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183 12 Gettin’ Used to the Blues 1977–1984 In the spring of 1977, Steve Barri and Michael Omartian gathered a group of Los Angeles studio musicians, including strings and backup choir, at the ABC Recording Studios to record what would be their last Bobby Bland album, Reflections in Blue. The nine tracks were drawn from a wide variety of sources. “The Soul of a Man,” which went to number 12 on the soul chart, was written by Bobby and his old opening act, Al “TNT” Braggs. “I’ll Be Your Fool Once More,” a pretty country ballad, came from the pen of country singer/ songwriter Big Al Downing. “Sittin’ on a Poor Man’s Throne,” which reached number 82 on the soul chart, was written by members of the Canadian pop group Copperpenny. There was also a very personal version of Eddie Boyd’s 1952 chart-topper, “Five Long Years,” and a resigned and resilient rendition of J.J. Cale’s guitar-driven “I Got the Same Old Blues.” The year before, on June 12, 1976, a sad falling-out-of-love song by Bobby entitled “It Ain’t the Real Thing,” written by Michael Price and Dan Walsh, appeared on the Billboard soul chart, where it stayed for eleven weeks, peaking at number 12. It remains unclear exactly when it was recorded, but most discographers claim that it was cut at this session, nearly a year after it hit the chart as a single. While it did show up on this album, it was obviously recorded some time earlier, as was another tune on the album called “If I Weren’t A Gambler,” written by Oscar Perry, which was in fact recorded seven years earlier in 1970 for Bobby’s If Loving You Is Wrong LP—the same recording is on two different albums. Apparently, Reflections in Blue was a bit short of material, so these two cuts were dredged from the vaults. Nonetheless, Melody Maker called it a “marvel” and it reached number 47 on the Black Albums chart.1 Steve Barri went on to work at Warner Brothers Records in 1979 as an A&R director and producer, where he produced a series of TV theme songs, among them themes for S.W.A.T., Welcome Back Kotter, and Happy Days. By Gettin’ Used to the Blues: 1977–1984 184 1982 he was back working with his old Dunhill boss, Jay Lasker, who was now president of Motown Records, where Barri produced successful albums by the Commodores, Lionel Ritchie, and Rick James. Barri left Motown in 1986 and moved around from Capitol Records to Left Bank Management to JVC Records, and in 1998 to Gold Circle Entertainment, where he was named senior vice president of A&R in 2001.2 Later in 1977, Michael Omartian recorded an album of his own, with his wife, Stormie, entitled Seasons of the Soul, and continued to record several other albums with her, as well as producing LPs for others, including Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, Trisha Yearwood, Clint Black, and others. He won three Grammy Awards in 1981 for his production of Christopher Cross’s debut album, Sailing. And in 1985 Omartian, along with Quincy Jones, coproduced the USA for Africa super group’s number 1 hit “We Are the World.” In recent years he has produced several contemporary Christian music albums of his own music, as well as for others.3 On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, from, according to the coroner’s official report, “cardiac arrhythmia.” He was forty-two years old. Meanwhile, Bobby continued to tour regularly with B.B. King, appearing on PBS’s Soundstage television program, at Radio City Music Hall, at the Buffalo (NY) Theatre, as well as at many, many other clubs and arenas.4 In December 1977 the movie and soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever were released. The soundtrack by the Bee Gees quickly became the number 1 bestselling soundtrack of all time, and disco music moved into mainstream popularity . Record company executives jumped on the bandwagon and demanded disco-like songs from previously non-disco artists. So everyone—from Helen Reddy and Barry Manilow to Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross—was cutting disco-influenced records. ABC called on two veteran record producers to push Bobby into the disco inferno. Al Bell was born Alvertis Isbell in Brinkley, Arkansas, in 1940, one of eight children. His family moved to North Little Rock in 1945. As...

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