Robert Lockwood Jr.
Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame
Foster Theatre
Cleveland, Ohio
March 31, 2005
(JoeRay Master Show #13)

Recording: Sony ECM 50 Microphone > Sony DAT Recorder
Location: Right of Center, Row 4

Transfer: DAT Master > Tascam DA-30 > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity > iZotope RX / ozone 5 (mastered) > Peak Pro 6 (post production) > xACT 2.39 > FLAC

01 Sweet Home Chicago
02 Dialogue
03 Queen of Spade
04 Dialogue
05 Steady Rolling Man
06 Dialogue
07 Mistreater Mama (Leroy Carr)
08 Dialogue
09 Take a Walk with Me (Muddy Waters)
10 Dialogue
11 How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone (Leroy Carr)
12 Dialogue1
13 Dust My Broom (Leroy James)
14 Dialogue
15 Black Spider Blues
16 Dialogue
17 She�s Little and She�s Low
18 Dialogue
19 Blind Blake�s Stuff
20 Dialogue
21 Kind Hearted Woman
22 Dialogue
23 This Little Girl of Mine
24 Lockwoood's Boogie
25 Dialogue
26 CC Rider

Known Faults:
-None

Welcome back to the JoeRay Master Series with show #13, this time out we have a very special once in a lifetime release for all you blues aficionados of which I include myself.

A little over a year before he passed, a 90 year old Robert Lockwood Jr was honored at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and put on a special show featuring on stage interviews and a selection of songs in his catalogue and songs that influenced him over his 9 decades.

JoeRay was on hand to capture this special solo performance and Q & A.

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We get a little more flavor of the proceeding directly from JoeRay himself:

Robert Lockwood Jr. (March 27, 1915 � November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio in the mid 1960�s and performed weekly with his local band at Fat Fish Blue in downtown.

Just four days after celebrating his 90th birthday, Robert Lockwood Jr. was interviewed and performed at the Foster Theatre inside Cleveland�s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. I have been a sustaining member since the Cleveland RNR Hall of Fame opened September 2nd, 1995 and I took my mother along to see Robert perform at a sold out standing room only performance. Fortunately, I was able to record this last appearance of Robert Lockwood Jr. at Cleveland�s Rock Hall. Perhaps someday he will be voted in as a member where Robert Johnson was one of it�s first members.

Though performances in the last year of Robert's life are not well documented, we know of at least one more performance at the Beale Street Music Festival on September 2nd, there was nothing like this and this can be considered among his last performances.

Robert Lockwood Jr., the Mississippi Delta bluesman who was taught by Robert Johnson and became a mentor to generations of blues musicians, died at Cleveland�s University Hospital, near where he lived. He was 91. He considered himself Johnson�s stepson, since Johnson had a decade-long romance with his mother. For long stretches of his career, he called himself Robert Jr. Lockwood to acknowledge Johnson�s influencecarrying the music of the Mississippi Delta to other emerging blues scenes.

He performed on the pioneering blues radio show �King Biscuit Time.� He gave B. B. King guitar lessons. He became a studio musician at Chess Records and played on sessions that defined electric Chicago blues and went on to shape rock �n� roll. Although he could play in the old Delta style, he embraced blues from across the United States and drew strongly on the harmonies and phrasing of jazz.

During this interview, Robert was able to discuss his life history and play many of the songs he spent his life recording and performing. He was a living encyclopedia of the history of blues and rock and roll. As Robert Johnson was considered the father of American blues/rock and roll and having written many of the songs that allowed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to get their start, no one was closer to Robert Johnson than Robert Lockwood Jr. This is Rock and Roll history folks and it was recorded live from Cleveland�s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

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As JoeRay mentions this is a special performance with Robert freely sharing his thoughts on growing up as an influencer to countless musicians following in his footsteps...it's all connected.

Thanks to JoeRay for capturing this and many many historic performances over 5 decades, we have some very exciting releases yet to come. We also thank him for all the legwork in keeping the masters flowing.

JoeRay lives in Alaska and has spent the last 6 weeks fishing on the waters of the Kenai River in preparation for the upcoming Winter season, yes there are still areas where you fish for your meals. Godspeed and safety to him and his family, may your catch be bountiful!

Artwork and samples included...

mjk5510 & JoeRay

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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