Can someone not born in Cleveland become known as someone from Cleveland? For Robert Lockwood Jr, that was absolutely the case. Born in 1915 in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, Lockwood eventually moved to Cleveland in 1960, where he would be known as Bob. By that time, while he had already become a famous and celebrated bluesman, known primarily for performing the delta style blues, Lockwood adopted Cleveland as his home in the second half of his life, and Cleveland adopted Lockwood as a native son.
Robert Lockwood was a prolific Black blues musician who was taught guitar by Robert Johnson, one of the most influential figures in blues history. Lockwood would build on his early training in traditional blues to create a unique jazz-tinted style of his own, which garnered him accolades from serious blues guitarists over his nearly 70-year career as a performer.1
Lockwood began playing professionally at the age of 15 and eventually toured throughout the U.S., from various places in Mississippi to other blues capitals such as Memphis, St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago. At each place, Lockwood enhanced his style of playing and continued to influence blues music in a variety of ways. He also played with the blues giants of the day including Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Muddy Waters.
In 1960, Lockwood moved to Cleveland where he continued his storied musical career. In the early 1960s he had a regular gig at Loving’s Grill, at 8426 Hough Avenue. 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, Flipside Tavern, 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. He even played his regular three sets two days before he contracted the illness which led to his death. The All Stars continued the Wednesday residency for two years after his death.2
During his illustrious career, Lockwood produced 16 studio albums and won several awards including two National Blues Music Awards from the Blues Foundation, four W.C. Handy Awards, and a posthumous Grammy in 2008. He was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989, and his 12-string semi-hollow bodied guitar is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1997, the City of Cleveland also honored Lockwood by renaming a street in the Flats entertainment district “Robert Lockwood Junior Drive.” 3 In addition, Lockwood also held honorary doctorates from Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University.
Brett Bonner, editor for Living Blues magazine wrote that “Robert Lockwood is one of the greatest guitarists the blues has ever produced. His music has, in its own subtle
way, shaped the blues of the modern era.” Another Living Blues editor, Peter Lee, concluded in an article in the July 1991 Guitar Player magazine, that “Lockwood’s history is almost that of the blues. Yet he brought something more to the blues in both his style and in his playing. And in doing that, he can claim much more than most musicians could ever hope to.”
Robert Lockwood Jr. died on November 21, 2006, at the age of 91 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Cleveland.
