Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Crayis an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, and had an acclaimed solo career...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBlues Singer
Date of Birth1 August 1953
CityColumbus, GA
CountryUnited States of America
behind fun learning recording song takes trying
The idea behind that was trying to get that spontaneity that comes with learning the song for the first time, ... Over-rehearsing kind of takes the fun out of recording it makes it 'perfect,' but lifeless.
jobs love-life trying
Blues for me is having things not go your way - life, love, job, money, ... It is not about the oppression of my ancestors, who were trying to get back at the overseers. Blues is different for my generation.
again band decided guitar high joined lessons moved played soul teach time took
Everyone started getting guitars, me included, ... I took guitar lessons for a year, but decided to teach myself the rest. We moved again in 1966, this time to Virginia, where I joined my first band in high school. We played soul and rock. 'Purple Haze' and Jimi Hendrix.
blues bottom character growth hair start wore
Curtis wore prescription Ray-Ban sunglasses, and he had a little growth of hair under his bottom lip. Right then, Belushi got the idea to start the Blues Brothers, basing his character on Curtis.
asked came lady playing
I was playing at the Eugene Hotel, and after the show this lady came up to me and asked if I wanted to play in a film, ... I thought she was kidding.
awards continue game gotta name sit stay stuff work
I gotta stay in the business! I gotta keep working! I mean, all of those awards and all that stuff is just something you put on your wall, man. The name of the game is to continue working. That's what it's all about. We're a working band. We can't just sit around and think, "Well, I don't have to work anymore".
man position sat wanting
My idea when I sat down to write it was to put myself in the position of a young man wanting to do the right thing,
basically record steady throughout
It's going slow, but it's a steady slow, ... That's basically what's going on throughout the record business.
associated country holding music rhythm robert
I try not to put it in a box, ... Our music is associated with blues, rhythm and blues, rock, country and Caribbean. Everyone is writing. No one is holding back. It's Robert Cray music.
came far screenplay song video wife wrote
We did a video for the song "No One Special" on the CD, which my wife wrote the screenplay and directed. We haven't thought about it. We had an old one on VHS that came out a while back. As far as a new one, we aren't doing that right now.
base came canada coming great home original seattle states
We were coming back into the States from Canada when that all went down. I didn't come up with the idea. The idea came from the promoters. I said, "Yeah, let's do it." Seattle was the right place for that. That was the original home base for me, so we had a great turnout.
album based bruce came credit deserves divorced gets great lawyers life lines married miserable music older relationships remember senses sing songs stories strong sue three walker wife wrote
Yes, I sing songs about relationships on the edge, relationships of all kinds, but remember I did not write them all, ... They are not all based on my experiences. Years ago, I wrote with Dennis Walker and Bruce Bromberg, who were 10 years older and divorced two or three times. They had great senses of humor, which is where lines like 'a boatload of lawyers just sank' came from. It is their stories on Strong Persuader, my breakthrough album from 1986. Sneaking out the window, 'Porch Light,' they are not my songs or lines. So, my life is not as miserable as some of the music makes it out to be. My wife Sue and I have been married for 15 years. She's an actor, but Sue gets the credit she deserves on some of my songs.
british played run san stop
We played a lot in Eugene, we played in Portland, we'd stop in Corvallis, ... We were doing that run from Vancouver, British Columbia, down to San Francisco.
american-musician
A lot of bands would be aching to be in the position we are.