Thursday, January 01, 2009

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Robert Jr. Lockwood

Artist:Robert Jr. Lockwood f/Johnny Shines
Song:Razzmadazz
Album:Just The Blues




Before his death in 2006 at age 91, Robert Jr. Lockwood was the final living link to the immortal Robert Johnson. Lockwood was his stepson and is yet another bluesman to toil in obscurity for years until he was rediscovered as a senior. He was born Mar. 27, 1915 in Marvel, AR. When his mom became romantically involved with Johnson, Lockwood learned to play guitar from the best. After Johnson's death in 1938, Lockwood took up the electric guitar and like a lot of bluesmen migrated to Chicago. He worked frequently with Sonny Boy Williamson and though he recorded occasionally, he settled into session work at Chess Records. Lockwood and his wife moved to Cleveland in 1961 and though he was busy playing weekly gigs, he didn't record much until later. This Bullseye Blues comp Just The Blues contains music from two albums Lockwood recorded in the early 80s with Johnny Shines for Rounder Records. Of course it's a natural partnership because Shines toured with Robert Johnson. Lockwood also recorded for Verve & Telarc. In 2004, Lockwood appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Blues Festival in Dallas and participated in a live recording called Last Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen. The resulting album won a 2007 Grammy. A fitting tribute to Robert Jr. Lockwood who died Nov. 21, 2006 at age 91. Here's Robert Jr. Lockwood performing on the Cleveland TV show Vidmac in 1986.

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