A real treat here!
Robert Jr. Lockwood
Born: March 27, 1915 in Turkey Scratch AR
Died: November 21, 2006 in Cleveland OH
Mentored
in the blues by the legendary Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood Jr. was,
well into the new millennium, the most accomplished champion of
Johnson's Delta-born guitar style. Although Lockwood recorded
sporadically throughout his lifetime, and the constant questions about
Johnson often irritated the guitarist, he quietly forged a significant
career than would win him two W.C. Handy Awards, a Grammy™ Award, and induction
into the Blues Hall of Fame. Lockwood would influence a generation of
younger bluesmen, including B.B. King.
Lockwood
was born in 1915 in a rural village known as "Turkey Scratch," west of
Helena, Arkansas, although his birthplace is often credited as Marvell
AR. Not much is known of Lockwood's early life, save that he began
playing the organ in his father's church at 8 years of age. After his
parents were divorced, his mother Esther took up with Delta blues legend
Robert Johnson, who lived with the women, when not on the road performing, for over a decade.
The
young Robert abandoned organ in favor of guitar, and was taught the
rudiments of the instrument by Johnson, who had become the boy's de
facto "stepfather." By the age of 15, Lockwood was performing
professionally around Helena, sometimes with Johnson, but typically with
Sonny Boy Williamson II
(Rice Miller) or Johnny Shines. Throughout the 1930s, Lockwood played
juke joints, fish fries, house parties, and street corners throughout
the Mississippi Delta region, where he was known as "Robert Junior" due
to his relationship with Johnson.
After Johnson's death in 1938, Lockwood began to make a musical
legacy of his own. Lockwood was one of the first bluesmen to begin
playing an electric guitar, and he would expand beyond the country blues
of the Mississippi Delta to include jazzier elements in his sound.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Lockwood would travel between
Helena, Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago. He performed as both a solo act
and as a duo with Williamson, appearing regularly on the harp player's
King Biscuit Time radio program on KFFA radio in Helena. Lockwood also played with Howlin' Wolf in Memphis.
Lockwood
made his first recordings in 1941 for Bluebird Records, traveling to
Aurora, Illinois to record four songs, including "Take A Little Walk
With Me" and "Little Boy Blue,"staples of the guitarist's live shows
for decades. Lockwood continued to perform across the south throughout
the 1940s, finally moving to Chicago in 1950, where he would become a
session player for Chess Records. During the 1950s, Lockwood would
record and perform with a number of the blues biggest stars, including Little Walter, Sunnyland Slim, and Muddy Waters, among many others.
1. King Biscuit Time
2. I'm Just Your Fool
3. Lockwood's Boogie
4. Tell Me What's In Store
5. Hangin' On
6. Ramblin' On My Mind
7. Stop Breakin' Down
8. This Is The Blues
9. Everyday I Have The Blues
10. Mojo Hand
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