Another R.I.P

this time for Robert Lockwood Jr.

Bit late on this one, he died last Tuesday, but I only heard late yesterday, aged 91.

Lockwood was one of the last links to the great delta blues age, with the legendary Robert Johnston being a surrogate step-father to him, though only four years older.

He linked the Johnson era with the post war urban Chicago blues era, when becoming a session man for Chess playing alongside the greats like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Spann and Little Walter.

But one of his biggest contributions was as a tutor and mentor to B.B. King, who heard Lockwood on the “King Biscuit Times” radio show broadcast from Helena, Arkansas near Lockwood’s birthplace of Turkey Scratch and became a regular listener. Lockwood advised youngster King that adding a horn section to his band would help mask King’s imperfect tempo.

Robert Lockwood Jr. had come back to prominence lately with the release of a number of acclaimed, WC Handy award winning & Grammy nominated, albums.

There’s no too many blues legends left.