Cecil Womack

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Cecil Womack | image = | caption = Cecil & Linda Womack | image_size = | birth_name = Cecil Dale Womack | alias = Zekkariyas | birth_date = {{birth date|1947|9|25}} | birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, United States | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|2|1|1947|9|25}} | death_place = Johannesburg,<ref name="soulwalking.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Womack%20&%20Womack.html|title=Womack & Womack|website=Soulwalking.co.uk|access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref> South Africa<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/02/uncategorized/cecil-womack-dies |title=Cecil Womack Dies |publisher=Your Black World |date=2013-02-04 |access-date=2014-06-28 |archive-date=2014-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103143630/http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/02/uncategorized/cecil-womack-dies/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | origin = | instrument = {{hlist|Guitar|piano|vocals}} | genre = {{hlist|Gospel|R&B|soul}} | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|record producer}} | years_active = 1955–2006 }}

'''Cecil Dale Womack''' (September 25, 1947 – February 1, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was one of the musical Womack brothers, and had success both as a songwriter and recording artist, notably with his second wife Linda as Womack & Womack. In later years he took the name '''Zekkariyas'''.

==Career== Cecil Womack was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He and his brothers Bobby (1944–2014), Harry (1945–1974), Friendly and Curtis, were a gospel group appearing in the mid-1950s on the gospel circuit, where they were seen by Sam Cooke of the Soul Stirrers, who signed them for his SAR records. As Cooke's protégés, they changed their name to the Valentinos and in 1961 began to sing and record for secular audiences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soultracks.com/womack_and_womack.htm |title=Womack and Womack | SoulTracks - Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews |publisher=SoulTracks |date=2013-02-01 |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref> The Valentinos had hit records with "Lookin' for a Love" and "It's All Over Now", the latter being covered by the Rolling Stones. Cooke's death at an L.A. motel in December 1964, had dramatic consequences for the Womack Brothers as SAR folded and Bobby Womack, who was now married to Sam Cooke's widow, Barbara, left the group for a solo career. The Valentinos briefly disbanded before regrouping as a quartet in 1966, signing with Chess Records where they recorded the Northern Soul hit, "Sweeter than the Day Before", written by Cecil Womack and singer Mary Wells. Womack and Wells married in 1966 and formed the music publishing firm, Well-Wom, to market their jointly written songs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|date=August 18, 1966|title=Mary Wells Marries Youngest Womack Brother|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7oDAAAAMBAJ&q=mary+wells+cecil+womack&pg=PA25|magazine=Jet|volume= 30| issue = 19|pages=25}}</ref> However, the group was dropped by Chess in 1968, after only two singles, and Cecil Womack decided to leave the Valentinos. The remaining trio of Harry, Curtis, and Friendly Jr. signed with Jubilee Records, where they recorded the Cecil-composed "Two Lovers History" and "Tired Of Being Nobody" before being dropped in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/bwomack.htm |title=Bobby Womack |publisher=Soulfulkindamusic.net |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>

As the 1960s progressed, Cecil Womack secured a role away from performing as a songwriter and producer. As the husband of Mary Wells, he was well placed to provide several R & B chart successes for her including "The Doctor", "Dig The Way I Feel" and "Never Give A Man The World" on which he backed his wife on vocals, all released on Jubilee Records.<ref>Joel Whitburn, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942-2004, Billboard Chart Data, (2004)</ref> Womack's later songwriting credits include "Love TKO" a major hit for Teddy Pendergrass, "I Just Want To Satisfy You" for the O'Jays, "Love Symphony" for Patti LaBelle, "Your Song" for Four Tops and "New Day" for George Benson.<ref name=soulwalking/>

==Womack & Womack== {{main|Womack & Womack}} In 1983, Cecil and his wife Linda, who was Sam Cooke's daughter, began performing and recording together as '''Womack & Womack''', and released a successful album, ''Love Wars'' on Elektra Records. The title track from the album was a no.14 hit in the UK, and the song "Baby I'm Scared Of You" was a hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in the US. In 1988, their single "Teardrops", taken from their fourth album ''Conscience'', became a major international hit reportedly selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. It reached no.3 in the UK, and no.1 in the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.<ref name="betts">{{cite book|first=Graham|last=Betts|year=2004|title=Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004|edition=1st|publisher=Collins|location=London|isbn=0-00-717931-6|page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tsort.info/music/yr1988.htm |title=Songs from the Year 1988 |publisher=Tsort.info |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>

