He once numbered Joplin and Hendrix among his close friends, and his mentor, Sam Cooke, was shot dead at 33, so the revered soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack, who died on Friday, did well to reach 70.

During a tough Cleveland childhood, his father had advised that the only way out of the ghetto was music. Bobby and his brother, Curtis, listened, though fame did not bring an easy life.

The pain of domestic strife, drugs and the loss of children were all reflected in Womack's lyrics and in his voice – nowhere more than on his acclaimed 2012 album, The Bravest Man in the Universe.

The title of his 1964 hit for the Rolling Stones was It's All Over Now, but it is not the end for this epic musician. Womack remembered Cooke urging him to hand over the song to the band, saying: "One day you'll be part of history: this group is gonna be huge."

But when your songbook also includes soul classics such as Across 110th Street and Woman's Gotta Have It, you are already quite a big part of history.