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Robert Daniel Ealey (December 6, 1925 – March 8, 2001) was an American
electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 19 ...
singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
, who performed
Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 190 ...
. Among other releases, he recorded a couple of
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s for
Black Top Records Black Top Records was an American, New Orleans, Louisiana-based independent record label, founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Hand ...
in the 1990s, having earlier formed a duo with
U.P. Wilson Huary Perry "U.P." Wilson (September 4, 1934 – September 22, 2004) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer who performed Texas blues. He recorded five albums for JSP Records, the first being ''Boogie Boy! The Texas Guitar Tornad ...
. Ealey also worked with Tone Sommer,
Mike Buck Mike Buck (born June 17, 1952) is an Austin, Texas-based drummer and co-owner of Antone's Record Shop located in downtown Austin. Career Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Buck began playing drums at the age of 12. By his mid teens, he was ...
, and Mike Morgan. Ealey's best-known work includes "One Love One Kiss" and "Turn Out the Lights". He variously worked with the Boogie Chillun Boys, the Juke Jumpers and the Five Careless Lovers.


Life and career

Ealey was born in
Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census ...
. In his teens he sang in a quartet in his church. Following service in the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Ealey moved to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in 1951, having been singing professionally from the age of 20. In Fort Worth, he formed a
duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland *DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, entertai ...
, the Boogie Chillun Boys, with the guitarist U. P. Wilson. The Boogie Chillun Boys provided inspiration to fellow Texan singer and guitarist
Ray Sharpe Edward Ray Sharpe (born February 8, 1938) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His best-known single was "Linda Lu". Sharpe was described by one record producer as "the greatest white-sounding black dude ever". Background Born in ...
. The Bluebird Club in Fort Worth was Ealey's musical base for more than thirty years. His involvement was such that he co-owned the club from 1977 to 1989. His 1973 live album, ''Live at the New Bluebird Nightclub'', was billed as by Robert Ealey and the Five Careless Lovers, and included contributions from the drummer,
Mike Buck Mike Buck (born June 17, 1952) is an Austin, Texas-based drummer and co-owner of Antone's Record Shop located in downtown Austin. Career Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Buck began playing drums at the age of 12. By his mid teens, he was ...
. It was co-produced by
T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...
. By the 1990s, Ealey and the guitarist Tone Sommer started touring more widely, and their authentic Texas blues found a wider audience in the United States and Europe.
Television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
work also expanded the recognition of Ealey's music. His 1996
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''Turn Out the Lights'', issued by
Black Top Records Black Top Records was an American, New Orleans, Louisiana-based independent record label, founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Hand ...
, saw Ealey work with blues accompanists including Mike Morgan and Sommer on guitar. The 1997 follow-up, ''I Like Music When I Party'', was similarly successful. Ealey died in Fort Worth on March 8, 2001, at the age of 75, of undisclosed causes following an automobile accident the previous December. He was interred with
military honors A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...
at the Dallas–Fort Worth National Cemetery. In 2003, Aristokraft issued the compilation album ''Robert Ealey: Blues That Time Forgot''. Ealey is the subject of the 2020 Joe Nick Patoski book, ''Robert Ealey and His Five Careless Lovers''.


Selected album discography


See also

* List of electric blues musicians *
List of Texas blues musicians Texas Blues is a subgenre of the blues, and of course is not limited to Texas-based musicians. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing music, swing than other blues styles. Texas blues differs from styles ...
* Texas Roadhouse Music


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ealey, Robert 1925 births 2001 deaths American blues singers Songwriters from Texas Electric blues musicians People from Texarkana, Texas Singers from Texas Texas blues musicians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male singers United States Army personnel of World War II African Americans in World War II American male songwriters African-American United States Army personnel 20th-century African-American musicians