Bluesman Bland Proves His Voice Is Anything But : Pop music: Mass acceptance has eluded this unassuming man, but his influence is far-flung. He brings his Southern-fried vocals to the Galaxy Concert Theatre.

Quietly, humbly, Bobby (Blue) Bland plies his trade. Almost single-handedly, he is the torchbearer for a great American tradition in R&B; music that has been all but lost amid the modern-day emphasis on style over substance.

His influence has far exceeded his record sales, a point validated by his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And at age 65, Bland, who performs tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana, remains in full possession of his gifts as an R&B; singer.

Bland’s smoky, Southern-fried pipes brought the world such classic songs as “Farther Up the Road,” “Turn On Your Love Light,” “I Pity the Fool,” “I’ll Take Care of You” and “That’s the Way Love Is.”

Nevertheless, the kind of mainstream recognition accorded such contemporaries as B.B. King and Etta James has eluded this reserved, unassuming man.

It may just be that the public has forgotten how to connect with a singer who comes on stage without a guitar or any flashy stage moves.

“It’s basically just instruments now; that’s what’s getting the attention,” Bland said in a recent phone interview from a San Diego hotel room. “It’s not like it was when I first came out, when the vocal was what was selling.

“I came up on Nat King Cole, Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Joe Turner,” he said. “It’s just not important like it was back in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. I don’t know why. I guess that’s just the trend and people are accepting it. I don’t know what brought it on, but I know I can feel it.”

Bland’s first single, “It’s My Life Baby,” was released in 1956. During the late ‘50s through the mid-’70s, he piled up a string of 25 Top 10 hits on the R&B; charts, although even back then he failed to dent the pop charts.

Meanwhile, artists from Otis Redding to Tom Jones borrowed freely from Bland’s vocal template, becoming major stars in the process. But Bland never transcended the so-called “chitlin circuit,” even as critics and fellow artists sang his praises.

Bland is a warm, engaging vocalist, capable of belting out an up-tempo soul screamer, but truly excelling at deeply personal blues balladry.

“I like to tell stories,” Bland said. “Everybody has a problem at one time or another, everyday things like disappointment, losing your girl. Most of the stuff I sing about is stuff I’ve been through.”

Bland also is known for his enchanting stage presence and for his ability to seduce an audience with his charm and sincerity.

“That’s God’s gift, or whatever,” he said. “It’s just like being an actor. You have to put yourself in a particular mood when you go out there. There’s certain shows where you can control the flow of a crowd, kind of put them in the palm of your hand.”

Bland enjoyed perhaps his widest recognition for a pair of albums he recorded with B.B. King in the early ‘70s. Subsequent efforts by record companies to paint him in a commercial light with artistically embarrassing disco albums were disastrous. Barry White he definitely was not.

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Bland signed in 1985 with the Mississippi-based indie label Malaco Records, and has since produced seven superb albums, the most recent of which was “Years of Tears,” in 1993.

Working with fine material by Malaco’s in-house songwriters and backed by some of the South’s best studio musicians, his output on Malaco has been of the highest quality. Still, the Malaco albums remain most popular with older, more tradition-minded R&B; and blues fans, who always have constituted the core of his audience.

Bland continues to tour internationally roughly 35 weeks a year. He’s not bitter but does seem dismayed that he doesn’t see any young singers continuing the style of singing that has been his forte for nearly 40 years.

“There’s no one out there with the potential that I know of, sad to say,” he sighed. “There’s no one out there to identify with the Negro heritage, our black background or what have you. But the blues has always been a struggle, since Day One.”

* Bobby (Blue) Bland, Fry Sum Blues and Howlin’ Mercy play tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $19.50. (714) 957-0600.