Cleveland native and legendary soul singer Bobby Womack is dead at 70

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog, Tel: (216) 659-0473 Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist and 20 year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio.  (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

Cleveland native and legendary soul singer-songwriter and musician Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack died Friday. He was 70-years-old.

His publicist did not provide specifics on his death to reporters, saying only that Womack had, in fact, passed away. 

Womack was born on Cleveland's predominantly Black east side and dropped out of high school at 16 when he signed a recording contract with Sam Cooke, also a legendary name in soul and R&B music.

A recording artist since the early 1960s, Womack is a 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee whose career span more than 50 years. He came from a family of musicians and originally sing gospel music. He and his four brothers, Harry, Cecil, Curtis and Friendly Jr., got their first break when they toured with the band the Soul Stirrers with Cooke as their lead singer , and who signed the bothers under the group name the Valentinos. They later became Curtis Womack and the Womack brothers, and Bobby Womack would often sing lead vocals too.He later embarked upon a successful solo career.

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. He as best known for performing 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". He overcame drug addiction and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease two years ago. He had other health issues too, including prostate cancer, he said in public interviews.
(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)