After traveling to Nigeria, they discovered ancestral ties to the Zekkariyas tribe, and Cecil adopted the name Zekkariyas. In 1993 they released their final album with a major label, ''Transformation To The House Of Zekkariyas''.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|author=William Ruhlmann |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/womack-womack-mn0000680374/biography |title=Womack & Womack | Biography |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref> They continued to write for other artists, including Ruby Turner and Randy Crawford.<ref name=soulwalking>{{cite web|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Womack%20&%20Womack.html |title=Womack & Womack Page |publisher=Soulwalking.co.uk |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>

==Covers of Cecil Womack songs== Mary Wells recorded the Valentinos "Two Lovers' History" in 1968. The Womack & Womack song "Love Wars" was covered by The Beautiful South for the 1990 compilation ''Rubáiyát''. Eric Clapton, Elton John, K.D. Lang and The Sugababes are among the artists who recorded "Lead Me On". His best-known song 2Love T.K.O." has been recorded by many artists. Originally recorded by David Oliver, the song was subsequently recorded by: Teddy Pendergrass, Boz Scaggs, Bette Midler and Michael McDonald. "Teardrops" has been covered by Lulu, Joss Stone, Sugababes, and Roosevelt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2012/06/joss_stone_brings_her_teardrops_to_life.php |title=Joss Stone Brings Womack & Womack's 'Teardrops' To Life |publisher=SoulBounce |date=2012-06-20 |access-date=2014-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103064410/http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2012/06/joss_stone_brings_her_teardrops_to_life.php |archive-date=2014-01-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Personal life== In 1966, Womack married Motown singer Mary Wells at the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland. Prior to that Womack fathered a son, Mustafa Womack in November of the same year.<ref name=":0" /> They had three children. Womack and Wells separated after he discovered she was having an affair with his brother Curtis Womack.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar|last=Benjaminson, Peter|year=2012|publisher=Chicago Review Press, Incorporated |isbn=9781613734865|oclc=922631976}}</ref> They divorced in 1977.<ref name=":1" />

Cecil later married Linda Cooke, the daughter of Sam Cooke. This created an interesting family tree because Cecil's brother Bobby Womack had married Sam Cooke's widow and Linda's mother Barbara Campbell in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9848504/Cecil-Womack.html |title=Cecil Womack |date=4 February 2013 |publisher=Telegraph |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref> Cecil and Linda had seven children together, and had homes in Africa and Thailand. After 1994, Womack was known professionally and personally by the name Zekkariyas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-womack-and-womack-1403513.html|title=How We Met / Womack and Womack|last=Cook|first=Emma|date=January 30, 1994|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref>

==Death== Zekkariyas spent his final years traveling the world with his wife and children, using his time to explore his African heritage, spirituality, and knowledge of the continent as well as making music. He died of unknown causes in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 1, 2013, at the age of 65.<ref name="soulwalking.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|author=John Lewis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/05/cecil-womack |title=Cecil Womack obituary | Music |work=The Guardian |date=5 February 2013 |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.zekenlightkingdom.com/ Zekkariyas Enlightenment Kingdom] Official site [offline June 2014] *{{IMDb name|0938812}} *[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/25/arts/review-rock-womacks-songs-of-life.html Review/Rock; Womacks:Songs of Life], ''The New York Times'' *[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met--womack-and-womack-1403513.html The Independent, ''"How we met: Womack & Womack"'', 1994]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Womack, Cecil}} Category:1947 births Category:2013 deaths Category:20th-century African-American male singers Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century American male singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:21st-century African-American musicians Category:African-American guitarists Category:African-American songwriters Category:American expatriate musicians Category:American expatriates in Nigeria Category:American expatriates in South Africa Category:American male guitarists Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul guitarists Category:Expatriate musicians in South Africa Category:Guitarists from Ohio Category:Singer-songwriters from Ohio Category:Singers from Cleveland Category:The Valentinos members