Searching For Your Love: An Introduction to the Music of R.B. Hudmon

Written by Keir Etchison

Born in 1954 in West Point, Georgia, soul singer Robert B (R.B.) Hudmon first emerged in the music industry as a child star, recording his first studio session in 1967 at the age of 13 for Columbus, GA record label Tomahawk. From this session, the two songs “Send Your Boy” and “I’m a Roller” were released together on a 45 RPM single later that year, catching the attention of the Atlanta-based music promoter Bill Lowery, who brought Hudmon to Atlanta and introduced him to songwriter Joe South. By 1968, Lowery had managed to secure a deal with major label A&M Records to release a follow-up single to Hudmon’s debut, resulting in the songs “Yo Yo” and “Naughty Claudie,” both written, produced, and arranged by South, with vocals provided by Hudmon.

Picture: Portrait of a young R.B. Hudmon. Photographer unknown.

Neither of these tracks seem to have received any substantial airplay, and the singer’s next two singles were released on Atlanta record labels with limited distribution. 1971 saw the release of his second major label recording, a single for Capitol Records, which once again seems to have slipped under the radar and was the final release of this early period of his career.

Video: “I’m a Roller,” the B-side of R.B. Hudmon’s first single.

In 1974, R.B. Hudmon returned to the studio after a three-year hiatus for a session that would mark a substantial turning point for his career; the high-pitched voice heard on his early recordings has now matured into a rich, earthy baritone, and there is a tangible sense of newfound confidence and excitement that flows through his performances. These recordings, a Hudmon original entitled “How Can I Be a Witness?” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” was released on the Tomahawk label, where he had gotten his start seven years earlier. The A side, “How Can I be a Witness?” is excellent; a striking and nearly psychedelic take on the Southern Soul sound, with Hudmon’s "Tranquility Movement Band” providing a minimal accompaniment of drums and a fuzzy, distorted organ. Columbus radio stations picked up the song, and it gradually became a regional hit; word spread to Atlantic records, and the label signed Hudmon in 1975. He recorded three singles for the label, with the first of these being a rerecording of “How Can I be a Witness?” with a lush new arrangement including backing vocalists and horns. This new recording was his commercial breakthrough, peaking at #73 on Billboard’s R&B charts, and two subsequent singles he recorded for Atlantic and their sub label Cotillion, “This Could be the Night,” and “Cause You’re Mine Now,” fared even better, charting at #42, and #47, respectively.

Video: 1975 rerecording of “How Can I Be a Witness?”

Hudmon’s contract with Atlantic records culminated in the 1978 album Closer to You, released on Atlantic’s subsidiary Cotillion, which was the label’s specialty line for funk, soul, and disco music starting in the mid-late 1970s. The album was his first and only full-length release and is more or less a compilation of the best cuts from his Atlantic/Cotillion singles with a handful of new songs included. Closer to You features several artists associated with the highly influential label Stax Records, including, among others, the prolific session musicians Ben Cauley and Lester Snell, who oversaw arranging the backing instrumentation, vocalist Frederick Knight, and songwriter Bettye Crutcher, who wrote/co-wrote some of the strongest cuts on the album. At its finest moments, the album is an exceptional example of the pop soul sound of the era, elevated by the immaculate arrangements and Hudmon’s vocal talents; it makes one wonder how his music failed to reach a far wider audience.

Video: TV performance of “This Could be the Night” from Closer to You

Following the release of Closer to You, Hudmon departed Atlantic and did not record again for five years, returning in 1983 with the release of the 12” single “Searching for Your Love” for the independent Atlanta label Nite-Life; it is a fantastic post-disco funk groove that spanning 7 and a half minutes. In recent years, this single has garnered a legendary status amongst record collectors, becoming possibly the most remembered and sought-after release in Hudmon’s discography, with original copies fetching hundreds of dollars when they occasionally pop up for sale. Hudmon released another handful of singles over the years that followed for locally operated record labels, including two for a label that he founded for his music called “R & B Records.” A 1989 single for Gold Key, a soul label run out of Decatur seems to have been his last release before his death at the age of 41 on August 25, 1995.

Video: R.B. Hudmon’s “Searching for Your Love”

Despite their importance within the history of Columbus’s musical landscape, neither R.B. Hudmon, nor the prolific local label Tomahawk that he recorded with several times, seem to have been acknowledged in any official capacity by the city at this time. Browsing through the catalogs of local labels from the era such as Tomahawk reveal that Columbus in the 1960s and 70s was home to many excellent soul, funk, and gospel artists that have been all but forgotten, and this aspect of the city’s history has been largely lost to time; even R.B. Hudmon, who experienced an uncommon level of success in the music industry, has not had his legacy well preserved. Further compounding this issue is that, as of writing, only one of Hudmon’s releases, his 1983 single for Nite-Life, has been released on streaming platforms, creating a lack of accessibility that poses as an issue for spreading the word about his music. His 1978 album Closer to You did, however, see its first issue in 46 years in the form of a 2024 CD reissue put out by Cotillion, hopefully there will be a streaming release in the near future. ◼️