The Robert Cray Band

electric blues · blues · roots

The Robert Cray Band is the group led by American blues guitarist and singer Robert Cray, who was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1953 and raised largely around Tacoma, Washington. Cray formed his first band, One Way Street, while still in high school and assembled the group that became the Robert Cray Band in Eugene, Oregon; the band dates its working history to 1974. He appeared, uncredited, as a bassist in the house-party band in the 1978 film Animal House. Early records for HighTone, beginning with Bad Influence in 1983, set out a sound that pulls soul, R&B and gospel phrasing into electric blues, and the 1986 Mercury album Strong Persuader broke the band nationally on the strength of the single Smoking Gun, going double platinum and winning a Grammy. Cray shared another Grammy for Showdown!, the 1985 Alligator Records session with Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland, and has won five in all. He recorded with John Lee Hooker on The Healer and Mr. Lucky, sang Playin' With My Friends on B.B. King's 1993 duets album Blues Summit, and has performed with Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Tina Turner and the Rolling Stones; he shared a bill with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the night of Vaughan's final performance in 1990. Later albums include Nothin but Love (2012) and In My Soul (2014) for Provogue, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm (2017), cut with the Memphis players behind the Hi Records catalog, and That's What I Heard (2020); Steve Jordan has produced the band's recent work. Cray was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk in 2005 and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011, and received the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance in 2017. The touring band is Cray on guitar and vocals with Richard Cousins on bass, Dover Weinberg on keyboards and Les Falconer on drums.

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