BOBBY WOMACK NEEDED LITTLE DIRECTION FROM photographer Norman Seeff during this L.A. session for his 1971 album, Communication. “He loved performing—I didn’t have to push him at all,” recalls Seeff. “He would just launch right into a song. He had an energy that, for me, was a benchmark for being in the moment.” It was a satisfying shoot for Seeff. “Every frame has its own character,” he says. “He was willing to be vulnerable and fully engaged and not hold anything back. We bonded right away.” The two hit it off so well that Womack concocted a scheme to celebrate Seeff’s birthday just months later. “He dragged me from my office studio to a cube truck waiting outside,” recalls Seeff. “It turned out to be Sly Stone’s recording van. We spent a couple of days at Sly’s house, celebrating that we all had birthdays around the same time.” Seeff and Womack went on to do more sessions together. “Bobby gave full-on commitment to everything,” says Seeff. “He was obsessively creative, in a good way.”
comment closed