Bobby “Blue” Bland Was All Right With Me

Bobby Bland Bobby “Blue” Bland, one of the great blues and soul singers, has passed away at his Memphis, Tennessee home the age of 83. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, Bland has thrilled audiences and influenced other performers since he began recording in the early 1950s.

Bland started out as a valet and chauffeur for B.B. King, but later ended up performing with him on a number of occasions. In this clip from Soul Train, you can see the two legends performing after a brief interview.

In 1957, “Further On Up the Road” was Bland’s first number on on the R&B charts. One of my favorite Bland recordings, though, is “Turn on Your Love Life,” which was a hit in 1961.

Finally, for something a little different, here is Bland singing Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” with Morrison. Van Morrison was a long-time fan, and it is great to hear those two changing verses on the great song that was recorded in 2000 (and appears on The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 (2007). RIP.

What is your favorite Bobby “Blue” Bland song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Pop Culture Roundup (for Early February 2012)

    Arrested Development In case you were too busy with watching all of the Super Bowl commercials or with getting dumped from X Factor, here are some of the recent pop culture stories you might have missed.

    – Movies –

    If you are excited about multiple superheroes in the upcoming Avengers film, check out the trailer.

    The Chicago Tribune has a review of Big Miracle, i.e. the whale movie, by Michael Phillips.

    Great Scott! Back to the Future may become a Broadway musical.

    Adam Sandler is in talks to create a film based on the board game Candy Land. Where is the checkers movie?

    Bill Wyman wrote an interesting critique of the films of Steven Spielberg (“he hasn’t said anything new”).

    A new documentary about Bob Marley premieres at SXSW.

    Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin? — check out the new trailer for the movie Game Change.

    Still shaken. . .This year marks 50 years since James Bond first appeared on film. . .

    Monty Python members are reuniting for a science fiction film.

    Sarah Jessica Parker will play Gloria Steinem in biopic, replacing Demi Moore.

    Uggie, the dog in The Artist, is retiring. Unfortunately, the reasons for the retirement is ill health. (thanks @poochface)

    Kermit & Miss Piggy held a press conference to address accusations from Fox Business that they promote a liberal agenda.

    – Music –

    Salon considered how Madonna liberated America.

    R&B singer David Peaston (‘Two Wrongs (Don’t Make a Right)’) passed away at the age of 54 this week.

    A new Graceland exhibit looks at Lisa Marie Presley’s relationship with Elvis.

    Cover Lay Down posted 18 different covers of the Townes Van Zandt classic, “If I needed You.”

    The Flaming Lips sing with Suri from the Apple iPhone.

    Ringo 2012 Ringo Starr Ringo Starr discussed his 17th solo album. Read the Los Angles Times review of Ringo’s new album, Ringo 2012.

    An unreleased ABBA song will be released.

    Soul Train host Don Cornelius has passed away in an apparent suicide. RIP.

    Pres. Obama’s cover of Al Green boosted sales of “Let’s Stay Together” by 490%. Nice job Mr. President, but you can’t top Al Green.

    – Television –

    Roseanne Barr has filed papers for the Green Party’s presidential nomination.

    A video refresher course on why David Letterman is funny.

    How Stephen Colbert is beating the Supreme Court by illustrating the effects of its Citizens United decision.

    Kevin Bacon will star in a serial killer drama pilot for Fox.

    New episodes of Arrested Development are in the works.

    Check out some past stories about life on the set of Saturday Night Live.

    Robert Hegyes, who played Sweathog Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter passed away. I hope he has a note to get into heaven. In other death news, Ian Abercrombie, who played “Mr. Pitt” on Seinfeld, passed away. RIP.

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