Robert Cray

Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards.

Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at Fort Benning. Cray's musical beginnings go back to when he was a student at Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia. While there, he played in his first band, The One-Way Street. His family eventually settled in the Tacoma, Washington, area. There, he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington.

Career By the age of 20, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King and Muddy Waters in concert and decided to form his own band; they began playing college towns on the West Coast.

By the late 1980s, Cray was an opening act for such major stars as Eric Clapton and sold out larger venues as a solo artist.

In August 1990, Cray played with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, performing "Sweet Home Chicago". This was Stevie Ray Vaughan's final performance before he died in a helicopter accident later that night.

Cray was invited to play at the "Guitar Legends" concerts in Seville, Spain at the 1992 Expo, where he played a signature track, "Phone Booth".

Cray continues to record and tour. He appeared at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and supported Eric Clapton on his 2006-2007 world tour.

In 2011, Cray was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame and received the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance in 2017.

After controversy with Eric Clapton about lyrics of the song "Stand and Deliver" by Van Morrison, Cray canceled his participation in Clapton's 2022 Europe tour.

Robert Cray Band

Current Members: Robert Cray – lead/rhythm guitar, vocals Richard Cousins – bass guitar Les Falconer – drums Dover Weinberg – keyboards

Past Members: Peter Boe – keyboards Alan Chez – trumpet

Terence F. Clark – drums George Sluppick – drums Kevin Hayes – drums (1989–2008) Wayne Jackson – trumpet Tim Kaihatsu – rhythm guitar Andrew Love – saxophone Ed Manion – saxophone Rocky Manzanares – harp Tom Murphy – drums David Olson – drums Mark Pender – trumpet Jimmy Pugh – keyboards Warren Rand – alto saxophone Curtis Salgado – harp Karl Sevareid – bass David Stewart – keyboards Mike Vannice – saxophone

Discography

Studio albums Who's Been Talkin' (1980) Bad Influence (1983) False Accusations (1985) Strong Persuader (1986) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1988) Midnight Stroll (1990) I Was Warned (1992) Shame + A Sin (1993) Some Rainy Morning (1995) Sweet Potato Pie (1997) Take Your Shoes Off (1999) Shoulda Been Home (2001) Time Will Tell (2003) Twenty (2005) This Time (2009) Nothin but Love (2012) In My Soul (2014) Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm (2017) That's What I Heard (2020)