The Interview
The most exciting of Bobby’s future plans include a world tour to raise diabetes awareness. When the artist was first diagnosed with Type I diabetes, and learned he would have to give himself injections, he told me he was extremely distraught. Fortunately, he’s dealing with it well now, as he has the other tragedies that have plagued the singers life. He learned that the disease wasn’t anything to fool around with or to take lightly after the R&B legend collapsed and couldn't make it out onto the stage for the evening's final performance at New York's Webster Hall in October of 1988. His words were “If you play with it, it’ll play with you.“ His main objective is to raise consciousness of the diabetic situation, which no one in show business has done before. His plans for the tour would include the support of artists from all walks of life, including some that the singer has never worked with before.
Bobby, who referred to himself as The Doctor of Music, said about his writing that it gives him a chance to express his true feelings in relationships and knowing how to deal with situations that everybody goes through. He put it best when he said “Every time you go through a situation you think ‘Why does it have to happen to me’, as if everything is happening to you, then you look at another person‘s situation that’s so much worse, like Curtis Mayfield. He kept writing, kept going to studios, they had to lay him down to sing, and he did it". About performing, Bobby said "Before going on stage you're a whole different person, you get spiritual, don't talk a lot, and just get in the groove of what you're gonna do." He said he still gets the same charge, or even more, off the music than he did 30 years ago. He continued, "The only time I feel like I'm gettin' older is when I'm not singin'. He said "when you get on stage, and the crowd starts goin' crazy, there's just something that takes over, you feel no slowness, you just operate spiritually". When viewing himself on video after a show, he calls himself a "ham", and wonders "Who is that guy?"
When asked why he writes certain songs the artists response is simply “life”. He continues, “The difference between me and you, is that you’ll come and hear it, but I’m puttin’ my business in the street, on the stage. I don’t make none of this up, this is happenin’, but you like it because you can relate to it, you went through the same thing “.
About stardom, Bobby related to the loss of former Motown singer Mary Wells, who had been married to Bobby’s brother Curtis at the time of her death of larynx cancer in 1990. Bobby said, “When a star falls upon hard times, it’s headline news. Even when I lost my sister-in-law Mary Wells, they asked me ’Why was I cryin’ “Why was I Cryin’?!!, I just lost my sister-in-law!! I started thinkin’, that I guess people think, that if ya have money, your problems are over. I say, if ya have money your problems are worse until ya learn how to adjust and deal with it and remain what you’re about, and stand for somethin’.”
On the subject of his fans, I was impressed by how appreciative and aware Bobby is. He was amazed that someone like myself would have all his music and know about the songs that weren’t even hits. He was flattered to realize that his fans truly believe in his music. He told me of a lady he met backstage in London who had conceived her child off of one his songs and named the child after the singer.
Meanwhile, other future plans include putting finishing touches on a Blues album and also recording tracks for another album, from which I received the utmost honor of listening to some of the tracks, including one with former Motown singer Teena Marie. On another of the tracks I heard, which was fittingly titled "Left-handed and Upside Down" (Bobby is a left-handed guitarist), in which Bobby tells his life story in a mere three minutes. This will also be the title of an upcoming book about the singer's eventful life. He's also working on another version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". A major offering is a video retrospective on which he tells the stories behind each of the songs he's written and performed. The video features his first ever acoustic guitar performances filmed at the Five Spot in NYC.
Before I left, Bobby promised to keep me informed of anything new so I could pass it on to the fans through the website. So visit often for updated information, and please be sure to visit the artist's OFFICIAL Website.
