Singer-songwriter and keyboard player, born in Memphis, Tennessee, who was the first white artist ever signed to Stax Records, where he played piano in his teens.
He was discovered in a Memphis club by Bonnie Bramlett who asked him to join her band. A fellow by the name of Eric Clapton was playing lead guitar at the time and he and Bobby, along with Duane Allman, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle, formed Derek and the Dominoes, a one-album project that spawned the 1972 hit “Layla”. All save Allman appeared on George Harrison’s groundbreaking triple album All Things Must Pass.
He also released four solo albums in the ’70s. After the last of these, Rock Your Sox Off, in 1976, he withdrew from the music scene almost entirely until 1999 with the aptly titled It’s About Time. A couple of years later he released another solo album and appeared with Eric Clapton on the U.K. television programme Later with Jools Holland.
He married saxophone player CoCo Carmel and they moved to Austin, Texas, in 2006, where they performed together at the Saxon Pub on Tuesday nights.
In 2005, Whitlock signed a contract with Records on the Wall, an outfit that helps songwriters collect unpaid royalties. His material has been performed by an eclectic array of artists including The Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, The Charlie Daniels Band, Cher , Sheryl Crow, Glenn Frey, George Jones, Tom Jones, and Michael Nesmith.
Johnny Rodriguez recordings
He’s Not Entitled To Your Love (Steve Davis/Sam Hogin/Bobby Whitlock)
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