Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Early life

Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, while his father was stationed at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

. Cray's musical beginnings go back to when he was a student at Denbigh High School in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. While there, he played in his first band, The One-Way Street. His family eventually settled in the

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, area. There, he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington.

Career

By the age of 20, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins,

Freddie King Freddie King (born Fred Christian; September 3, 1934December 28, 1976), also billed as Freddy King, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King a ...

and

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

in concert and decided to form his own band; they began playing college towns on the West Coast. In the late 1970s he lived in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, where he formed the Robert Cray Band and collaborated with Curtis Salgado in the Cray-Hawks. In the 1978 film '' National Lampoon's Animal House'', Cray was the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights.

1980s

Cray released the album '' Who's Been Talkin''' on Tomato Records in 1980. Two albums on HighTone Records in the mid-1980s, '' Bad Influence'' and ''

False Accusations ''False Accusations'' is the third studio album by the Robert Cray Band, released 1985. In the same year, Cray won the Blues Music Award, W.C. Handy Award for best male artist of 1985. Critical reception ''The Boston Globe'' listed the album am ...

'', were moderately successful in the United States and in Europe, where he was building a reputation as a live artist. In 1985, he released the album '' Showdown!'' with his hero Albert Collins and

Johnny Copeland John Clyde Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. In 1983, he was named Blues Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He is the father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland. In 2017, ...

. Cray was signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and in 1986 released his fourth album, '' Strong Persuader'', produced by Dennis Walker, which received a

, while the crossover single " Smoking Gun" gave him wider appeal and name recognition. Under the pseudonym "Night Train Clemons", he recorded with Ted Hawkins in 1986. He was invited by Keith Richards to join the backing band for

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

in the 1987 film, ''Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll'', directed by

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to dire ...

. In 1987,

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

invited Cray to be part of her '' Break Every Rule'' television special. By the late 1980s, Cray was an opening act for such major stars as

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and sold out larger venues as a solo artist. Cray has generally played Fender guitars ( Telecasters and Stratocasters) and there are two signature Robert Cray Stratocasters models available from Fender. The Robert Cray Custom Shop Stratocaster is made in the U.S. in the Fender custom shop and is identical to the guitars that Cray currently plays, while the Robert Cray Standard Stratocaster is a less-expensive model made in Fender's Ensenada,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

plant.

1990s

Cray had the opportunity to play alongside John Lee Hooker on his album ''Boom Boom'', playing the guitar solo in the song "Same Old Blues Again". He is also featured on the Hooker album, '' The Healer''; he plays a guitar solo on the song "Baby Lee". The entire Robert Cray Band backs Hooker on the title track of his 1992 album '' Mr. Lucky'', where Cray plays lead guitar, sings, and banters with Hooker throughout the song. The band also appears on two songs on B.B. King's 1993 duet album '' Blues Summit'': the duet between King and Cray, which was written by Cray and Dennis Walker specifically for the project and called "Playin' With My Friends", and the duet between King and John Lee Hooker (" You Shook Me"). In August 1990, Cray played with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, performing " Sweet Home Chicago". This was Stevie Ray Vaughan's final performance before he died in a helicopter accident later that night. Cray was invited to play at the "Guitar Legends" concerts in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, Spain at the 1992 Expo, where he played a signature track, "Phone Booth". Albert Collins was also on the bill on this blues night of the "Legends" gigs.

2000–present

In 2005, Cray was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk at Guitar Center. Cray continues to record and tour. He appeared at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and supported Eric Clapton on his 2006-2007 world tour. In 2011, Cray was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame and received the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance in 2017. After controversy with Eric Clapton about lyrics of the song " Stand and Deliver" by

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

, Cray canceled his participation in Clapton's 2022 Europe tour.

Robert Cray Band

Current Members: *Robert Cray – lead/rhythm guitar, vocals *Richard Cousins – bass guitar * George Sluppick – drums *Dover Weinberg – keyboards Past Members: *Peter Boe – keyboards * Al Chez – trumpet *Terence F. Clark – drums *Les Falconer – drums *Kevin Hayes – drums (1989–2008) * Wayne Jackson – trumpet *Tim Kaihatsu – rhythm guitar * Andrew Love – saxophone * Ed Manion – saxophone *Rocky Manzanares – harp *Tom Murphy – drums *David Olson – drums *

Mark Pender Mark "The Loveman" Pender (born August 21, 1957, in Kansas City, Missouri) is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on '' Late Night with Conan O' ...

– trumpet *Jimmy Pugh – keyboards *Warren Rand – alto saxophone * Curtis Salgado – harp *Karl Sevareid – bass *David Stewart – keyboards *Mike Vannice – saxophone

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Who's Been Talkin''' (1980) * '' Bad Influence'' (1983) * ''

'' (1985) * '' Strong Persuader'' (1986) * '' Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (1988) * '' Midnight Stroll'' (1990) * '' I Was Warned'' (1992) * '' Shame + A Sin'' (1993) * '' Some Rainy Morning'' (1995) * '' Sweet Potato Pie'' (1997) * '' Take Your Shoes Off'' (1999) * '' Shoulda Been Home'' (2001) * '' Time Will Tell'' (2003) * '' Twenty'' (2005) * '' This Time'' (2009) * '' Nothin but Love'' (2012) * '' In My Soul'' (2014) * '' Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm'' (2017) * '' That's What I Heard'' (2020)

References

External links

* Robert Crayat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cray, Robert 1953 births Living people Contemporary blues musicians Electric blues musicians Soul-blues musicians American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Grammy Award winners Musicians from Columbus, Georgia Musicians from Eugene, Oregon Songwriters from Oregon Singers from Oregon Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from Oregon 20th-century American guitarists Mercury Records artists Vanguard Records artists African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American male songwriters Provogue Records artists African-American history of Oregon