In response to the negative attention, Bobby chose to leave the Valentinos and start his solo career in 1965, first recording for Him Records and later the Chess Records subsidiary, Checker. The marriage angered many of Cooke's loyal fans due to the fact that Cooke's death was still being investigated at the time. Womack even wore one of Sam's suits to the wedding by Barbara's request. Womack, his family and friends later say that Barbara fell in love with Bobby and convinced him to marry her. Not long after Cooke was buried, however, in February of the following year, Bobby, just before his 21st birthday married Cooke's widow, 29-year-old Barbara Cooke. Struggling to deal with the sudden loss of Cooke, the group temporarily broke up. In December 1964, the Valentinos' career was put in jeopardy when Cooke was suddenly shot and killed while at a Los Angeles motel.
Around the same time Bobby was one of the first people to hear Cooke's chilling anthem, " A Change Is Gonna Come".
Bobby added instrumentation to several of Cooke's albums including Night Beat and Ain't That Good News. Īround 1963, Bobby Womack began touring as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist. Bobby's anger cooled after he received his first royalty check for the single following the Stones' release of the single. Despite Bobby's initial protests, the Stones were eventually allowed to release it and their version became their first national hit in the U.S. Prior to them releasing it, however, word got around that the Rolling Stones wanted to cover it. In early 1964, the group issued their next hit, " It's All Over Now", which was co-written by Bobby and sister-in-law Shirley. The hit landed them an opening spot on James Brown & The Famous Flames' national tour. The song peaked at number eight on the R&B charts and number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, going on to sell two million copies. Shortly afterwards, the group under its new moniker, recorded " Lookin' for a Love", which was a pop rendition of "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray". Upon this, they changed their name to the Valentinos and while both Bobby and Curtis continued to switch leads, Sam Cooke reportedly favored Bobby and while some SAR singles featured Curtis in lead, the Bobby-led singles garnered the most airplay. After the singles failed to chart, Cooke advised the group to go a secular direction. Still going by The Womack Brothers, SAR cut two gospel singles the group recorded in 19 including "Somebody's Wrong" and "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray".
The group arrived to California in a beat-up Cadillac prior to Cooke signing them. In 1960, a couple of years after he founded SAR Records and becoming a crossover solo sensation, Cooke made good on his promise signing the teenage act to the label. In 1956, Sam Cooke discovered the group performing while he and his then group, the Soul Stirrers, were headlining and was so impressed with the brothers that he promised to help the group advance in their careers. Following this, he discovered that all five of his sons could sing, forming the Womack Brothers.Īttracting a gospel following, in 1954, the group, under the name Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, cut a single, "Buffalo Bill" with the Pennant label both Curtis and Bobby Womack were only ten years old at the time of the recording. The group started out around 1952 when eight-year-old Bobby Womack played guitar for his father after he had broken a string. The foundation of the Valentinos started in church where the five Womack brothers – Friendly, Jr.
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