Influential R&B singer Bobby Womack dies aged 70

He spoke of kicking his substance abuse problems in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press and all the friends he had lost to drugs over the years.

"I think the biggest move for me was to get away from the drug scene," Womack said.

"It wasn't easy. It was hard because everybody I knew did drugs...They didn't know when to turn it off. So for me looking at Wilson Pickett, close friends of mine, Sly Stone, Jim Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and I can go on and on and on, and I say all of them died because of drugs."

Close friend Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood was among the musicians he influenced to pay tribute this morning.

Wood tweeted: “"I'm so sad to hear about my friend Bobby Womack - the man who could make you cry when he sang has brought tears to my eyes with his passing."

He added: "My heart goes out to his family & friends and everyone who loved his music. Bobby you will be greatly missed xx"

Gospel singer Candi Staton knew Womack since they were children and she toured with him.

"He had a style that nobody else could ever capture," she said in a statement. "I loved him and I will miss him so, so very much."

Additional reporting Press Associaiton.