(Phoenix, Arizona) Drew Verbis interview with Robert Jr. Lockwood:
September 2003: Listen to Interview
(Mar 27, 1915 to Nov 21, 2006)
Robert Lockwood, Jr. is part of the generation that put the Delta and popular American music map. Stepson of the Blues’ most famous star, Robert Johnson, Lockwood cut his first records in the 1930s, and then teamed up with harmonica king Sonny Boy Williamson on the historically famous King Biscuit Show, a daily radio program that blanketed the Delta and introduced a new, electric sound that today is, somewhat paradoxically, called “Chicago blues.” Lockwood went on to play jazz and pop music, but returned to the blues in the 1960s becoming one of the most important and renowned session figures for Chess, Delmark, JOB, and other labels. Lockwood has been nominated for a Grammy Award several times and amassed so many recognitions that it is not possible to list all of them. The most notable are:
1980 W.C. Handy Award for “Best Traditional Blues album”
1989 Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
1995 National Heritage Fellowship Award, by Hillary Clinton
1996 Clevland proclaims Feb. 3, as “Robert Lockwood Day”
1997 Street named “Robert Lockwood, Jr. Way” in Cleveland
1998 Inducted into Delta Blues Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ms
2001 Honorary Doctorate from Case Western Reserve
2001 W.C. Handy for “Best traditional blues album,”
For further information visit: www.robertlockwood.com
All audio files are intended for non-commercial use.
