If you lived the blues, you'd be dead.

November 28, 2006 5:08 AM

Robert Lockwood, Jr.R.I.P.
posted by EarBucket (32 comments total)

Lockwood was previously (and thoroughly) posted to the blue here.
posted by EarBucket at 5:13 AM on November 28, 2006

.
posted by jckll at 5:13 AM on November 28, 2006

He once told me about his childhood: "I never looked up to nobody, but I never looked down on nobody either."
posted by sciurus at 5:30 AM on November 28, 2006

And he made it to ninety one years of age. Wonderful!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:39 AM on November 28, 2006

I don't know blues artists, but that obit was worth reading for its own merits. He sounds he was someone I'd have liked.

.
posted by Goofyy at 5:43 AM on November 28, 2006

It is the end of a epoch. Robert Jr. Lockwood's first 78, I'm Gonna Train My Baby/Mean Black Spider, Bluebird B-8877 was released on July 30, 1941. Robert Jr. Lockwood and Henry Townsend--who died earlier this year--were the last living bluesmen who recorded what 78 collectors call pre-war blues.and that song was not released until well after the war. David Honeyboy Edwards recorded Worried Life Blues for Alan Lomax in 1942 and that was not for a commercial label but rather the Library of Congress. His first commercial recording was in 1951.

There might be a jazz, gospel or hillbilly artist who had a 78 released before World War II but, to the best of my knowledge, no more blues artists.

Robert Jr. Lockwood - Mean Black Spider

Robert Jr. Lockwood - Take A Little Walk With Me

An interview from 1999:

...I lost my wife 2 years ago. We were married for 39 years. We were together 10 years before that. She was pretty stable. She was one of the greatest. She knew what she wanted.

A happily married blues singer in his time. That is a rare thing in itself.
posted by y2karl at 6:15 AM on November 28, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Drag, man. The guy could play and he was a direct link back to the roots. He will be missed.
posted by jonmc at 6:15 AM on November 28, 2006

This free download of Lockwood's "Train My Baby" (128k mp3) was how I was first introduced to his music. (320k mp3 here)
posted by pmbuko at 6:19 AM on November 28, 2006

Missed a chance to see him play here in Boston just a few weeks ago. Forever, as it turns out.
posted by briank at 6:33 AM on November 28, 2006

Err...

David Honeyboy Edwards recorded Worried Life Blues for Alan Lomax in 1942 and that was not for a commercial label but rather the Library of Congress and that song was not released until well after the war. His first commercial recording was in 1951.

That is how it should have read above. So much for my cutting and pasting skills.
posted by y2karl at 6:50 AM on November 28, 2006

Never heard of him. I read the WashingtonPost.com article but it rung no bells. He meant nothing to a lot of people.
posted by tellurian at 6:52 AM on November 28, 2006

Gandhi, Lincoln, Shakespeare mean nothing to a lot of people. Those people are called idiots.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:57 AM on November 28, 2006

well, maybe not idiots, but it's obvious that bragging about one's own ignorance -- or one's crude taste, which is probably even worse -- is kind of sad
posted by matteo at 7:14 AM on November 28, 2006

well, maybe not idiots, but it's obvious that bragging about one's own ignorance -- or one's crude taste, which is probably even worse --

bragging about ignorance is stupid and sad, sure. Taste, however, is a matter of taste. Whatever moves you is what moves you.
posted by jonmc at 7:30 AM on November 28, 2006

I read the WashingtonPost.com article but it rung no bells.

From the Washington Post obituary:

He learned at age 11 directly from the itinerant blues singer Robert Johnson...

His 1950s recordings as the guitarist for Little Walter and the Jukes created an entirely new sound, bridging the gap between country blues and urban jump blues...

If, for nothing else, the names Robert Johnson and Little Walter ring no bells, well, the phrase cultural illiteracy comes to mind.
posted by y2karl at 7:55 AM on November 28, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

A drag indeed, but an opportunity for the interested to discover his music.
posted by rocket88 at 7:57 AM on November 28, 2006

Gandhi, Lincoln (no, I know little) and Shakespeare - no problem, Robert Lockwood, I haven't heard of. This does not make me an idiot. Are you comparing Robert Lockwood with these luminaries? I said that the Washington Post article 'rung no bells'. Educate me, I'm open.
On Preview: Wow! bragging about one's own ignorance or crude taste. How can I continue to contribute?
posted by tellurian at 8:00 AM on November 28, 2006

Tellurian - I was reacting to something you said at the time of the man's death. I thought it was a bit rude - as though you were dismissing him as a nobody. I was a bit rude myself.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:05 AM on November 28, 2006

You're cool dances_with_sneetches. I am never intentionally rude and I certainly never meant to dismiss anybody as a nobody - far from it. I do find it upsetting that y2karl says If, for nothing else, the names Robert Johnson and Little Walter ring no bells, well, the phrase cultural illiteracy comes to mind.
Well, fuck that… (cultural illiteracy, my arse). Your cultural experience is not mine. No doubt in a head to head you'd beat me hands down in a refereed bout but take me on in my special subject and I reckon I could almost get a (possible) draw (how does States and Capitals of Australia grab you).
posted by tellurian at 8:45 AM on November 28, 2006

tellurian:
Go back to Australia and take Schwarzenegger with you!

