DEEP #1/2026 (March)

Robert Finley at the Savoy Theatre. Photo courtesy of Marjo.

One concert and a relatively new CD by Robert Finley and one book on the Womack Brothers, written by Grahame Joyce and for the most part based on Friendly Jr.'s story - in a nutshell that is the contents of this column. I hope you like it.

Robert Finley and his band live on stage. Photo courtesy of Marjo.

ROBERT FINLEY IN HELSINKI

Robert Finley's third visit to Finland was short but memorable. His 90-minute concert at the Savoy Theatre (https://www.savoyteatteri.fi/en/frontpage) in Helsinki on February 21 was met with an enthusiastic audience response from start to finish.

The 14-song set opened with the funky I Just Want to Tell You and Get It While You Can, followed by the mid-tempo yet equally groove-driven Livin' Out a Suitcase and Sharecropper's Son. The atmosphere shifted when Finley slowed things down for an intense rendition of I Can Feel Your Pain, during which he reached his soaring falsetto register for the first time that evening.

The tempo picked up again with What Goes Around (Comes Around) and a selection from his latest album, appropriately titled Holy Ghost Party.

On stage, the 72-year-old Finley was backed by a tight three-piece U.K. rhythm section of Liam Spratt on lead guitar, Oliver Hopkins on bass guitar and Charlie Love on drums, and supported vocally by his daughter, Christy Johnson. Johnson also performed a solo number, the beautiful country-tinged My Father’s Keeper. Christy: "I’m still working on releasing my solo album, but I’m not sure if it will be finished by the end of this year, because my main focus is making sure Robert gets where he needs to be and is well rested for the shows. My Father's Keeper will be released as a single."

Returning to the set, Finley delivered the mid-tempo funk numbers Medicine Woman and Real Love Is Like Hard Time, before moving into the soulful ballad Nobody Wants to Be Lonely and the deeply emotional Souled Out on You. The main set concluded with the beat-driven ballad I Wanna Thank You. However, the audience was rewarded with an energetic encore, Make Me Feel Alright, which brought the evening to a jubilant close.

The concert was presented by Ramasound (https://www.ramasound.com). After Helsinki, the tour continues to France, the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K. and in May to Australia. Christy: "We have 15 shows in only 21 days across different countries, which means spending hours in the van. Seems like we’re just going and going. The opportunity to have a full day and night, where we don't have to get in the van would be great, but we have fans that look forward to see my dad and he doesn’t want to let them down."

HALLELUJAH!

In October 2025, Robert Finley released his fifth album (plus one EP), Hallelujah! Don't Let the Devil Fool Ya, once again issued by Easy Eye Sound (EES-045; https://easyeyesound.com). Produced by Dan Auerbach, the eight-song gospel album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

Alongside Auerbach, the recording features an impressive lineup of musicians, including Tommy Brenneck on bass, Barrie Cadogan on guitar, Malcolm Catto on drums, Ray Jacildo on keyboards, and Christy Johnson on backing vocals. You can get acquainted with some of Robert’s earlier work at https://www.soulexpress.net/robertfinley2023.htm.

The album opens with I Wanna Thank You, a heartfelt mid-tempo track also released as a single. Two additional singles from the album include the church-inspired, upbeat chant Holy Ghost Party and the celebratory Helping Hand. Praise Him stands out as a highly inspirational mid-tempo number, enhanced by the rich horn contributions of Jake Botts on saxophone and Andrew Golden on trumpet.

Balancing the fast and funky tracks Can't Take My Joy and On the Battlefield is the dreamy slow swayer His Love, a country-tinged piece featuring Auerbach on pedal steel guitar and running 7 minutes and 17 seconds. The album concludes with the autobiographical and laid-back I Am a Witness, which surpasses it in length at 8 minutes and 34 seconds.

The album has achieved surprising popularity - hardly unexpected given its stylistic diversity and Finley’s emotional delivery (https://robertfinleyofficial.com).

THE WOMACK BROTHERS

The members of the renowned Womack Brothers were Friendly Jr., Curtis, Bobby, Harry, and Cecil, and their eventful story is now told by long-standing soul music specialist Grahame Joyce. Much of the narrative is drawn from Friendly’s letters and Grahame’s conversations with him. Friendly is the eldest brother and, in fact, the only one still alive. The Womack Brothers' Journey to Fame (270 pages, 34 photos) is a self-published book consisting of 48 chapters, followed by a few “Womack anecdotes” at the end.

Each brother had a distinct personality. At opposite ends of the spectrum were the quick-tempered Harry and the calm, deeply religious Cecil. Their harsh childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, where rats and cockroaches shared their home, was brightened by singing in a local church. In 1953, Archie Brownlee of the Blind Boys of Mississippi took nine-year-old Bobby on a three-day tour. Soon after, the brothers' father, Friendly Sr., began teaching his sons - then known as The Womack Boys Quintet, later The Womack Brothers.

Their very first single was released in 1955 on Francis Goodman's Pennant label in Birmingham, Alabama. The plug side, "Womack Brothers Featuring Nine Year Old Curtiss Womack" (sic), was titled Bible Tells Me So, while the flip side featured the lively Buffalo Bill. Sam Cooke had already met the brothers in Cleveland in the late 1950s, but in 1960 Roscoe Robinson - briefly the new lead singer of the Blind Boys - reintroduced them. Sam signed them to his SAR label and released two gospel singles in 1961 and '62.

Sam later renamed the group The Valentinos, and their first secular single in 1962, Lookin' for a Love, became a hit (#8 R&B, #72 Pop). Two years later it was followed by It’s All Over Now. Yet sad moments still lay ahead, including Sam's ambiguous death in December 1964 and the tragic stabbing of Harry by his girlfriend in 1974.

The book is filled with fascinating episodes, anecdotes, and even revelations. You learn how Pops Staples tried to block the brothers' recording plans in the late 1950s, how gospel quartets tricked one another, how tough it was touring with James Brown, and how James treated both Tammi Terrell and Yvonne Fair. It also reveals how unfairly stingy Sam Cooke could be and - looking ahead to a later period - how Bobby Womack recorded Cecil’s song Love T.K.O. first, and how the Valentinos actually provided background vocals on Teddy Pendergrass’ hit version in 1980.

The author of the book with Bobby Womack. Photo courtesy of Grahame Joyce.

Grahame first met the brothers at the Manchester Apollo in 1984. In this book, he focuses on the Valentinos in the 1960s rather than on Bobby's or any of the others' later careers. As Grahame explains: "I had read The Midnight Mover book and it just occurred to me that a repeat of that book, which pretty well covered most things on Bob, was not necessary." Bobby's autobiography was published in 2007. Overall, The Womack Brothers' Journey to Fame is a quick and engaging read—and a worthwhile addition to any collection devoted to authentic soul music. 

© Heikki Suosalo