“Barbeque Blues” - Barbeque Bob (1927)
Barbeque Bob (born Robert Hicks on September 11, 1902 in Walnut Grove, Georgia) was fairly unique in the world of 1920’s Blues. As stated he hailed from the state of Georgia whereas most of the early bluesmen were from the Delta areas (Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, ect.). Also Barbeque Bob played a 12 string guitar while most other bluesmen played 6 string guitars. The only other popular blues musician with whom he shared these traits was Blind Willie McTell who was also from Georgia and also played a 12 string guitar.
Strangely enough even though Barbeque Bob was from Georgia and performed mostly around the Atlanta area his approach to playing the guitar owed nothing to the “Georgia Style”. In fact his association with other Atlanta bluesmen seemed to be limited only to his use of a 12 string guitar, an instrument which gained more popularity in the Atlanta area than anywhere else. Another way in which Barbecue Bob distanced himself from other Georgia artists was in his guitar playing style. He played in a hard and percussive manner which had more in common with Mississippi bluesmen like Charlie Patton (although no one played harder than Charlie Patton) than his Georgian contemporiaries.
Barbeque Bob earned his nickname from his job at Tidwell’s Barbecue in the Buckhead section of Atlanta. While he worked there came to the attention of Columbia Records talent scout Dan Hornsby. Hornsby recorded him and decided to use his job as a gimmick, having him pose in chef’s whites and hat for publicity photos and dubbing him “Barbeque Bob”.
Though Barbeque Bob’s recording career was cut short when he died of a combination of tuberculosis and pneumonia brought on by influenza on October 21, 1931 he has proven to have been a significant influence on the blues artists who came after him. Eric Clapton later recorded Barbecue Bob’s “Motherless Chile Blues” on his “From The Cradle” album in 1994. Barbeque Bob was 29 at the age of his death.
“Barbeque Blues” was recorded at Barbeque Bob’s first recording session for Columbia Records on March 25, 1927.
