Barbecue Bob

Robert Hicks, nicknamed Barbecue Bob (Walnut Grove (Georgia), 11 september 1902 - Lithonia, 21 October 1931) was an American blues-pioneer and one of the most important representatives of the Atlanta blues.

Barbecue Bob and his brother Charley Hicks, who later became known as Laughing Charley Lincoln, learned to play the guitar by Curley Weaver's mother. The two brothers went to Atlantain 1923, where they went with Eddie Mapp occur. The six-string guitar 12 string for the exchanged Robert here. He played often in the bottleneck-style, which was reminiscent of the Delta blues more than, for example, to the style of Blind Willie McTell. Barbecue Bob became a prominent musician in the new Atlanta-blues style.

Hicks worked as a cook in a restaurant in the North of Atlanta and entered here also, when he was discovered by a talent scout for Columbia Records. The society decided to use Hicks ' job as gimmick, gave him the name Barbecue Bob and left him for publicity photos in chefs clothing turned up. In March 1927 Hicks took his first 78-rpm record on, ' Bbq Blues ', that 15,000 times went over the counter. Barbecue Bob was to that point the leading national artist of Columbia. In June he took "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" on, inspired by the floods that had taken place. These and other plates were very popular and established his name in the race-music.

In the years after Hicks took, inter alia, with singer Nellie Florence and with his brother, with whom he recorded ' classic ' It Won't Be Long Now. Among the recordings were also some traditional and spiritual songs.In 1930 he took as a member of the Georgia Cotton Pickers (including Curley Weaver) would be The last recordings on different plates.: he died in 1931 at the age of 29 to the effects of a combination oftuberculosis and pneumonia, caused by influenza. Earlier that year, was also his wife succumbed to pneumonia.

Barbecue Bob had a profound influence on Atlanta blues musicians as Blind Willie McTell and Curley-Weaver. A Motherless Child Blues ', ' song from Hicks, was later on put the plate by Eric Clapton. ==Discography[ Edit] ==
 * Complete Recorded Works vol. 1-3, paper