Guest post by Nathan Arizona
When Bobby Womack crosses 110th Street in the song by that name, he’s crossing the traditional demarcation line between Manhattan and Harlem. Harlem has the action in the 1973 “blaxploitation” crime movie “Across 110th Street” and Womack’s title track.
Womack crossed other lines in his turbulent life, with less fortunate results. Like the time he got shot in the head.
But “Across 110th Street” was a high point. Two of them, actually. The song was showcased 24 years later by Quentin Tarantino in his movie “Jackie Brown.”
The 1973 soundtrack featured music by the great jazz trombone player J.J. Johnson as well as songs by Womack. The hit title track was bolstered by the bass of Carole Kaye, an in-demand member of the famous Los Angeles studio group the Wrecking Crew. The song plays under the opening credits with scenes from the Harlem streets.
Tarantino also used the song for the opening but gave the scene a much different look. A long tracking shot follows the title character as she moves through an airport, at first gliding on a moving walkway. Foxy is played by Pam Grier, who had been a go-to actress in the original blaxploitation movies.
“Across 110th Street” gave Womack just one of his many hits. “It’s All Over Now” was an early example. He recorded it with his brothers as the Valentinos. It was later covered by the Rolling Stones and became their first English No.1. He struck up a friendship with the Stones’ Ronnie Wood that lasted until Womack’s death 2014.
Womack had a knack for hanging with the famous. He was a close friend of Sam Cooke, who championed the young singer and guided him early in his career. Womack, known for his excellent guitar work, played the instrument in Cooke’s band.
But the relationship led to trouble after Cooke was shot and killed by a motel owner in 1964 under murky circumstances. Womack showed up for the funeral wearing Cooke’s suit in front of the assembled media. He then married Cooke’s widow, who was 10 years older. Womack was accused of trying to capitalize on his friend’s death and shunned by the music industry. Cooke’s brothers attacked him and broke his jaw.
It didn’t help his cause when he was found in bed with the 17-year-old daughter of his wife and Cook. That’s when he got shot in the head, but his wife only grazed him. They were soon divorced.
Womack headed for Memphis and revived his career, working with Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex and Wilson Pickett. He wrote and played guitar on Pickett’s “I’m in Love.” Womack then moved L.A., where he hung out with some of the Laurel Canyon crowd. Womack said Janis Joplin named “Mercedes Benz” after his car. Sly Stone became a good friend — and serious cocaine buddy. “Doing that all day,” Womack recalled. “Staying up seven, eight days.”
But he kept having hits into the early ’80s, including “That’s the Way I Feel About Chu” and “Hairy Hippie,” named for his brother Harry. Harry figured in more Womack trouble. His wife killed him with a steak knife to the neck after she found another woman’s clothes in his bedroom. The bedroom was in Bobby’s house, where Harry was staying. The clothes belonged to Bobby’s girlfriend.
Here’s “Harry Hippie.” It’s a pretty ballad. No knives.
Bobby Womack was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. He was inducted by his old Rolling Stones pal Ronnie Wood.