Bobby "Blue" Bland

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  • Year:
    1992
  • Inducted by:
    B.B. King
  • Category:
    Performers
Bobby "Blue" Band Signature

Introduction

Blue is his middle name for a reason.

Bobby “Blue” Bland mesmerized audiences with a voice both velvety and primal, controlled and impassioned. His career was one of innovation and artistic integrity, spanning nearly his entire life.

Hall of Fame Essay

1992

Joe McEwen

It's a procession that seems to stand outside time: the Bobby “Blue” Bland Revue, criss-crossing the country through a hel­ter-skelter schedule of one-night stands. Peter Guralnick has called it the Lost Highway, but for those  who wake up wonder­ing (or not caring) what town it is, the name is always the same: The Road. At the helm of this weary caravan is the star, Bobby “Blue” Bland.

He seems an unlikely sex symbol for black America, yet for many that's what he is and always will remain. A big, huggable man with an immediately endearing smile, he sings blues songs with a controlled intensity and slight insouciance, a style that lends even his most caustic lyrics a vulnerable soft­ness. Others of his generation have come and gone, but Bobby “Blue” Bland remains King of The Road.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1992
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Bobby "Blue" Band Quote Image
To me, there is no better singer to sing any kind of song
B. B. King

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Gallery

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage