Bobby "Blue" Bland died 83-year

Bobby "Blue" Bland, the blues and soul singer whose most memorable songs included Further On Up the Road and Turn On Your Love Light, has died.

The 83-year-old died on Sunday at home in Memphis, Tennessee, surrounded by his relatives, after complications from an ongoing illness, his son Rodd said.Known as "the Sinatra of the blues", Bland was influenced by Nat King Cole's smooth vocals and lavish arrangements.

The singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

The hall of fame described him as "second in stature only to BB King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene". "He brought a certain level of class to the blues genre,'' said Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell, son of veteran musician and producer Willie Mitchell, who worked with stars including Al Green.

The singer, who at one stage in his life worked as BB King's valet and chauffeur, was born in Rosemark, Tennessee, before moving as a teenager to nearby Memphis. There, he was a founding member of the Beale Streeters, a loose-knit blues outfit that also included BB King and Johnny Ace.

Hall of Fame

He recorded in the early 50s with Sam Phillips, who also discovered Elvis Presley, at Sun Records - but it was not until several years later, following a stint in the army, that Bland found success. His first number one in the R&B charts was Further On Up The Road in 1957, followed by I'll Take Care Of You in 1960 and a string of other R&B hits including Turn On Your Love Light in 1961.

B.B. King (right) presented Bland with his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award In the same year he recorded I Pity the Fool, which was later picked up by singers including David Bowie and Eric Clapton, who also made Further On Up the Road part of his repertoire. (Fram Martins).