That learned 'im.
posted by Mister_A at 8:54 AM on November 28, 2006

As to the matter at hand, it's a shame that this kind of blues is disappearing from the earth. Those early days can not be re-created. On the plus side, seems like every year or two someone unearths a treasure trove of ancient recordings.
posted by Mister_A at 9:06 AM on November 28, 2006

It is the end of a epoch.

Indeed. Thanks for all the great music, Mr. Lockwood. RIP.
posted by trip and a half at 9:36 AM on November 28, 2006

♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:38 AM on November 28, 2006

Wow, I'm gutted to realise I missed an opportunity to hear someone who played with Robert Johnson.

I can understand having never heard of RJ or the others mentioned here, despite the mainstream success of the film Crossroads. But making a fuss about not having heard of them, that's pure assholery.

.
posted by imperium at 9:49 AM on November 28, 2006

...but take me on in my special subject and I reckon I could almost get a (possible) draw (how does States and Capitals of Australia grab you).

How does what any average person anywhere should know grab you ? Even if you had not heard of Lockwood a few bells should have been rung. Not having heard of Lockwood I can understand but Robert Johnson ?You have heard his songs, I can guarantee you this. Any English speaking--or otherwise--person who claims even a passing acquaintance with the history of popular music in the 20th Century should know who Robert Johnson was, no matter where they live. His name is part of the common world wide culture. So much ink has been spilled in so many languages over the name of Robert Johnson that I'll bet that more Australians--like these, for example--than not would be as stunned at the breadth of your ignorance.
posted by y2karl at 9:49 AM on November 28, 2006

He meant nothing to a lot of people.

Well, he meant a lot to me. Those records he made with Fred Below and Willie Dixon defined a style of rootsy yet sophisticated blues playing that you still hear played worldwide.
posted by timeistight at 10:43 AM on November 28, 2006

My dad played with him a number of times over the years, from big festivals and small clubs... to everything in between. This was a really depressing weekend for him and his friends. He loved Robert.

Personally, my favorite memory was seeing him shopping at Unique (a huge, somewhat thrift-whiff-y thrift store here in Cleveland), calling my parents to say "guess who I saw at Unique today?" -- and then my mom said something like "Oh, so THAT'S where he gets those suits..."

If I remember correctly, he also once told my father that he played good for a white boy. Talk about high praise!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 11:11 AM on November 28, 2006

How does what any average person anywhere should know grab you ?
I'll bet that more Australians--like these, for example--than not would be as stunned at the breadth of your ignorance.
Thank you for that assessment y2karl - I'm less than average and ignorant (add ignorance of the existence of Nugrape Records to the list).
I vehemently disagree with you (and a straw poll of work colleagues and friends confirms it for me). Your guarantee is worthless.
posted by tellurian at 3:29 PM on November 28, 2006

Your guarantee is worthless.

Oh ?

What I said was You have heard his songs, I can guarantee you this.

Here are a few selections from the very incomplete Robert Johnson page at the Covers Project:

They're Red Hot covered by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ramblin' on My Mind covered by Eric Clapton
Love in Vain covered by The Rolling Stones
Come on in My Kitchen covered by Cat Power
Me and the Devil Blues covered by Cowboy Junkies
Steady Rollin' Man covered by Eric Clapton

Have you never heard any of those songs ? Are all the other Robert Johnson titles at the Covers Project page totally unfamiliar to you ? It's quite possible, I suppose, but you would just about have had grown up without a radio or television.
posted by y2karl at 5:48 PM on November 28, 2006

Give me a minute to check them out. I'm not familiar with any of the titles.
posted by tellurian at 5:54 PM on November 28, 2006

They're Red Hot - No
Ramblin' on My Mind - No
Love in Vain - Yes
Come on in My Kitchen - No
Me and the Devil Blues - No preview on Amazon
Steady Rollin' Man - No
Okay, your guarantee is good.
posted by tellurian at 6:06 PM on November 28, 2006

Nice memory to have bitter-girl.com.
posted by the cuban at 3:36 AM on November 29, 2006