Robert Cray
| Robert Cray | |
|---|---|
Robert Cray in concert, 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert William Cray |
| Also known as | Night Train Clemons |
| Born |
August 1, 1953 Columbus, Georgia, USA |
| Genres | Blues, Blues Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Mercury, Vanguard, Nozzle |
| Associated acts | Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan |
| Website | robertcray |
| Notable instruments | |
Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, and had an acclaimed solo career.
Robert William Cray was born on August 1, 1953 in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at Fort Benning.
His musical beginnings go back to when he was a student at Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia. While there, he played in his first band, The One-Way Street. His family eventually settled in the Tacoma, Washington area. There, he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington.
By the age of twenty, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King and Muddy Waters in concert and decided to form his own band; they began playing college towns on the West Coast. In the late 1970s he lived in Eugene, Oregon, where he formed the Robert Cray Band and collaborated with Curtis Salgado in the Cray-Hawks. In the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House, Cray was the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights.
After several years of regional success, Cray was signed to Mercury Records in 1982. Two albums on HighTone Records in the mid-1980s, Bad Influence and False Accusations, were moderately successful in the United States and in Europe, where he was building a reputation as a live artist. His fourth album release, Strong Persuader, produced by Dennis Walker, received a Grammy Award, while the crossover single "Smokin' Gun" gave him wider appeal and name recognition. Under the pseudonym "Night Train Clemons", he recorded with Ted Hawkins in 1986. He was invited by Keith Richards to join the backing band for Chuck Berry in the 1987 film, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll, directed by Taylor Hackford.
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