Blues icon. Soul man. Rock and roller. Robert Cray is all these things &ndash\; and more.
\n\nThe Georgia born\, Washington-raised musician first picked up a guitar after seeing The Beatles on TV then\, \; having witnessed Jimi Hendrix perform in Seattle\, determined that his destiny would also follow a \; similar path. And so he has: across the past half century Robert Cray&rsquo\;s developed into one of \; American music&rsquo\;s most singular artists. \; \;
\n\n&ldquo\;I guess you&rsquo\;d have to say that we were lucky\,&rdquo\; reflects Cray on his life in music\, &ldquo\;because\, growing \; up in the 1960s\, the different music played on the radio really opened us up. I mean\, we even had \; Albert Collins play our high School graduation party.&rdquo\; \;
\n\nFrom forming a teenage garage band\, through to striding the stage alongside several of the world&rsquo\;s \; greatest guitarists\, Robert Cray&rsquo\;s story is one of struggle and commitment. Struggle and \; commitment that led to Cray enjoying phenomenal success &ndash\; selling millions of albums and \; countless concert tickets\, winning five Grammy Awards\, being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame\, \; recipient of the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award\, designing two signature model \; Fender guitars &ndash\; yet for Robert what&rsquo\;s always mattered most is the music. Every note he plays \; counts\, every song he sings is delivered as if it is his last: integrity and intensity are what has guided \; Cray&rsquo\;s musical career. He has never cheapened his output or delivered a substandard performance. \; Indeed\, his commitment to making music of the highest standard has won Cray both a loyal \; audience and the respect of many of popular music&rsquo\;s most legendary figures. \;
\n\nThink about it: Robert Cray has shared stage and/or studio with the likes of John Lee Hooker\, \; Muddy Waters\, B.B. King\, Buddy Guy\, Chuck Berry\, Albert Collins\, The Rolling Stones\, Eric \; Clapton\, Tina Turner\, Stevie Ray Vaughan\, the Memphis Horns and Hi Rhythm Section. Cray&rsquo\;s \; stinging guitar playing and soulful voice\, his skills as a band leader and performer\, mark him as \; keeper of the flame for American roots music\, an artist who never fails to deliver. \; \;
\n\n&ldquo\;We were so lucky just be able to see them\,&rdquo\; says Cray of trading guitar licks on stage with legends \; of blues\, rock and soul\, &ldquo\;let alone share the stage with them &ndash\; what an experience!&rdquo\; \;
\n\nCray&rsquo\;s rise to the top was\, like his music\, a slow burn\, he first building a following in small towns \; across the Pacific Northwest. Even before Cray had a record deal he enjoyed local hero status &ndash\; so \; much so in 1978 he was cast (as a musician) in Animal House\, the blockbuster comedy that made \; John Belushi famous. 1978 was also the year Cray recorded his debut album\, Who&rsquo\;s Been Talkin&rsquo\;\, \; although Tomato Records&rsquo\; internal problems held up Talkin&rsquo\;s release until 1980. And then\, just as Talkin&rsquo\; was winning great reviews\, Tomato collapsed into bankruptcy. Got the blues? Young Robert \; certainly could have claimed he had them. But Cray isn&rsquo\;t given to complaining\, instead he \; persevered\, committed then\, as he is now\, to taking his music to the people. \;
\n\nAfter Tomato\, Cray and his band &ndash\; today consisting of Richard Cousins (bass guitar &ndash\; there since \; high school days)\, Dover Weinberg (keyboards) and Les Falconer (drums) &ndash\; used the momentum \; the album gave them to play further afield. By now Cray was buddies with a young guitarist from \; Texas: Stevie Ray Vaughan. \; \;
\n\n&ldquo\;We played in 1979 at the San Francisco Blues Festival\,&rdquo\; recalls Cray\, &ldquo\;and I watched Stevie&rsquo\;s \; show and he&rsquo\;s just smoking. Afterwards Richard and I went up and chatted with him and we just hit \; it off. Stevie was great &ndash\; if we were in Austin he&rsquo\;d always come and join us on stage.&rdquo\; \; \;
\n\nSigning to Hightone\, Cray&rsquo\;s 1983 album Bad Influence established him internationally: he was \; invited to play Carnegie Hall\, toured Europe\, later finding Eric Clapton recording Bad Influence&rsquo\;s
