Singer Bobby “Blue” Bland died Sunday in his home near Memphis, TN, of complications from an ongoing illness, according to an Associated Press report.
Bland had several influential hits in his early career, including 1957’s “Farther On Up The Road”, covered most famously by Eric Clapton, and 1961’s “Turn On Your Lovelight”, which became a staple of the Grateful Dead’s live shows.
Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. He headlined the final night at the 2012 Bull Durham Blues Festival.