[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10356]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           BOBBY (BLUE) BLAND

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Bobby (Blue) Bland, a Memphis and American music and blues 
idol, passed away at the age of 83 on Sunday.
  Bobby (Blue) Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in 1930, and in the 
forties he moved to Memphis. In 1949, he joined a group called the 
Beale Streeters, which was a loose-knit group and it included Johnny 
Ace, Rosco Gordon, Earl Forest, and B.B. King--giants. He later worked 
for Junior Parker and B.B. King, two other giants. Then he went on his 
own way and became one of the great blues singers of all time.
  His four top singles were ``Turn on your Love Light,'' ``Call on 
Me,'' ``That's the Way Love is,'' and ``Ain't Nothing You Can Do.'' He 
had top 100 hits almost every year for 40 years. His songs were covered 
by the Grateful Dead, The Band, and Van Morrison. He influenced Otis 
Redding, Wilson Pickett, and the Allman Brothers. He has been in every 
music hall of fame you can think of, including the Rock and Roll Hall 
of Fame and the initial class of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
  He served his country in the Army from 1952 to 1954. He is survived 
by his wife, Willie Mae, his son, Rodd, his daughter, Patrice, his four 
grandchildren, and by millions of disks and CDs that people will be 
loving forever.

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