Robert Cray

Robert Cray

WHO'S TALKIN' NOW?

Robert Cray Talks of Twenty Years with the Blues
Since the release of his 1980 debut, Who's Been Talkin', Robert Cray has been a blue-chip bluesman. The soul-filled vocals and sleek guitar work on his smash Strong Persuader took the music to rock radio at the same time as his contemporary Stevie Ray Vaughan, but for Cray, the mainstream acceptance was even sweeter -- and a milestone for African-American blues artists. Even though rock radio has changed dramatically over the past decade and no longer has much use for blues, Cray's 2001 release, Shoulda Been Home drew critical kudos as well as thumbs up from his longtime fans. The Best Of Robert Cray: The Millennium Collection followed, allowing fans a glimpse into this accomplished singer and guitarist's world. Barnes & Noble.com's Roberta Penn spoke with Cray about the new collection of previously-released material and what the future holds for him.

B&N.com: Were you involved in selecting the tunes for the "best of" release?

RC: My manager, Mike Kappas, and I went through and picked them out. We knew we had to have "Smokin Gun" and "Right Next Door (Because of Me)." But we decided to pick other tunes that were different. Albert King's "You're Gonna Need Me" isn't done very much, and our keyboardist, Jim Pugh, wrote "The One in the Middle," which isn't like anything else we've ever done.

B&N.com: What were you looking for when you made your choices, what were your criteria?

RC: We were just trying to get some diversity. It came as a surprise when the record company came up with the idea, and we tried to make the best of the situation.

B&N.com: What comes to mind when you listen to "Smokin Gun?" these days? How do you feel listening to it?

RC: I don't really listen to the records, but I still hear them in my head. We still do these tunes. I can go back into the studio in my mind when we were recording them. "Smokin Gun" is so simple, such a simple song and was so spontaneous. Bruce [Bromberg, producer/songwriter] came into the studio with the words, and Richard [Cousins, bassist during the Strong Persuader era] and I just started playing.

B&N.com: Your personal life is very different now than it was then, isnt it?

RC: Yes, we were just road rats. We didn't have houses, homes, any of those responsibilities. We'd just come off the road to make another album and go back out again.

B&N.com: When you were living the life captured on the Mercury recordings from which The Millennium Collection is drawn, were you aware of how unique you were?

RC: No. But we would compare ourselves to other bands and notice how we played blues and had this R&B thing going too, but we didn't think it was special. It was great for radio as far as we were concerned because "Smokin Gun" is a rock song.

B&N.com: What are you listening to now?

RC: I really like Jimmie Vaughan's last record. Ive been listening to a bunch of old stuff, guitarist Tiny Grimes. And I found this old Ike and Tina Turner album, Bold Soul Sister -- Albert Collins plays guitar on it, and I just get a kick out of that.

B&N.com: I miss Albert Collins, and I bet you do, too, because you spent a lot of time playing with him.

RC: I miss Albert, too. The way he'd shake your hand and then snap his finger over the top of your hand, it was so cool.

B&N.com: Will we hear more open-minded playing on your next CD?

RC: The next one -- maybe something rough. "We like to do it nice and rough." We'll see what the songs say, but I'll keep that in mind.

B&N.com: What do you like to do when you are at home in Los Angeles?

RC: Cook. I cook Italian, Thai and Vietnamese, I've always liked to cook. I watch Iron Chef every week, that and The Sopranos.