EMM J-J 2018 Final

THE BLUES
As I stepped out of the car by the side of the house and approached
the studio building in the back, I felt almost like a
trespasser. I climbed the stairs, the door is open, and a gentlemen
sitting by the door greets me as he rises to leave me alone
with Roy who is sitting across the room a bit. Instantly, I felt
the presence of a man who has lived much more than I have. I
can't quite explain it, but I admired him before he even started
talking. As a musician myself and a lover of all things music, I
knew that I was about to have the privilege of experiencing.
Roy quickly wiped away any feelings of intrusion I may
have had before and I was grateful to settle in. The studio
was filled with old school equipment and memorabilia
on the walls from six decades of making music. I asked him
if we could start at the beginning and we most certainly did.
Roy grew up in a small town called Livingston, Tennessee, just east
of Nashville. As a boy, he would listen to the radio stations broadcasting
from Nashville, mostly country music, but blues and R&B as
well. Inspired, he saved up his money and bought his first guitar at age
14 from Sears. He knew then that farm life was not to be his future.
At age 18, Roy left Tennessee and came to Greensboro to live with
his Uncle. While out cruising with his friends, they stopped in at
a club where Jerry Butler was performing. Being impressed at his
playing and also, the attention received from the ladies, convinced
Roy to become a professional musician. He quickly became a regular
in the circuit playing with the likes of Guitar Kimbers' Untouchables.
It only took one chance for Roy when Solomon Burke asked
him to sit in as Bass player on a gig. Soon, Roy had taken over guitar
duties while touring with Solomon Burke and a career was born.
That initial opportunity spawned other touring gigs with legendary
performers such as Eddie Floyd, Stevie Wonder and Otis
Redding to name just a few. He formed The Roy Roberts Experience
and toured the regional circuit, as well as up and down the
southeast coast. Roy cut many records through the sixties and
seventies. Then came the Disco era, the majority of shows and
events quickly disappeared for Blues and R&B artists, including
Roy Roberts." I played about 300 different clubs nationally and
in 30 days they all started cancelling our shows." Roy says. He
reaches out to an old friend, Arthur Smith of "The Arthur Smith
Show" and "Guitar Boogie" fame that predates Chuck Berry by
a decade. Arthur and Roy record a couple of songs together and
some bookings in the Madison - Mayodan area. Roy's country music
career took off. Roy Roberts and the Chocolate Cowboys, Roy
tells me "That was the hottest thing I did in terms of gigs and making
money, we would be booked a year in advance." After a near
decade long run, his good friend and fellow country artist O.B.
mine." It sparked Roy back to performing and the blues music
he had started with, so many years before. He moved back to
Greensboro, formed a band and he hasn't looked back since.
April 7th, 2018 at the 221 Lounge in downtown Greensboro.
I know this place well. The old Flat Iron. Worked here, played
here, late nights here. Memories...good and bad. But tonight
"I heard it and thought, he's got a
style kind of like mine"
something exceptional, a 15 year old prodigy joins a Blues
legend on stage. Nathan comes on stage as Roy and his band
The Quest have already warmed up the crowd. They work their
way through several blues standards and stretch them out a bit
for Nathan and the band. It sounds great! The beautiful thing
about blues music is it has a familiarity to its artists that allows
a 15 year old to connect spontaneously with a legend in his 70s
seamlessly. Nathan's control of tone is remarkable on his Gold
top Les Paul, which practically hides his body from the crowd
due to his stature. But his playing is urgent and aggressive, as
it should be, at this stage of his career. Roy Roberts is unwavering,
cool and mesmerizing on stage. Guess you get that skill
set after 6 decades of performing and it shows. But something
even larger is happening here. This vein of music we call "The
Blues," which permeates inside every genre of modern music today,
has two of its finest representatives meeting at a crossroads
tonight. A crossroads of generations. One who has laid
the foundation of music and a legacy that never dies. So
that the other can build "The Blues" into the music of the
next generation and start the next chapter of roots music.
www.royrobertsblues.com
www.nathanpopemusic.com
"It's honestly about the most pure, original
and realistic music as you can possibly get"
McClinton passed away in Nashville in 1987. It devastated
him, Roy walked away from music in 1989 to take a break.
Roy spent his time working in his studio cutting Gospel music
for the next few years, until one day he hears an artist on
the radio. It was Robert Cray and his song "Phone Booth."
Roy says "I heard it and thought, he's got a style kind of like
Live at
221 Lounge
Greensboro