Robert Cray Interview

By Ron Wynn

Robert Cray’s tight, no-frills guitar playing and soulful lead vocals helped make him a giant in contemporary blues circles in the ‘80s and ‘90s. A five-time Grammy winner, Cray recently celebrated having done more than 1,000 live shows and also released Twenty (Sanctuary), which is actually his 14th album. But the lead song, an evocative story about a young man who loses his life in Iraq after joining the military in the wake of 9/11, is among his finest and most topical pieces ever. In town recently for a show at the Cannery, Cray spoke in advance of that show about his career, musical choices and experiences.

Q: How does it feel today to recognized among the key performers in helping keep blues and soul music in the forefront?
A: It’s kind of strange but rewarding when people come up at shows and say that their parents once brought them to see me, and now they’re bringing their children. Things aren’t quite as hot as they were in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, but they’re still quite steady. I am very happy that we’ve been able to maintain some sort of presence and that we’re still doing the kind
of music that we want.

Q: Some people link you with other artists like Corey Harris or Blood Ulmer in that you’re not necessarily a traditional blues musician, but instead you’ve expanded the vocabulary and opportunities for blues acts.
A: It’s funny, because I’ve never called myself a blues artist. I enjoy all kinds of music, though the blues is certainly very important and an important part of what we do. But if you really listen to my albums over the years, you’ll hear all types of things that get worked into the mix. On Twenty, we get into some soul, a little reggae and some rock in addition to the blues. As far being compared to some of those other guys, what Corey has done, and Blood Ulmer, or Kenny Neal or any of the people that I’m often associated with, in my view each one of us is doing something quite different. We’ve often talked when we meet about getting together and doing some sort of joint project, but it hasn’t happened as yet.

Q: You’ve been fortunate enough over the years to have recorded and/or toured with many of the idiom’s finest players, including some who sadly aren’t with us any more. Can you see yourself still out on the road performing when you turn 80, the way B.B. King is doing?
A: Well I’ve seen him out on the road, and he’s unbelievable. Just when you think that he’s running out of steam, he’ll kick it up some more and blow your ears off. He’s amazing. So were people like Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland and John Lee Hooker. They set the standards for what people like myself are trying to do so high that we’re always challenged to come close to what they did. I don’t know about that far down the road, but I know that as long as we’re still enjoying the music, we’ll keep playing and touring?

Q: In the early days, a lot of the songs used to have either multiple credits or almost be like group vehicles. Do your band members still contribute to the songwriting process?
A: Well, most of what’s on Twenty are songs that I wrote primarily, but everyone in the band still has a lot of input in what we do. There are times when we might be doing something and either the drummer or keyboardist might suggest making a change in the melody, or maybe adding a word in a line, or switching up the transitions. I feel that’s it still a collaborative venture, but maybe not quite as much as in the beginning.

Q; Everyone certainly has dreams and aspirations when they start out, but you’ve achieved a level of identification and enjoyed commercial success that is unreal by the standards of soul and blues players in today’s environment. Did you have any idea at the start that you’d ever win Grammy awards or enjoy hit albums.
A: Actually, in the beginning the main thing I was worried about was whether we’d get the door they promised us (laughs). No, we were just interested in getting together and playing the music that we loved in front of an audience. When it started getting crazy in the ‘80s, we didn’t take that seriously, and we’re not worried today about whether we’ll ever get back to that level. I do think that Twenty ranks right up there with the best records that we’ve ever made, and that’s the most important thing for me, along with people continuing to come to our shows and support what we do.

(A different version of this story originally ran in the Nashville City Paper)

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