SECRETS by BOBBY WOMACK

 Bobby Womack started his career as Sam Cooke’s backing guitarist.

77 days after the death of Cooke,  20-year-old Womack and Cooke's widow Barbara Cooke, who was 10 years his senior, attempted to marry at the Los Angeles county courthouse. Their application was rejected as Womack was under 21 without his parents permission to marry. They finally tied the knot a day after his 21st birthday, ostracising the music world, audiences, disc jockeys and Womack’s brothers.

They split in 1970 when Barbara found out Womack was having an affair with her’s (and Sam’s) 17 year old daughter Linda. This resulted in Barbara trying to shoot Bobby (can't imagine where she got that idea from), but the bullet only grazed his head. It is said, Linda never spoke to her mother again.

Bobby was a prolific recording artist and songwriter, writing for the Rolling Stones amongst others and in 1981 recorded possibly the best R&B (soul) album of all time “The Poet” from which this track comes from (Secrets is my favourite cut from the album - any song with Kentucky Fried Chicken in the lyric does it for me).

He died in 2014 aged 70, after having survived colon cancer, but had been diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer’s.

Tomorrow, whatever happened to Linda? You may be surprised…….