How about something from the world of current music? One of the old school Southern Soul warriors who is still cookin', Mr. Roy Roberts.
"Roy
Roberts became hooked on music while growing up in a small town in Tennessee,
listening to blues and R&B on radio stations WLAC out of Nashville.
Jimmy Reed’s “Baby
What You Want Me to Do” was the clincher and at the age of 14,
Roy worked on a nearby farm to earn the money for his first guitar,
a mail order Sears Silvertone.
When he turned 18, he moved to Greensboro, North Carolina to
live with an uncle. There he had another inspiration to become
a professional musician, when he and a carload of friends happened
upon a nightclub where Jerry Butler was performing and making
quite an impression on the ladies. Roy sharpened his skills
while playing in makeshift bands until he landed a job with
local hero Guitar Kimbers’ Untouchables.
Before long, Roy was backing up major artists who came through town. One of those
artists, Solomon Burke, took young Roy under his wing after letting him sit in
as a bass player during a local gig. He was soon handling the guitar chores behind
the future soul legend on tour. Roberts subsequently picked up touring gigs with
such luminaries as Eddie Floyd, “Little” Stevie Wonder, Dee Clark,
and Otis Redding, while fronting his own band, The Roy Roberts Experience,
on the regional club scene and Southeastern beach town circuit.
Roy began to cut records in the mid-sixties, staying mostly
behind the scenes as a session man. The tragic death of Otis
Redding inspired him to step up to the microphone with a
song dedicated to the late crooner. The record was released
on Nina Simone’s NinaAndy label and backed by an ace studio band. Roy followed
this successful effort with a string of 45’s that carried him well into
the seventies. During the disco years, Roy turned his talents to country music,
touring with the great O.B. McClinton and releasing a number of country records.
After a brief hiatus from the music scene, Roy built a recording studio in
Virginia in 1989, where he produced records by regional gospel artists and
cut a gospel record of his own.
One day in the early nineties, he heard a young Robert Cray
singing the blues on the radio. “That cat’s got my style,” he
declared, and got the blues fever once again. Besides recording
his own material on Rock House, Roberts has produced albums
for the label by Priscilla Price, Lou Pride, Chick Willis,
Skeeter Brandon, Floyd Miles, Eddie Floyd, and many more.
Roy continues to record and produce records for his label,
and tours the U.S. and Europe regularly. After receiving
numerous awards, Roy has earned his place among the finest
artists playing blues today." From the
RR website,
Being that Roy is a living working artist I encourage everyone to visit his site and buy something, I'm about to; the site is a pretty good model on personal marketing, it looks to me to be fairly certain that your money is actually going to the artist!
