Barbecue Bob

Barbecue Bob was the name distributed by Columbia Information skill scout Dan Hornsby to Atlanta blues vocalist Robert Hicks. Hicks is normally widely credited being the vocalist who a lot more than any helped to popularize Atlanta blues in its formative period. Blessed to a family group of sharecroppers in Walnut Grove, GA, Robert Hicks and his sibling, Charley “Lincoln” Hicks relocated with these to Newton State. There the Hicks brothers emerged in touch with Savannah “Drop” Weaver and her boy, Curley Weaver. Using the Weavers, the Hicks young boys learned to try out acoustic guitar and sing. Another regional child, Eddie Mapp, found its way to the region around 1922 and started to play harmonica with Robert and Charley Hicks and Curley Weaver. For quite some time in the first to mid-’20s, this group, or some group produced from this nucleus of music artists, would play celebrations and dances throughout Atlanta and the encompassing place. Robert Hicks was the to begin this group to “use”; by 1926, Hicks was operating at Tidwell’s Barbecue Put in place the affluent Atlanta suburb of Buckhead. Hicks would make for, serve, and sing for the customers. Robert Hicks demonstrated a local feeling, and somehow fascinated the see of Columbia’s Dan Hornsby. Hornsby produced publicity photos of Hicks in chef’s whites and devised the moniker Barbecue Bob to put up Hicks’ 1st Columbia record, “Barbecue Blues,” documented in Atlanta on March 25, 1927. It demonstrated a strong vendor, and Hicks journeyed to NY to create its follow-up, “Mississippi Large Drinking water Blues,” furthermore to seven additional game titles on June 15 and 16. Lightning struck double, and Columbia recognized they had popular designer in Barbecue Bob. More than the next 3 years the Columbia remote control truck halted in Atlanta on several occasions primarily to create information with Hicks, and completely he produced 62 edges for Columbia. Just six of the were declined, one title becoming remade and three others having since been discovered and released. Robert Hicks was became a member of by his sibling Charley on four of the sides; one set documented on November 9, 1927 (“IT WILL NOT Be Long Today, Pts. 1-2”) was released as by Barbecue Bob and Laughing Charley. This extremely influential coupling is undoubtedly a vintage and is among the most regularly anthologized blues recordings through the 1920s. Robert Hicks also participated within a pseudonymous program for QRS in Dec, 1930 released as with the Georgia Natural cotton Pickers. This program also leading to records being released concerning Hicks’ longtime close friends Curley Weaver, Eddie Mapp, and perhaps a young friend, Pal Moss. Hicks got already finished his last program as Barbecue Bob for Columbia for the fifth of this month. Previously that 12 months his wife experienced passed away of pneumonia, and significantly less than a 12 months later on Hicks himself succumbed to the same disease, due to a bout with influenza. He was just 29. Robert Hicks performed a 12-string Stella acoustic guitar on his recordings, however in person he was just like more likely to play a six-string. He also produced some usage of bottleneck methods. Hicks was a consummate stylist of old material, and added textbook variations of such blues requirements as “Poor Boy an extended Ways from your home,” “Fo’ Day time Creep,” and “Goin’ Up the united states.” Eric Clapton offers adopted Hicks’ edition of “Motherless Chile Blues.” Hicks’ impact extends to the complete of early Atlanta blues, and he’s regarded as second, if not really similar, to Blind Willie McTell in this respect.