Bobby Womack Guests on Gorillaz Tour

The band have managed to get various guest singers from their three albums to join them live this year, and have announced that in addition to Womack, Mos Def, De La Soul and The Fall's Mark E Smith are on board. N.E.R.D. are appearing on Plastic Beach U.S. tour dates in the support.

Womack has been called soul music's "only survivor" but his influence transcends many genres of music including gospel, rock, r&b, jazz, pop and, even, country. He started out performing gospel as a child (as part of the Womack Brothers) and later, under the tutelage of Sam Cooke broke new ground in rhythm and blues when the Womack Brothers were transformed into The Valentinos and hit with "It's All Over Now." That song was almost immediately covered by The Rolling Stones and would go on to be the group's very first hit.

As a solo artist he scored hit after hit, with original songs like "Harry Hippy," "That's The Way I Feel About Cha," "Woman's Gotta Have It' and many others as well as such cover songs as "California Dreamin'," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Fire And Rain" that he brought back to the top of the charts and made his own. His original, autobiographical song, "Across 110th Street," was the theme for three major feature films including the one it was written for as well as "Jackie Brown" and "American Gangster." It's not well known that he's also the composer of "Breezin'," the huge breakthrough jazz hit for George Benson. In the '80s he came back with the massively successful The Poet and The Poet II. One of the tracks from those sessions, "If You Think You're Lonely Now" became a component of and is specifically referenced in Mariah Carey's chart topping hit "We Belong Together." The Poet and Poet II, along with the follow-up, Someday We'll All Be Free, were recently reissued by ABKCO Records.

The last few years have witnessed a major renaissance of interest in Bobby and his music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones in 2008 and soon, thereafter, was recruited to record "Stylo" with Gorillaz. Bobby joined, the UK-based supergroup for its headlining set at the Coachella Festival this past spring. Bobby and the group are touring the world again this fall and the time seems right for music lovers everywhere to discover or re-discover Bobby Womack, one of music's most constantly creative forces.

"Stylo" was the debut single from the Gorillaz's third studio album Plastic Beach and was released on January 26, 2010. The song features guest vocals from Womack and Mos Def. It's reported that Womack didn't know anything about the Gorillaz and was initially unsure about the collaboration, however, his daughter GinaRe (a Gorillaz fan) convinced him to do it. Womack was told to sing whatever was on his mind during the recording of "Stylo". Womack recounts, "I was in there for what seemed like hours going crazy singin' 'bout love and politics,". After hours of recording, Womack, a diabetic, felt faint and was propped up to be given a banana. He awoke within a few minutes to be part of a monster international hit.

GORILLAZ ESCAPE TO PLASTIC BEACH WORLD TOUR 2010
NORTH AMERICAN ITINERARY
October 8 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
October 10 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
October 11 - Washington, DC - Patriot Center
October 13 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
October 14 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
October 16 - Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion
October 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
October 19 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
October 20 - Dallas, TX - Verizon Theatre
October 22 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
October 24 - Denver, CO - Wells Fargo Theatre
October 26 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
October 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
October 28 - San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena
October 30 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena -
November 2 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
November 3 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena


Click here to read today's full Day in Pop report

Preview and Purchase Bobby Womack CDs

Bobby Womack MP3 Downloads