Howard BomarHoward Bomar

Unusually Howard Bomar spent most of his career in Denver, CO but for many years he was the opening act for a lot of big stars who travelled there in the 70s including Johnnie Taylor, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and the Dells. But despite this wealth of experience he only seems to have recorded just the two 45s.

The first – and VERY rare – single coupled the ultra funk track “Set Down Fo Ya Fall Down” with a really special version of that enduring blues ballad ListenBest Of Luck. This song was penned by guitarist Larry Lee and is most associated with the great Nashville singer Earl Gaines who recorded it for HBR, but it has also been covered with distinction by singers of the calibre of Johnny Adams, Sam Baker, Vicki Williams and Geater Davis. But I think Bomar’s cut tops them all. The superb Memphis rhythm section is spot on, and the horns and strings are perfect, but the real hero is Bomar himself. Such gritty pathos, such lovely sense of dynamics with power in abundance. This is top quality singing in anybody’s book. If only we had more from the man like this. Producer Sonny Limbo must have made this 45 around the time he was running Fame Records' Memphis office. The obscure label TST has a Memphis address.

The second 45, which is slightly more frequently available, leads with a funky “I’m Gonna Love You” which has had some dance floor interest. It is flipped with a soulful “I Who Have Nothing”, which is a fine showcase for his beautifully modulated tones.
For those who can’t afford his records, Bomar can be seen on Youtube supplying the silky smooth vocals to a live version of “Just The Two Of Us” for headliner ace sax man Grover Washington Jr in 1982. I understand he passed away not too long afterwards.




Discography

Set down fo ya fall down / ListenBest of luck ~ TST 1107 (1970)
I’m gonna love you / I who have nothing ~ D & W 2321 (early 70s?)

 

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