Robert June Ward, Sr. (October 15, 1938 – December 25, 2008) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He was known for founding the Ohio Untouchables, the band that later would become

the Ohio Players ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. He played the guitar with a unique tone soaked in vibrato coming from a

Magnatone Magnatone was a brand of electric guitars and amplifiers produced between 1937 and the mid-1970s. The company was based in California. The brand name was revived in the 2010s by Ted Kornblum. History Beginning in the late 1930s, Magna Electroni ...

amplifier.

Biography

Born in

Luthersville, Georgia Luthersville is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 874 at the 2010 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Luthersville as a town in 1872. The community was named after the 16th-century Germ ...

, he moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

in 1960 and formed the Ohio Untouchables. The group released several singles on LuPine including "Your Love Is Amazing" which would become one of Ward's signature songs. They also recorded the guitar workout, "Forgive Me Darling", which was loosely modelled on

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

's, " I'm Sorry". Ward left the group in 1965. He moved to the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

area, actually residing in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, and released singles under his name in the late 1960s. He disappeared from the music scene in the 1970s, after working as a session player for

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. In 1977, both his wife and mother died, and Ward relocated to

Grantville, Georgia Grantville is a city in Coweta County, Georgia, Coweta County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The 2010 census shows a population of 3,041. Geography Grantville is located along the southern border of Coweta County at (33.237252, ...

. In the early 1990s he returned to the spotlight. He was rediscovered by

Black Top Records Black Top Records was an American, New Orleans, Louisiana-based independent record label, founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Han ...

and released his first solo album ''Fear No Evil'' in 1991. It included a re-recording of "Forgive Me Darling". He released two more albums in the next four years for the label. In the mid-1990s he did limited touring, including a date in Minneapolis with Curtis Obeda and The Butanes, and several dates in Michigan including Kalamazoo, Three Rivers and Grand Rapids. After the label went defunct in the late 1990s, WRKR Kalamazoo blues DJ Marty Spaulding, who Robert had appointed his manager, arranged a recording contract with

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recordi ...

to release ''New Role Soul'' in 2000. In his last years he had health problems, including two strokes, which prevented him from performing or recording. On December 25, 2008, Ward died at his home in Dry Branch, Georgia.

Discography

*1991: ''Fear No Evil'' (Black Top) *1993: '' Rhythm of the People'' (Black Top) *1995: ''Hot Stuff'' (Relic), a collection of his early sides from the 1960s *1995: ''Black Bottom'' (Black Top) *2000: ''New Role Soul'' (Delmark)

References

External links

Biography on Allmusic A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Robert 1938 births 2008 deaths African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Black Top Records artists Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) Soul-blues musicians 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American male singers