The Robert Cray Band
Robert Cray has been one of the most popular and influential blues musicians since his debut album Who’s Been Talkin’ in 1980. The frontman is so influential in his genre that he’s won five Grammy Awards and Fender has two signature Robert Cray Stratocaster guitars made in his honor.
Robert Cray came from humble beginnings as a son in a military family at Fort Benning in Columbus GA before moving to Newport News VA where he first picked up a guitar. Inspired by the likes of Muddy Waters & Freddie King, he formed the Robert Cray Band and started their musical journey to success in the blues genre.
Songs by Robert Cray
The most well-known song produced by the Robert Cray Band is “Smoking Gun” that was released as a single. This tune, which has a keen focus on infidelity, propelled the group up to No. 2 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts while becoming iconic in ushering in the contemporary blues era.
Capitalizing off of the momentum of “Smoking Gun”, Robert Cray went on to create one of the more famous blues albums of the time titled Stronger Persuader that first hit shelves in 1986. This record features “Smoking Gun” as the opening track, along with a number of the band’s most popular songs including:
- “I Guess I Showed Her”
- “Right Next Door (Because of Me)”
- “Nothin’ But a Woman”
Robert Cray’s follow up album Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was released two years later to critical and audience acclaim. The song “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” wound up being the group’s second-highest charting single, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, while “Acting This Way” also cracked the top 25 on said chart.
Going into the 1990s, the group released the albums Midnight Stroll and I Was Warned before 1993’s Shame + A Sin that gave the world two more Robert Cray songs of note: “Leave Well Enough Alone” and “I Shiver.” Other records produced by the band over the last 20 years include (but aren’t limited to):
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Take Your Shoes Off
- Nothin But Love
- In My Soul
- That’s What I Heard
Robert Cray Tour
When you go see The Robert Cray Band on tour, you’ll be listening to 40 years of history that showcases a mix of modern blues with bridges to soul and R&B. Over all of the years that they’ve been together, the group has been performing on stage.
You may even hear work that Robert Cray has collaborated on in the past with famed musical acts like Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, INXS and Wet Wet Wet. Each concert the group performs is a unique experience that can only be seen and heard to be believed.