"Something Beautiful"

Bobbie Eakes is one of the stars of the hit soap opera "All My Children." She also played Macy on "The Bold and the Beautiful." Her career as an actress has flown high for several years now. But her vocal career has never hit the heights that it should. In all the years I have known Bobbie I have always thought of her as a singer first and an actress second.

The first time I heard Bobbie sing she was a high school junior and was playing "Annie" in the Warner Robins High School "Follies." When she moved center stage to belt out the overdone "Tomorrow" I was filled with dread. But that soon changed. Bobbie managed to make that song an anthem to her hopes and dreams for a better world and gave the notes a richness they had never possessed. I was hooked. From that point on I knew Bobbie Eakes was going to make her mark in the world of music.

Still, as I mentioned, breaks in the acting world came along first. Sure she would sing on the "soaps" from time to time but I wanted the world to know how great her voice is and how delicious is her phrasing and control. . Now they can. Bobbie has a new CD out titled "Something Beautiful" and it is a collection of songs sung in the inimitable Bobbie Eakes style.

There are twelve songs on the CD and each is distinct. Most are presented in a manner you would expect in a jazz bar or an intimate club. Bobbie curls her vocal chords around the words and sends them off with a caress. This is not a little girl singing any more. This is a full grown, husky voiced, sensual song stylist. It is only on "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" that she lets the little girl element creep back in.

On "Best Of Me" and "Something Beautiful" she gives full release to her passion for life and love and makes the songs soar. These are the two best tracks and either one could take off and be a hit single. She could also hit paydirt with "Love Me" on which she channels her hidden Elvis influences.

The CD also contains a DVD of the making of the "Something Beautiful" album. On this DVD you get a chance to see and hear her husband David Steen talking about his wife's unique talents. You also get a chance to go inside the studio and observe the creative and collaborative process behind the album.

Bobbie Eakes is the pride of Middle Georgia. She has taken her acting dreams to LA and New York and has made them come true. Now, finally, she has gone back to her musical roots and brought them up to date. Her voice has a powerful range that she reveals with the nuances of the songs she selected. She is a song stylist and in my book that means she makes each and every one of the songs selected her own.

Please continue to watch Bobbie as she plays "Krystal" on "All My Children," but also take time to enjoy this other facet of her talent. Get the CD "Something Beautiful" and let Bobbie take you away from the cares of the world. You can hear it in her voice that these performances were labors of love. They are definitely "something beautiful."

 

 

 

 

 

©2005 Jackie K. Cooper

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