Robert William Cray was born on August 1, 1953. He is an American blues guitarist and singer who has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards.

Early life

Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was working at Fort Benning. He started his music journey while he was a student at Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia. There, he played in his first band called The One-Way Street. Later, his family moved to the Tacoma, Washington area, where he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington.

Career

By the time he was 20 years old, Cray had seen his musical heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King, and Muddy Waters perform live. He decided to start his own band and began playing in college towns on the West Coast. In the late 1970s, he lived in Eugene, Oregon, where he formed the Robert Cray Band and worked with Curtis Salgado in a group called the Cray-Hawks. In the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House, Cray played bass guitar for the house party band Otis Day and the Knights without being credited.

In 1980, Cray released an album called Who's Been Talkin' on Tomato Records. In the mid-1980s, he made two albums, Bad Influence and False Accusations, for HighTone Records. These albums were successful in the United States and Europe, where Cray gained recognition as a skilled live performer. In 1985, he released an album called Showdown! with his hero Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.

Cray signed with Mercury Records and released his fourth album, Strong Persuader, in 1986. The album was produced by Dennis Walker and won a Grammy Award. A song called "Smoking Gun" from the album helped Cray gain more fans and become more well-known. In 1986, he recorded music under the name "Night Train Clemons" with Ted Hawkins. In 1987, he joined the backing band for Chuck Berry in the film Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll, directed by Taylor Hackford. That same year, Tina Turner invited Cray to appear on her television special Break Every Rule.

By the late 1980s, Cray was performing as an opening act for famous musicians like Eric Clapton. He also filled larger venues as a solo artist. Cray usually plays Fender guitars, including Telecasters and Stratocasters. Fender makes two special Stratocaster models in his name: the Robert Cray Custom Shop Stratocaster, which is made in the United States, and the Robert Cray Standard Stratocaster, which is made in Mexico.

Cray played guitar on John Lee Hooker’s album Boom Boom, performing the solo in the song "Same Old Blues Again." He also played on Hooker’s album The Healer, contributing a solo to the song "Baby Lee." Cray and his band supported Hooker on the title track of Hooker’s 1992 album Mr. Lucky, where Cray played lead guitar, sang, and talked with Hooker during the song. Cray and his band also appeared on two songs from B.B. King’s 1993 album Blues Summit: a duet between King and Cray called "Playin' With My Friends," which Cray and Dennis Walker wrote for the project, and a duet between King and John Lee Hooker called "You Shook Me."

In August 1990, Cray performed with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. They played the song "Sweet Home Chicago," which was Stevie Ray Vaughan’s final performance before he died in a helicopter accident later that night.

In 1992, Cray performed at the "Guitar Legends" concerts in Seville, Spain, during the 1992 Expo. He played a song called "Phone Booth," which was one of his signature tracks. Albert Collins also performed at the event.

In 2005, Cray was honored with a spot on Hollywood’s RockWalk at Guitar Center. He continues to record music and perform live. He appeared at the Crossroads Guitar Festival and supported Eric Clapton on his 2006–2007 world tour.

In 2011, Cray was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2017, he received the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance. After a disagreement with Eric Clapton about the lyrics of Van Morrison’s song "Stand and Deliver," Cray stopped participating in Clapton’s 2022 Europe tour.

Robert Cray Band

• Robert Cray – lead/rhythm guitar, vocals
• Richard Cousins – bass guitar
• Les Falconer – drums
• Dover Weinberg – keyboards

• Peter Boe – keyboards
• Al Chez – trumpet
• Terence F. Clark – drums
• George Sluppick – drums
• Kevin Hayes – drums (1989–2008)
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet
• Tim Kaihatsu – rhythm guitar
• Andrew Love – saxophone
• Ed Manion – saxophone
• Rocky Manzanares – harp
• Tom Murphy – drums
• David Olson – drums
• Mark Pender – trumpet
• Jimmy Pugh – keyboards
• Warren Rand – alto saxophone
• Curtis Salgado – harp
• Karl Sevareid – bass
• David Stewart – keyboards
• Mike Vannice – saxophone / think

Discography

• Who's Been Talking (1980)
• Bad Influence (1983)
• False Accusations (1985)
• Strong Persuader (1986)
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1988)
• Midnight Stroll (1990)
• I Was Warned (1992)
• Shame and A Sin (1993)
• Some Rainy Morning (1995)
• Sweet Potato Pie (1997)
• Take Your Shoes Off (1999)
• Should Have Been Home (2001)
• Time Will Tell (2003)
• Twenty (2005)
• This Time (2009)
• Nothing but Love (2012)
• In My Soul (2014)
• Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm (2017)
• That Is What I Heard (2020)