"As far as I’m concerned he’s a role model for many of the young people today because he’s a clean living young man. He’s a great musician and to me he’s a great human being. He has that something that many of us wish we had. He has humility but he knows what he does and he does it well. And like I said he’s just a beautiful person. I love the guy, he’s like a son to me."

- B.B. King 10/24/97 when asked about Robert Cray

By Bill Harriman

For a bluesman Robert Cray really is a unique individual.

For one thing he’s rich and famous. He’s also looks younger than his age. He has a whole bunch of Grammy Awards too. I guess the only other bluesman who fits this description is B.B.. When Robert Cray showed up at the Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den lounge for a free show back on November 2nd it was as if the entire blues community turned out. Hey why not? This is Robert Cray we’re talking about. The strong persuader himself. The only living member of the "Showdown" dream team.

Robert Cray was once again touring to promote another successful record, the soon to be Grammy nominated "Sweet Potato Pie." I only make this prediction because every one of Cray’s records in the last eleven years has been nominated. Believe me this one will be no exception. "Sweet Potato Pie" is arguably his best work since "Strong Persuader."

Cray, who is from the bay area, usually does all his recordings out there. However his new disc was recorded in its entirety in Memphis. I spoke with Robert Cray by phone a few days before the Mohegan Sun concert and he spoke about his reasons for doing this. "We went there for a couple of different reasons," he said. "First was we found out we were going to be using horns for this record and if we were going to have horns then it had to be the Memphis Horns. (Wayne Jackson & Andrew Love) Also we just wanted to get out of the bay area and Memphis was a spot where we could accomplish both these things. But also Memphis does play a big part in my life. You know Memphis is a place that sits right across from the Mississippi delta where all that great music migrated to. Some of it going off to other places but most of it staying right there. It’s the whole vibe with Stax Music and Hi Records, Elvis, Sun Studios, all the Barbeque joints."

"Sweet Potato Pie" is a southern style R&B record that captures the gritty, raw sound of the Memphis soul music of the 60’s and 70’s. Nine of the ten songs are originals with the exception being an Otis Redding song called "Trick Or Treat." "That song, I don’t think it was ever issued," said Robert. "It was recorded but never released and I found the song when I was going through some CD’s. I was looking for a cover and it was just a funky groove and so we decided to do it."

There are two songs on the disc written by Cray’s longtime keyboardist Jim Pugh. They are "The One In The Middle" and "Jealous Minds." Drummer Kevin Hayes gets half the credit for writing "Jealous Minds." Said Cray, "Hey, I encourage the guys to write as much as possible!"

With the recent death of Johnny Copeland, it was inevitable that our talk would turn to the making of the now historic "Showdown" album. Not only is "Showdown" the biggest selling record the Alligator label ever had, it is also widely regarded as the finest blues record of the eighties. It teamed Cray and Copeland with Albert Collins. Throw in Johnny B. Gayden on bass and Casey Jones on drums and the result was a blues masterpiece.

"When we did the ‘Showdown’ record I hadn’t seen Albert in a long time," Cray remembered. "He’d been on the road doing his thing. And I didn’t know Johnny Copeland, I had never met him before. Of course Albert knew Johnny from his days back in Houston so it was a nice reacquaintance for Albert and Johnny and the same for Albert and myself. So the whole thing turned into a fun time. I mean we had fun kidding around all the time and I think that it came through on the record."

It was less than a year later that Cray’s breakthrough record "Strong Persuader" was released. It just may be the biggest selling blues record ever. Even now, eleven years later, it was still in the top ten for blues sales charts in 1997. Cray has been on top ever since. He’s toured the world over and has played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Tina Turner, Jimmy Vaughan, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. In 1995 his band went to Europe to open up a series of shows for the Rolling Stones. Cray was asked about it. "That was real cool," he said. "It was good for the fact that we got a really warm response. That’s unusual, I think when you open up for the Stones, so I liked that. We did seven shows, played in front of lots of people and that’s what we wanted to get out of that."

Robert Cray was born on August 1st 1953 in Columbus, Georgia. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington but he moved around a lot because of his father’s job in the military. "I was 12 when I got a guitar," he said. "I wanted a guitar because everyone was playing guitar when the Beatles came out. I was in my first band two years later. Back then we played, some soul and some psychedelic. By the time I was getting out of high school was when I started getting into the blues."

Cray’s style is instantly recognizable. He’s just so polished and so smooth. He brings elegance to the blues. He had the Wolf Den’s audience with him the second he hit his guitar. He opened with a new song called "Nothing Against You" and continued with a mix of old and new tunes such as "I Can’t Quit," "The Things You Do To Me," "Little Bird," "Stay Or Go," and "Smoking Gun." He encored with "Strong Persuader," "One More Time," and "I Was Warned."

As we all know it’s B.B. King who is the blues ambassador to the world. Someday B.B. won’t be with us anymore and this unofficial title will pass to Robert Cray. What other blues musician plays to more people? When asked if he was happy with where his career is at Cray replied, "I’ve always wanted to play music and I’m playing the music I love. I get to travel and I’m making a living out of it."