Legendary R&B and soul singer Bobby Womack is known as much for his scandalous love life as he is for his catalog of hit songs. He shocked the music world when he married Barbara Cooke, the widow of his long-time mentor Sam Cooke, just over two months after Cooke’s death.
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It didn’t help Womack’s case that he showed up to Cooke’s funeral wearing one of the late, great singer’s suits.
But while he’s been vilified for years for his relationship with Barbara, everything isn’t always what it seems: Barbara was 10 years older than Womack and had a complicated marriage with Cooke, who also had children outside of their relationship.
We’re taking a closer look at the truth behind Bobby Womack and Barbara Cooke’s controversial relationship and separating rumor from reality.
Rooted in Gospel Music
Bobby Womack’s connection to gospel music runs deep. Under his strict father’s watchful eye, he grew up singing in church with his four brothers. As kids, they performed as The Womack Brothers hoping that their musical talent would be their ticket out of their Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood.
Finding a Mentor
In the mid-1950s, Womack and his brothers got their big break during a gig opening for the gospel group The Soul Stirrers. Womack, who was just 10 years old at the time, impressed the group’s lead singer, Sam Cooke, who would eventually help the brothers transition their act from gospel to R&B and land a deal with Cooke’s record label SAR Records. The group, with Bobby as their lead singer, changed their name to The Valentinos.
Cooke took Womack under his wing, bringing him out on the road as his guitarist and influencing his style.
A Complicated Love Story
While Sam Cooke was a clear star in the music industry, his personal life, including his marriage to his wife, Barbara, was a lot more complicated. The two met when Cooke was 18 and Barbara was 13. The pair got married and went on to have three children together. But Cooke was a notorious cheater who also had a series of relationships (and at least three children) outside of his marriage.
A Tragic Murder
On Dec. 11, 1964, Los Angeles police officers arrived at the Hacienda Motel, where they found Sam Cooke dead. Investigators learned that Cooke was killed by the motel manager, Bertha Franklin. According to Franklin’s testimony, Cooke threatened her after he tried raping a young woman he checked into the motel with.
After Cooke’s death, Womack decided the best way he could honor his memory would be looking after Cooke’s widow, Barbara.
“Give Me Five Years, I Will Give You A Lifetime”
Bobby Womack and Barbara Cooke got closer and she eventually asked him to marry her, something Womack wrote about in his 2006 memoir, “Bobby Womack: My Story.”
“If you promise to give me five years,” he wrote. “I will give you a lifetime. You know, whatever you need to do. I just need you to walk with me here.”
Just three months after Sam Cooke’s death, Womack married a then-31-year-old Barbara Cooke, on March 5, 1965 – the day after his 21st birthday. Womack shocked the world when he arrived at Cooke’s funeral wearing one of Sam’s suits.
“Be Happy, Whatever It Takes”
Barbara defended her romance with Womack, saying that it was a shock to her at first, but as she got to know him, she realized that he was a lot like her late husband, Sam. In an interview with Jet Magazine, Barbara defended their quick courtship, saying that Cooke would have wanted her to be happy, even if it meant she moved on with his mentee.
“I feel that Sam would certainly want me to do this,” Barbara told Jet. “I feel – and he did too – that time has nothing to do with it. There is so little time to be happy. So if you find it, and. you want it, you should pursue it. Be happy, be in love; that was like our motto. Be happy, whatever it takes.”
Fans Weren’t Feeling It
While Barbara and Womack were in love, Sam Cooke’s fans were not happy that Womack moved in on his widow. To say that Womack and Cooke’s relationship was received poorly by fans is a huge understatement. And those who disapproved were not shy about letting them know. According to The New York Times, Womack and Cooke received plenty of hate mail, including a package with a baby doll in a coffin.
“I Wish He Didn’t Trust Me So Much”
Womack gave those who labeled him a villain even more fuel for their argument in his music. It’s hard not to read between the lines when listening to the lyrics of his 1985 single, “I Wish He Didn’t Trust Me So Much.”
“I’m the best friend he’s got
I’d give him the shirt off my back
He knows he can trust me with his life
But he’s tryin’ to leave me alone
Leaves me alone with his wife
I wish he didn’t trust me so much
I think he really trusts me too much”
All in the Family
Things didn’t last long for Womack and Barbara. She left the singer when she caught him having an affair with his stepdaughter. Yes, you heard that right — Bobby was involved with Linda Cooke (the then-teenage daughter of Barbara and Sam Cooke).
When Barbara got wind of what was going on, she shot Womack, grazing his head with a bullet. But the story gets even more complicated when Linda Cooke married Womack’s youngest brother Cecil in 1977. The two became the musical duo Womack and Womack, best known for their 1983 single “Baby I’m Scared of You.”
A Lasting Legacy
Bobby Womack passed away on June 27, 2014 at age 70. The cause of death was not released at the time, but he had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and the effects of drug use. His estate posted a tribute to Womack on Instagram this week on what would have been his 81st birthday, writing, “We miss him daily and we thank everyone for continuing to listen to the beautiful music he left us with. See you at church Bobby! ❤️”
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