was no family in my corner.”

Womack’s Momma Tried To Warn Him

Womack added:

“My mother had said, ‘I don’t think you should marry that woman, you don’t know anything about that woman. That’s Mrs. Cooke, that’s Sam’s wife.’

He told her “Mom I am getting married anyway.”

Womack Died In Debt

Decades later Bobby Womack left his family with more battles to conquer. Despite racking up on mega-hit songs Womack wrote for Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and more, sadly, he was reportedly broke when he lost his battle to pneumonia, Alzheimer’s disease, and prostate cancer in 2014.

According to TMZ, after his passing his family were still allegedly trying to pay off debts left behind that include $250,000 back child support, which was stated in court docs by his widow, Regina Womack. Other debts included an unpaid loan for $400,000. Bobby Womack’s valued assets totaled approximately $7,250; and he reportedly had a cash reserve of $52,000…not enough to cover his debts.

Moral Of The Story

Like we always say – there is always a lesson, message, or example we can learn from Old School legends. But in this case, it’s clearly a message of what-not-to-do.

Was Mr. Womack wrong for marrying Sam Cooke’s wife? Absolutely YES. Should he have taken his Mother’s advice to NOT marry Sam’s wife? No doubt about it, because that was just foul.

However, do I also respect the brotha as an incredible artist and musician, just as many of you do? YES. And for that reason, it’s sad to see music legends who’ve given us some phenomenal bodies of work, like Bobby Womack, be dead broke, with nothing to leave to their loved ones at the end of their journey here. Some say that is deservingly bad karma for Womack, and others say that it’s simply unfair.

Regardless, there’s no denying that soul and blues music wouldn’t have been the same without hits like Bobby’s If You’re Think You’re Lonely Now, or Sam Cooke’s You Send Me and more. So, in honor of both of these legends, we simply say: “Thank You.”

ILOSM fam’ feel free share your thoughts on this in the comments on on our Facebook page!!!

The post Bobby Womack Confessed: “After Marrying Sam Cooke’s Wife My Family Abandoned Me” appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Who are the three lovely young ladies in the above photo? Well, there isn’t a simple answer to such a complicated question. These ladies go by the name, The Womack Sisters. So, your first guess would likely be ‘They must be Bobby Womack’s daughters,’ right? Nope, their truth is far more complex. So lets dig into their truth — it begins with Sam Cooke. Follow me on this web of relationships that produced these beautiful young ladies with a last name so renowned and respected in soul music.

The Breakdown Of Their Complicated, Yet Iconic Family Tree

Soul singer, Sam Cooke, married his then-wife, Barbara Cooke. After Sam passed away, Barbara then married his close friend, blues music legend, Bobby Womack. Barbara already had a daughter, Linda Cooke, who is the child from her prior marriage to Sam Cooke. Then the plot thickened even further. So, not only did Barbara and Bobby Womack wed, but Bobby had an affair with…wait for it…Barbara’s then-young daughter, Linda Cooke!

Yes, Bobby Womack married Sam Cooke’s widow, Barbara, and eventually began an affair with her and Sam’s daughter; Linda (for which he got shot, but that’s another story) during their marriage. You following me thus far ILOSM fam’? Okay, good. But hol’ up, wait a minute though…there’s more…

In short, The Womack Sisters are the children of Linda Cooke-Womack (Sam Cooke’s daughter) and Cecil Womack (Bobby Womack’s brother). They are also the granddaughters of both Sam Cooke, and his — and Bobby Womack’s — ex-wife, Barbara Cooke. And their Mother’s ex-boyfriend is their uncle, Bobby Womack. Whew…that was a loaded entanglement to unpack wasn’t it?!!

The Womack Sisters’ Parents, Cecil and Linda Womack

By the way, Linda and Cecil Womack had a successful recording career under the name, Womack & Womack, penning songs for artists such as Wilson Pickett, James Taylor, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, Debbie Harry, Eric Clapton and Elton John.

Watch The Womack Sisters Perform – They Can SANG!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Womack Sisters (@thewomacksisters)

Be sure to join our I Love Old School Music fam’ on Facebook and Instagram.

The post Born Into Iconic Music Family Full Of Betrayal, Entanglement, Tension…Their Story’s Complex appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In case you’re wondering…yep, there was such a thing as in Old School R&B beef in the ’70s. The feud that Teddy Pendergrass described in his autobiography, “Truly Blessed,” between he and Bobby Womack, is proof that the term, “beef,” doesn’t just apply to rappers.

Like we also say, regardless of if the stories of some of our favorite old school entertainers are good, bad, or ugly, there is always a very valuable lesson we can learn from their life stories… and we’ll always make sure that we share those lessons with our community. With that said, take a look at what actually went down between Teddy and Bobby below…

Teddy Pendergrass Told His Side Of The Story About His Feud With Bobby Womack

Pendergrass once revealed that after he’d broke away from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and went on to form his own group, they eventually went on tour with former group member, Bobby Womack. Teddy said that the performance arrangement was “we would alternate opening and closing with Womack. Bobby had been around a little while longer than us and I guess he felt that he should headline every night. All through the tour he bitched and moaned until one night he decided to do something about it. It was our night to close the show but shortly before show time, we got word that Bobby would try to pull something.’

I announced from the stage that the show was over, good night! The houselights went up and we headed offstage. I hadn’t even gotten backstage, and what do I see but Bobby and his band hauling ass, heading for the stage, ready to go. I ran backstage where I found Bobby in the wings, he looked perfectly healthy to me. “You are not going on!” I shouted in his face. “This damn show is over! I just closed it!”

He replied, “No, Ted, you just opened it, he replied sarcastically. “I’m going on.” When the emcee announced that Womack had recovered and was going to play, the crowd applauded. I stood backstage glaring and thinking; he’s not going to get away with this.

I shouted for the sound man ‘unplug that asshole.’ The stage went dark and silent and that was it. You should have seen the look on Bobby’s face when he realized he wasn’t going to be headlining that night. A member of Womack’s crew threatened to shoot me, forcing me to hide out in my dressing room.”

Some would say Bobby and Teddy P. should have been more mature about the situation. But truth be told, their past beef was an example of the intense energy they put into protecting what’s theirs – their craft, their brand, their reputation, their honor, their pride, etc.

Oftentimes, many soul artists – just like a lot of us regular folks – didn’t come from much. Therefore, when we put so much energy into building something that we love so passionately, we tend to protect it with our lives…mainly because we weren’t born with silver spoons in our mouths and would be damned if we allow anyone to snatch it from us. For Teddy and Bobby, that ‘great love’ was their music .

It’s evident that Teddy Pendergrass and Bobby Womack put a ton of energy and creativity into their crafts. And although the competition was fierce back then, that is what produced some great bodies of work from many artists of the Old School era…for that, we old school music lovers, are forever grateful.

The post Teddy Pendergrass Once Revealed How Petty, Heated Feud With Bobby Womack Almost Got Him Shot appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bobby Womack seemed to have lived a reality show of a life so to speak. It was filled with some really tumultuous and/or strange events. It’s so bad that he should have created a movie about his life, well Bobby Womack did write a book about it, so that was good enough.

In his book, “Midnight Mover,” he revealed that he not only betrayed his music mentor/close friend when he married his friend’s wife, he also admitted to sexing his friend’s daughter! The friend whom Bobby stabbed in the back is none other than…

He Betrayed His Mentor, Sam Cooke…But There’s More…

The legendary Sam Cooke! Bobby confessed that just 3 months after his good friend, Cooke, died after having been shot to death by a hotel manager, Womack married Cooke’s wife, Barbara.

As if that wasn’t lowdown enough, he admitted to sleeping with Sam and Barbara’s teenage daughter, Linda (she was about 18 at the time). Here’s what Bobby wrote about how they eventually got caught in the act by his wife:

“I’m lying there kissing Linda and the light comes on — ‘You dirty fu**ing bastard. What are you doing with my daughter?’ It was Barbara.”

