In 2012, R&B legend Bobby Womack faced – and overcame – a battle with colon cancer and life-threatening bouts of pneumonia. So it now comes as even more of a blow that Womack has now been diagnosed with early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, which he recently revealed to BBC.

“The doctor said you have signs of Alzheimer’s,” Womack told BBC 6 Music. “He said it’s not bad yet but it’s going to get worse. How can I not remember songs that I wrote? That’s frustrating.”

Womack sang such ’70s hits “Lookin’ For A Love,” and “That’s the Way I Feel About Cha,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. That marked something of a revival in interest in his music: In 2010, he sang on “Stylo,” a single from animated act Gorillaz, which is led by Damon Albarn of ’90s Britpop band Blur. Albarn and Womack went on to produce the singer’s first album in 10+ years, 2012′s appropriately-titled The Bravest Man In The Universe.

“The most embarrassing thing was when we were getting ready to announce Damon and I can’t remember his last name,” Womack said of his worsening condition. “That’s so embarrassing.”

- Jillian Mapes, CBS Local