Robert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob (September 11, 1902 – October 21, 1931), was an early American

Piedmont blues Piedmont blues (also known as East Coast, or Southeastern blues) refers primarily to a guitar style, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melod ...

musician. His nickname was derived from his working as a

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

in a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

restaurant. One of the three extant photographs of him show him playing a guitar and wearing a full-length white apron and cook's hat.

Early life

Hicks was born in Walnut Grove, Georgia. His parents, Charlie and Mary Hicks, were farmers. He and his brother, Charlie Hicks, together with

Curley Weaver Curley James Weaver (March 25, 1906 – September 20, 1962) was an American blues musician, also known as Slim Gordon. Biography Early years Weaver was born in Covington, Georgia, and raised on a farm near Porterdale. His mother, Savannah "Dip" ...

, were taught how to play the guitar by Curley's mother, Savannah "Dip" Weaver.Barlow, William (1989). ''"Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture''. Temple University Press. pp. 195–96. . Bob began playing the 6-string guitar but picked up the

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

after moving to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

, in 1924. He became one of the prominent performers of the newly developing Atlanta blues style. In Atlanta, Hicks worked at various jobs, playing music on the side. While working at Tidwells' Barbecue in a north Atlanta suburb, he came to the attention of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

talent scout Dan Hornsby. Hornsby recorded him and used Hicks's job to publicize his records, having Hicks pose in chef's whites and hat for publicity photos and dubbing him "Barbecue Bob". Before his death in 1931, he married a woman named Claudine and lived off Hillard Street in Atlanta.1930 Census

Career

During his short career Hicks recorded 68

78-rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

sides. His first, "Barbecue Blues", was recorded in March 1927. The record quickly sold 15,000 copies and made him a best-selling artist for

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

series. Following this initial success, his next release firmly established him in the race market. At his second recording session, in New York City in June 1927, he recorded "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues", a song inspired by the

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The uninflated cost of the damage has been estimat ...

. This song and his other blues releases were popular, and his records sold better than those of other Atlanta blues musicians. With his brother Charley Lincoln (also known as Charlie Lincoln or Laughing Charley) he recorded "It Won't Be Long Now", a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a sol ...

with crosstalk, in Atlanta on November 5, 1927. In April 1928, Hicks recorded two sides with the singer Nellie Florence, whom he had known since childhood, and also produced "Mississippi Low Levee Blues", a sequel to "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues". In April 1930, he recorded "We Sure Got Hard Times Now", which contains bleak references to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Barbecue Bob was primarily a blues musician, but he also recorded a few traditional songs and spirituals, including "

When the Saints Go Marching In "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn and is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstron ...

", " Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home" and "Jesus' Blood Can Make Me Whole". Barbecue Bob also recorded as a member of the Georgia Cotton Pickers in December 1930, a group consisting of Bob and the guitarist

and harmonica player Buddy Moss. As a group they recorded a handful of sides, including their adaptation of

Blind Blake Arthur Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934), known as Blind Blake, was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932. Early life Little is known of Blake's life. ...

's "Diddie Wa Diddie" (recorded as "Diddle-Da-Diddle") and the Mississippi Sheiks' "

Sitting on Top of the World "Sitting on Top of the World" (also "Sittin' on Top of the World") is a country blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon. They were core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, who first recorded it in 1930. Vinson claimed to have c ...

" (recorded as "I'm on My Way Down Home"). They were his last recordings. Hicks died in

Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia (, ; AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. "Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the heart ...

, of a combination of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

brought on by

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

, at the age of 29, on October 21, 1931. His recording of "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" was apparently played at his graveside before the burial.

Musical style

Hicks developed a "flailing" or "frailing" style of guitar playing more often associated with the traditional clawhammer

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

(as did his brother, and, initially, Curley Weaver). He regularly used a

bottleneck Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle near its opening, which limit the rate of outflow, and may describe any object of a similar shape. The literal neck of a bottle was originally used to play what is now known as ...

on his 12-string guitar, playing in an elemental style that relied on an

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * Open (Blues Image album), ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * Open (Gotthard album), ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * Open (C ...

Spanish tuning, reminiscent of

Charley Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American musi ...

. He had a strong voice, which he embellished with growling and

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

, and a percussive singing style.

Influence

Hicks had some influence on Atlanta blues musicians, such as the young Buddy Moss (who played harmonica with him on recordings by the Georgia Cotton Pickers), but his way of playing was quickly overshadowed by the finger-picked

style, which rose in popularity by the late 1920s and early 30s; this development can be heard in the recordings of

. Barbecue Bob's "

Motherless Child Blues "Motherless Child Blues" (or, in dialect, "Motherless Chile Blues") is the name of two distinct traditional blues songs. They are different melodically and lyrically. One was first popularized by Robert "Barbecue Bob" Hicks, the other by Elvie T ...

" was recorded and performed on stage by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

. John Fahey attributed his arrangement of "Poor Boy a Long Ways from Home" to Barbecue Bob in his 1979 ''Best Of'' book of tablature. Fahey attributed the song to the fictitious Blind Joe Death, writing that "Death learned this from an old Columbia record by Barbecue Bob 4246-D which the Death household at one time possessed." Hicks's elder brother, Charley Lincoln, also played blues and was recorded by Columbia under the name Laughing Charley Lincoln, but he never received the same acclaim as his brother.

Recording sessions

*Atlanta, March 25, 1927 *New York City, June 15, 1927 *New York City, June 16, 1927 *Atlanta, November 5, 1927 *Atlanta, November 9, 1927 *Atlanta, November 10, 1927 *Atlanta, April 13, 1928 *Atlanta, April 21, 1928 *Atlanta, October 26, 1928 *Atlanta, October 27, 1928 *Atlanta, November 2, 1928 *Atlanta, April 11, 1929 *Atlanta, April 17, 1929 *Atlanta, April 18, 1929 *Atlanta, October 30, 1929 *Atlanta, November 3, 1929 *Atlanta, November 6, 1929 *Atlanta, April 17, 1930 *Atlanta, April 18, 1930 *Atlanta, April 23, 1930 *Atlanta, December 5, 1930 *Atlanta, December 7, 1930 *Atlanta, December 8, 1930

References

*Swinton, Paul. (2001). ''The Essential Barbecue Bob''. Audio CD liner notes. Classic Blues 200026. *Document Records, vols. 1–3. Sleeve notes on Barbecue Bob (Robert Hicks).

External links

* *
Barbecue Bob page from Blues Online siteBarbecue Bob at AuthenticBlues.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bob, Barbecue 1902 births 1931 deaths African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Country blues musicians People from Walton County, Georgia Musicians from Atlanta Columbia Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from pneumonia in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from influenza