One of the premier rhythm & blues vocalists, Bobby "Blue" Bland is second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis' Beale Street blues scene. In fact, the two performers have been inextricably linked over the decades, recording and touring together in a friendship that dates back to the early Fifties. Born on January 27, 1930, in the nearby town of Rosemark, Bland had moved to Memphis by age seventeen. He worked in a garage during the week and sang spirituals on weekends. At various times, he also served as a chauffeur for B.B. King and Roscoe Gordon and a valet for Junior Parker. In the beginning, he styled himself after the likes of Roy Brown. After serving a stint in the army, however, Bland spent the latter half of the Fifties maturing into a masterful singer and assured entertainer. His hallmark was his supple, confidential soul-blues delivery. As a singer, Bland projected a grainy, down-to-earth quality, punctuated with guttural growls and snorts that would come to be known as the "chicken-bone sound." Yet his voice was simultaneously smooth as velvet, allowing Bland to bring audiences under his hypnotic spell as he walked a fine line between passionate expression and exquisite self-control.
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