This is an excerpt of an interview with Robert Lee Henry before his Album “Rest For The Wicked ” was released. It is reprinted in as it ran in Music Master magazine.
Music Master magazine is sitting down today with Robert Lee Henry who is being tauted as the Godfather of the American Blues revival. Born in Creekmore, Mississippi, he moved to Memphis in his teens to become a singer. He started his career as Bobby Sweets, a R&B/ rapper with a small but loyal following. Despite criticism of “not being real,” he seemed ready to break big. The future looked bright, when suddenly it all fell apart. He was dropped by his manager after a disastrous club show and onstage, rage fueled breakdown. He allegedly killed his girlfriend a week later and was sentenced to the State Correctional Facility in Rankin County. He only served six months before the State Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but six months was long enough. Henry was savagely beaten by a prison guard and his larynx was damaged beyond repair. The gravelly voice coming from the man sitting across from me now bears little resemblance to the voice that was once compared to a young Marvin Gaye. The state settled for an undisclosed amount and Bobby Sweets was reborn as Robert Lee Henry. A record deal and club tour followed soon after. Leaked recordings from the studio appeared on the Internet, and as impossible as it may sound a blues record is now the most eagerly anticipated CD in years. He’s a man surrounded with mystery and controversy. Some people in his home town are saying he made a deal with the devil like Robert Johnson claimed to have done years before. He has granted Music Master an exclusive interview at the Southside Que on Historic Beale Street. Its his first interview since his release and acquittal.
MM- Its nice to meet you Mr. Henry. The whole world seems to be waiting for your CD. How does it feel to have an early taste of success, then have it pulled from your grip? You now seemed perched on the verge of even greater success. Are you afraid of losing it again?
RLH- Call me Robert or Robert Lee. I agree the world is waiting. I don’t believe the world knows why it’s waiting. Is it waiting for the blues? or just the next big thing? You say I’m bringing back the blues, but the blues has always been here. People just want to deny it. They want to close they eyes and think it’s gonna get better. They want to listen to some happy, bouncy music shit like I used to play. Want to look at the MTV. They ain’t waiting for me to bring them the blues, they got the blues. They just waiting for me to maybe TELL them that they got the blues.
Read more: http://authspot.com/short-stories/the-gospel-of-robert-lee/#ixzz1HaDM1CGj
Music Master magazine is sitting down today with Robert Lee Henry who is being tauted as the Godfather of the American Blues revival. Born in Creekmore, Mississippi, he moved to Memphis in his teens to become a singer. He started his career as Bobby Sweets, a R&B/ rapper with a small but loyal following. Despite criticism of “not being real,” he seemed ready to break big. The future looked bright, when suddenly it all fell apart. He was dropped by his manager after a disastrous club show and onstage, rage fueled breakdown. He allegedly killed his girlfriend a week later and was sentenced to the State Correctional Facility in Rankin County. He only served six months before the State Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but six months was long enough. Henry was savagely beaten by a prison guard and his larynx was damaged beyond repair. The gravelly voice coming from the man sitting across from me now bears little resemblance to the voice that was once compared to a young Marvin Gaye. The state settled for an undisclosed amount and Bobby Sweets was reborn as Robert Lee Henry. A record deal and club tour followed soon after. Leaked recordings from the studio appeared on the Internet, and as impossible as it may sound a blues record is now the most eagerly anticipated CD in years. He’s a man surrounded with mystery and controversy. Some people in his home town are saying he made a deal with the devil like Robert Johnson claimed to have done years before. He has granted Music Master an exclusive interview at the Southside Que on Historic Beale Street. Its his first interview since his release and acquittal.
MM- Its nice to meet you Mr. Henry. The whole world seems to be waiting for your CD. How does it feel to have an early taste of success, then have it pulled from your grip? You now seemed perched on the verge of even greater success. Are you afraid of losing it again?
RLH- Call me Robert or Robert Lee. I agree the world is waiting. I don’t believe the world knows why it’s waiting. Is it waiting for the blues? or just the next big thing? You say I’m bringing back the blues, but the blues has always been here. People just want to deny it. They want to close they eyes and think it’s gonna get better. They want to listen to some happy, bouncy music shit like I used to play. Want to look at the MTV. They ain’t waiting for me to bring them the blues, they got the blues. They just waiting for me to maybe TELL them that they got the blues.
Read more: http://authspot.com/short-stories/the-gospel-of-robert-lee/#ixzz1HaDM1CGj
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