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.
Still going by The Womack Brothers, SAR cut two gospel singles the group recorded in 1961 and 1962 including "Somebody's Wrong" and "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray".
Bobby added instrumentation to several of Cooke's albums including Night Beat and Ain't That Good News.
[8] [better source needed] Around the same time Bobby was one of the first people to hear Cooke's chilling anthem, "A Change Is Gonna Come".
In December 1964, the Valentinos' career was put in jeopardy when Cooke was suddenly shot and killed while at a Los Angeles motel.
Womack settled on session work for the time being as a rhythm guitarist, beginning in 1966, while the rest of the Valentinos, who had initially disbanded following Cooke's death, were urged by Bobby to regroup.
Following this, the youngest Valentino, Cecil Womack, was the next brother to leave the group after he decided to marry former Motown singer Mary Wells.
That same year, the remaining trio of Friendly, Jr., Curtis and Harry recorded the single "Tired of Being Nobody" followed by the Cecil Womack penned "Two Lovers History" before calling it a day.
After contributing guitar to recordings by Aretha Franklin, he gave up some of his compositions to Wilson Pickett, who later took the Womack single, "I'm in Love", to the top 40 on the pop and soul charts.
Following this success, Minit Records signed Bobby and released the album Fly Me to the Moon, which featured the singer's first charted hit, a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreaming".
In 1971, Bobby signed with United Artists Records and released his breakthrough album, Communication, which featured the top ten R&B hit, "That's the Way I Feel About Cha", to which the rest of his brothers (the Valentinos) contributed background vocals.
[3] The song gave the Valentinos some traction again on the R&B charts leading to them appearing on Soul Train where Bobby was a frequent guest.
On March 9, 1974, Harry Womack was stabbed to death by his girlfriend during a fight while living in Bobby's Los Angeles home.
In 1982, Bobby Womack's solo career received a boost with the release of "If You Think You're Lonely Now", which featured his surviving brothers and other singers backing him.
As a songwriting team for Philadelphia International Records, the couple wrote hits for Teddy Pendergrass and Patti LaBelle.
Another composition that was first recorded by Bobby as a solo release and revived by the Valentinos a year later, "I Can Understand It", became a major hit for the funk band New Birth.
A popular Australia-based rock combo attempted to appropriate the name of the original Valentinos but had to change their name when faced with the threat of possible litigation by Bobby and his brothers.