Great Barrington — Besides Eric Clapton, who kept blues music alive in the 1980s? Stevie Ray Vaughan immediately comes to mind, B.B. King was still going strong, and Bonnie Raitt certainly did her part. Who are we leaving out? (Hint: Fender named a guitar after him.) It is five-time GRAMMY winner and Blues Hall of Famer Robert Cray, who will appear with his band at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Saturday, March 4, at 8 p.m.
In truth, Robert Cray did more than help to keep blues music alive through the 1980s. He actually re-energized it—but not by playing straight blues. He stretched the boundaries of blues the way Bonnie Raitt did: by finding great songs and performing them so stylishly and with such polish that he could have put his guitar away and made as many hit records as ever. And many of the songs he found were his own.
But Cray’s smooth, R&B styled vocals also have been key to his ability to get blues music onto the “Billboard 200” charts. Producer Steve Jordan once said of Cray, “People gravitate to his guitar playing first, but I think he’s one of the best singers I’ve heard in my life.”
Jordan is not alone in making that assessment. In fact, it’s probably Cray’s singing—a really comfortable meeting of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, and Rock ‘n’ Roll—as much as his guitar stylings, that have made his records sufficiently radio-friendly for the Billboard charts.
You can judge Robert Cray pretty fairly by the company he keeps, which comprises a who’s-who of legendary bluesmen. He has written and performed with Eric Clapton. His band backed up John Lee Hooker on “Same Old Blues Again” and B.B. King on “Playin’ With My Friends.” He played with Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in 1990.
Three decades ago, Cray was already deemed sufficiently legendary to play at the “Guitar Legends” concerts in Seville, Spain at the 1992 Expo. A decade later, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and, six years after that, earned the Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has shared stages with Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Tina Turner, and the Rolling Stones.
Cray plays a Fender Stratocaster guitar. It’s the least he can do, since the company named two of their Strat models after him (see image below). Not always, but at times, his phrasing and vibrato might remind you of B.B. King. In fact, Cray’s playing proves that King would have sounded exactly like himself even without Lucille, his famous Gibson ES-355 guitar(s). That’s because King’s signature tone came from his own hands, and so does Robert Cray’s. Whether they actually sound alike or not, here’s what is safe to say about the two: Robert Cray has been touched by the same magic that touched B.B. King.
But he’s also been touched by the same magic that touched Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Marvin Gaye. In fact, he’s been compared to most every R&B and Soul singer you can name—even Sinatra and Nat King Cole.
So, which is it? Cray, the bluesman? Or Cray, the best Soul stylist since Sam Cooke? Which one is responsible for the hit records and GRAMMY awards?
Both. But his singing and guitar playing are only two parts of an equation that includes great songs and one more thing: a tight band that plays smart, clean arrangements in the studio and on stage. Cray goes way back with all the members of his current touring band (bassist Richard Cousins worked with Cray in the early 1970s), and their onstage rapport shows it.
Hear the Robert Cray Band at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Saturday, March 4, at 8 p.m. Full seating available. Face masks are requested for all attendees while inside the theater. Tickets here.
