Robert Nighthawk
| Robert Lee McCollum | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Lee McCollum |
| Also known as | Robert Lee McCoy Robert Nighthawk |
| Born |
November 30, 1909 Helena, Arkansas, United States |
| Died | November 5, 1967 (aged 57) Helena, Arkansas, United States |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, slide guitar, harmonica |
| Labels | Victor, Bluebird, Decca, , Chess, Delmark, United, States |
| Associated acts | Memphis Jug Band |
Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk. He was the father of the blues musician Sam Carr.
Born in Helena, Arkansas, he left home at an early age to become a busking musician. After a period wandering through southern Mississippi, he settled for a time in Memphis, Tennessee, where he played with local orchestras and musicians, such as the Memphis Jug Band. A particular influence during this period was Houston Stackhouse, from whom he learned to play slide guitar and with whom he performed on the radio in Jackson, Mississippi.
After further travels through Mississippi, he found it advisable to take his mother's name and, as Robert Lee McCoy, moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in the mid-1930s. Local musicians with whom he played included Henry Townsend, Big Joe Williams, and Sonny Boy Williamson. This led to two recording dates in 1937, the four musicians recording together at the Victor Records studio in Aurora, Illinois, as well as recordings under his own name, including "Prowling Night-Hawk" (recorded 5 May 1937), from which he was to take his later pseudonym. These sessions led to Chicago blues careers for the other musicians, though not for McCoy, who continued his rambling life, playing and recording (for Victor/Bluebird Records and Decca Records) solo and with various other musicians, under various names. Kansas City Red was his drummer from the early 1940s to around 1946. He recorded Kansas City Red’s song "The Moon Is Rising".
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