After that, Barbara shot Bobby with a .32 pistol and it grazed his scalp as he was running out of the house and into the garage. That is why they abruptly divorced in 1970. Barbara and her daughter never spoke again. [Sources: “Midnight Mover” book; Rolling Stone]

How did Bobby Womack fill about betraying his friend, Sam, and marrying his widow…then ultimately sexin’ up his wife and Sam’s daughter? :

“That was all really fu**ed up,” said Womack.

That was just foul on so many levels, wasn’t it?!!

Mr. Womack was one of the baddest blues legends in the game, and for that, we will always honor him for his contributions to music. What would music have been without songs like “Across 110th Street,” “If You Think You’re Lonely Now,” and “Harry Hippie?” Those songs are still CLASSICS to this day that cannot be denied.

Now as far as Mr. Womack’s  personal life, yeah he did some jacked up stuff to the folks he loved, but it just goes to show that celebrities are no different than us regular folks- they are perfectly flawed human beings. May Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke continue to rest peacefully.

The post Vintage Entanglement: Bobby Womack Got Shot For Sleeping With Daughter Of His Celebrity Friend appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

It’s no secret that Bobby Womack experienced a lot of turmoil in his life, some of it was his fault and some of it wasn’t. In the case of Mr. Womack’s 4 month old son, he said that he was the sole cause for his death and was never able to recover from that extreme heartache. After his son’s passing, Bobby says he spiraled out of control like never before. Read what he explained happened on the day his son died…

The Tragic Death Of Bobby Womack’s Son

In a prior interview with WENN, Bobby Womack explained:

Via Contact Music: “I lost a son, [named Truth], which was my fault and the only reason I can talk about it now is because I know what I’m saying. I’m not hiding behind anything.

I came in one night… from a convention and I was telling my lady, ‘Baby, you’ve gotta get up, I’ve got something to show you!’ And she said, ‘Can we do this tomorrow? You know the baby…’ I said, ‘That little baby can’t move. He can’t even walk. He’s taking five minutes to hold his head up…’ 

Bobby Womack continued:

“So she jumps up and I was telling her all these stories… It was no more than two minutes before she said, ‘OK, go and get my baby.’ I went running in to get the baby. The baby had fallen down between the bed and the wall and he suffocated and that was the biggest hurt ever in my life.”

Following the tragedy of losing his son, Womack turned to hard drugs which according to many reports, stripped him of his creativity. He then spet decades trying to regain his love for songwriting back:

“That death led to ‘There’s gotta be a better way… and from there, away I went. Every time I heard somebody had died – Johnnie Taylor or somebody else – instead of going to the funeral, I’d go and get high. Eventually I reached out to God and said, ‘Look, I’m in trouble. I don’t even know who I am.’ I wanted to get the true feeling back… My passion for music never died; I was just trying to figure out how you get it back.”

[Source: Contact Music]

Here’s How He Lost A Second Child

Unfortunately that was not the only child Bobby Womack lost. His son, Vincent, committed suicide in 1986 at only 21 years young. This is something that no parent should ever have to experience because it just doesn’t feel like the natural order of things. The parents are supposed to go before their children, but obviously it doesn’t always go the way we want it to.

This doesn’t justify Bobby Womack’s drug addiction, but it explains a whole lot. The fact that he felt that he was to blame for his 4 month old son’s death is enough to push any person, no matter how strong willed they may be, over the edge in some form or fashion. We’ll probably never understand why such horrific tragedies have to happen to such innocent children, but maybe it’s not meant for us to fully understand why…well at least not more than it is meant for us to learn from the tragedies, the heartaches of ourselves and others, with the hopes that we can somehow find some way to prevent things like this from happening in the future.

May Bobby Womack and his two sons, Vincent and Truth, continue to rest peacefully.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view

The post Bobby Womack Once Painfully Revealed How He Caused His Son’s Death appeared first on I Love Old School Music.