He played his regular three sets two days before the illness which led to his death. From the 1970s through the 2000s, he performed regularly with his band the All Stars at numerous local venues, including Pirate's Cove, the Euclid Tavern, Peabody's, Wilbert's, Brother's Lounge, and, in the last years of his career, Fat Fish Blue (on the corner of Prospect and Ontario in downtown Cleveland) every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and Combo, he had a regular gig at Loving's Grill, at 8426 Hough Avenue. In 1960, Lockwood moved with Williamson to Cleveland, Ohio, where he resided for the second half of his life. Lockwood also performed or recorded with Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Boyd, Roosevelt Sykes, J. In the late 1950s he recorded several sessions with Sonny Boy Williamson for Chess Records, sessions which also included Willie Dixon and Otis Spann. He played on Walter's number 1 hit "My Babe" in 1955. In 1954 he replaced Louis Myers as the guitarist in Little Walter's band. A 1951 78-rpm single featured "I'm Gonna Dig Myself a Hole" backed with "Dust My Broom" (Mercury 8260), and a 1954 release contained "Aw Aw (Baby)" backed with "Sweet Woman (from Maine)" (J.O.B 1107). King and played in King's band early in King's career in Memphis. From about 1944 to 1949 Lockwood played in West Memphis, Arkansas St. For several years in the early 1940s the pair played together in and around Helena and continued to be associated with King Biscuit Time. In 1941, Lockwood and Williamson began their influential performances on the daily radio program King Biscuit Time on KFFA in Helena. These songs remained in his repertoire throughout his career. On July 30 he recorded four songs, which were released as the first two 78-rpm singles under his own name: "Little Boy Blue" backed with "Take a Little Walk with Me" (Bluebird B-8820) and "I'm Gonna Train My Baby" backed with "Black Spider Blues" (Bluebird B-8877). On July 1, 1941, Lockwood made his first recordings, with Doctor Clayton, for the Bluebird label in Aurora, Illinois. From 1939 to 1940 he split his time playing in St. He also played with Howlin' Wolf and others in Memphis, Tennessee, around 1938. Lockwood played with Williamson in the Clarksdale area in 19. On one occasion he played on one side of the Sunflower River while Johnson played on the other, with the people of Clarksdale, Mississippi, milling about the bridge, reportedly unable to tell which guitarist was the real Robert Johnson.Īround 1937–1938 Lockwood worked with Williamson and Elmore James in the Delta, at places like Winona, Greenwood, and Greenville (where they most probably met Johnson, who died in 1938). Lockwood played at fish fries, in juke joints, and on street corners throughout the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s. He often played with his quasi-stepfather Robert Johnson and with Sonny Boy Williamson II and Johnny Shines. Because of his personal and professional association with Johnson, he became known as "Robert Junior" Lockwood, a nickname by which he was known among musicians for the rest of his life, although he later frequently professed his dislike for this appellation.īy age 15, Lockwood was playing professionally at parties in the Helena area. Lockwood learned from Johnson not only how to play guitar but also timing and stage presence. His parents divorced, and later the famous bluesman Robert Johnson lived with Lockwood's mother for 10 years off and on. He started playing the organ in his father's church at the age of eight. Lockwood was born in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, a hamlet west of Helena. Lockwood is known for his longtime collaboration with Sonny Boy Williamson II and for his work in the mid-1950s with Little Walter. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. (Ma– November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s.
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