\n\ntitle track. 1985 saw Cray&rsquo\;s False Accusations album increase his standing as the foremost singer of \; blues noir songs\, while that year&rsquo\;s Showdown! &ndash\; a sizzling collaboration with guitarists&rsquo\; Albert \; Collins and Johnny Copeland &ndash\; won Robert huge acclaim from blues musicians and fans: the new \; guy&rsquo\;s the real deal! Signing to Mercury Records\, Cray&rsquo\;s 1986 album Strong Persuader ensured he \; became the first blues/soul musician to breakthrough in the MTV era. \; \;
\n\nStrong Persuader won Cray rave reviews from pop and rock critics\, topped charts worldwide\, saw \; Cray grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and winning the Grammy for Best Contemporary \; Blues Recording in 1988. Strong Persuader\, with its songs of infidelity\, guilt and unease\, while not \; in any sense conventional Top 40 music\, proved so strong an album it broke through barriers\, sold \; millions of copies and would prove extremely influential (2026 being the 40th anniversary.) Cray&rsquo\;s \; \;
\n\nbreakthrough allowed both young and older blues and soul musicians to gain wide attention and \; radio play: John Lee Hooker&rsquo\;s career resurrection came soon after with The Healer\, and Robert \; plays on that seminal album. \;
\n\n&ldquo\;It was great to be able to travel around the world\,&rdquo\; says Cray of Strong Persuader&rsquo\;s success. &ldquo\;It \; afforded us a lot of great opportunities that we were lucky to experience.&rdquo\; \;
\n\nCray&rsquo\;s being modest here: suddenly he found himself the hottest guitarist working &ndash\; Tina Turner \; invited Robert to support her huge European tour (every night\, after playing with his band\, Cray \; would join Tina on stage to play A Change Is Gonna Come)\, then Keith Richards called\, requesting \; Cray join the band backing Chuck Berry for Taylor Hackford&rsquo\;s celebratory feature length \; documentary Hail Hail Rock &lsquo\;N&rsquo\; Roll. Here Cray not only got to play with the mercurial Berry \; (+Linda Ronstadt and Etta James\, amongst many notable artists)\, he also formed a friendship with \; Steve Jordan\, then drummer for the project and Richards&rsquo\; solo band. \; \;
\n\nNow internationally famous\, Cray found himself in intense demand: he toured with The Stones and \; played with B.B King\, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton. Headlining in noted music festivals &ndash\; these \; included Glastonbury in the UK and Crossroads Guitar Festival in the US &ndash\; and kept developing his \; sound over a selection of strong albums across the 1990s. Cray&rsquo\;s songwriting has addressed ageing\, \; love\, loneliness\, domestic turmoil and US politics. \;
\n\nAs an artist Robert Cray&rsquo\;s aged like fine wine &ndash\; his voice has developed a greater range and \; expressiveness\, this he&rsquo\;s put to use on masterful interpretations of such Southern soul standards as I \; Forgot To Be Your Lover (William Bell)\, Your Good Thing Is About To End (Mable John) and \; Nobody&rsquo\;s Fault But Mine (Otis Redding). At the same time\, Cray&rsquo\;s guitar playing now possesses an \; additional depth\, a growl that can hint at a caress then signal emotional upheaval. \; \;
\n\nHis recent run of albums &ndash\; 2014&rsquo\;s In My Soul\, 2017&rsquo\;s Robert Cray &\; Hi Rhythm and 2020&rsquo\;s \; masterful That&rsquo\;s What I Heard (all produced by Steve Jordan: now the Stones&rsquo\; drummer) &ndash\; are \; amongst the very finest he&rsquo\;s made. Every song here is deeply felt\, whether an agonised song of loss\, \; an angry protest number\, or a dance tune that gets audiences pumping (My Baby Likes To Boogaloo \; is great funky fun). \; \;
\n\nAcross five decades Robert Cray has created a richly inclusive American music\, revitalising both \; blues and soul while rocking hard with the very best. To achieve 50 years in the music industry and \; still be as fresh and committed as when starting out is an achievement few can boast of but Cray \; can: he has released 19 studio albums\, every one replete with his extremely distinctive songs\, won \; five Grammy Awards and continues to make music that sounds like no one but Robert Cray. &ldquo\;All \; these years we have been fortunate to do what we love doing\, playing the music we love playing\,&rdquo\; \; says Cray with a smile. &ldquo\;I couldn&rsquo\;t ask for anything more.
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