Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career spanned more than 60 years and multiple styles, including R&B, blues, doo-wop, gospel, funk, and soul.

[3] Womack was a prolific songwriter who wrote and originally recorded "It's All Over Now" with his brothers, the Valentinos (a song that later became the Rolling Stones' first UK number one hit) and New Birth's "I Can Understand It".

[5] Even though Curtis often sang lead, Bobby was allowed to sing alongside him showcasing his gruff baritone vocals in contrast to his older brother's smoother tenor.

[12] At the beginning of the 1960s, Cooke formed SAR Records and signed the quintet to the label in 1961, where they released a handful of gospel singles.

[13] Then, Cooke changed their name to the Valentinos, relocated them to Los Angeles and convinced them to transition from gospel music to secular soul-and pop-influenced sound.

[5] Cooke produced and arranged the group's first hit single, "Lookin' for a Love", which was a pop version of the gospel song, "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray", they had recorded earlier.

Womack played guitar on several of Aretha Franklin's albums, including Lady Soul, but not on the hit song "Chain of Fools", as erroneously reported.

His work as a songwriter caught the ear of music executives after Wilson Pickett took a liking to some of Womack's songs and insisted on recording them.

In fact, Womack was one of the last people to see Joplin alive, having visited her hours before she died at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

The title track became popular during its initial 1972 release and later would be played during the opening and closing scenes of the 1997 film Jackie Brown.

In 1976, Womack organized a benefit at the Hollywood Palladium to raise funds for his friend, singer Jackie Wilson, who had suffered a heart attack.

[19] Womack languished with his own recordings during the late 1970s but continued to be a frequent collaborator with other artists, most notably Wilton Felder of the Crusaders.

He hired a new co-producer and Keyboardist, Patrick Moten who worked with Ike Turner and Natalie Cole, and released the album Roads of Life on Arista Records in 1979.

He had a soulful song featuring on the Wilton Felder single "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still Be Looking Up to You", which was originally recorded in 1979 as a bonus track for the same 1980 album although it was officially released in 1985.

This song became a soul classic, notably in the UK—Robbie Vincent at Radio London included the track as one of his all-time winners in October 1982.

[22] Judges sitting in the high court in London in 2003 ruled that Bobby Womack stole the song "Cry Myself to Sleep" which appeared on the album from Liverpool musician and songwriter Mark Thomas, who never received the outstanding royalty payments due to him.

[23] A gospel album, Back to My Roots, appeared at the end of the decade, but Womack largely concentrated on session and guest work for the next ten years.

[24] Womack contributed vocals and acoustic guitar to the songs "Where Did We Go Wrong" (duet with Regina Belle), "I'm Through Trying to Prove My Love to You", "Mr D.J."

He is the featured vocalist on June Yamagishi's My Pleasure album, on "Inherit The Wind", a track credited to Wilton Felder, and with Allen Toussaint on "Sputin", and he contributed vocals to Rae & Christian's version of "Wake Up Everybody".

[26] Womack headlined the concert; other performers included Chaka Khan, Mary Wilson, and Bill Withers.

[25] In 2010, Womack contributed lyrics and sang on "Stylo" alongside Mos Def, the first single from the third Gorillaz album Plastic Beach.

[29] In an interview with Uncut, Womack revealed that the follow-up album would now be called The Best Is Yet to Come and feature Teena Marie and Ronnie Isley.

[34][35][13] Womack wore one of Cooke's suits to the courthouse and the media was present to record the event, but their application was rejected.

[14][36] Womack later claimed he initially went to Barbara's side to console her following Cooke's death for fear that if she were left alone, she would "do something crazy.

Truth Bobby, whose name was suggested by Womack's friend Sly Stone,[46] died aged 4 months old after falling into a coma when he was found "wedged between the wall and the bed.

[13] In 1974, Bobby's brother Harry Womack was fatally stabbed in the neck with a steak knife by his girlfriend Patricia Wilson in a jealous rage.

"[5] In 1974, Womack experienced "temporary blindness" after he suffered a concussion from a blow to his head when he flipped backwards over an amplifier during a recording session.

A series of health problems would follow, including diabetes, pneumonia, colon cancer, and early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

On January 1, 2013, Womack admitted that he struggled to remember his songs and other people's names, and later he was diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

In 2011, Womack received his first Grammy nomination for Best Short-Form Music Video for "Stylo" shared with Mos Def & Gorillaz.