Comments on: If you lived the blues, you'd be dead.

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

EarBucket — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:08:51 -0800

Robert Lockwood, Jr. R.I.P.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:13:05 -0800

Lockwood was previously (and thoroughly) posted to the blue here.

By: jckll

jckll — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:13:28 -0800

By: sciurus

sciurus — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:30:13 -0800

He once told me about his childhood: "I never looked up to nobody, but I never looked down on nobody either."

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:39:29 -0800

And he made it to ninety one years of age. Wonderful!

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:43:18 -0800

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. .

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:15:32 -0800

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.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:15:48 -0800

Drag, man. The guy could play and he was a direct link back to the roots. He will be missed.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:19:56 -0800

This free download of Lockwood's "Train My Baby" (128k mp3) was how I was first introduced to his music. (320k mp3 here)

By: briank

briank — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:33:54 -0800

Missed a chance to see him play here in Boston just a few weeks ago. Forever, as it turns out.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:50:42 -0800

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.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:52:19 -0800

Never heard of him. I read the WashingtonPost.com article but it rung no bells. He meant nothing to a lot of people.

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:57:31 -0800

Gandhi, Lincoln, Shakespeare mean nothing to a lot of people. Those people are called idiots.

By: matteo

matteo — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:14:53 -0800

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

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:30:20 -0800

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.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:55:07 -0800

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.

By: rocket88

rocket88 — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:57:34 -0800

A drag indeed, but an opportunity for the interested to discover his music.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:00:47 -0800

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?

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:05:31 -0800

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.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:45:10 -0800

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).

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:54:17 -0800

tellurian: Go back to Australia and take Schwarzenegger with you! That learned 'im.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:06:41 -0800

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.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:36:06 -0800

It is the end of a epoch. Indeed. Thanks for all the great music, Mr. Lockwood. RIP.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:38:29 -0800

♪

By: imperium

imperium — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:49:01 -0800

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. .

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:49:36 -0800

...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.

By: timeistight

timeistight — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:43:41 -0800

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.

By: bitter-girl.com

bitter-girl.com — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:11:33 -0800

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!

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:29:16 -0800

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.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 17:48:14 -0800

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.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 17:54:16 -0800

Give me a minute to check them out. I'm not familiar with any of the titles.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:06:00 -0800

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.

By: the cuban

the cuban — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 03:36:37 -0800

Nice memory to have bitter-girl.com.