Though he traveled side by side with some of the most notorious personalities in the blues, including Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 (Rice Miller), and Little Walter, “Robert Jr.” never fit the wild image of the rambling bluesman. He regarded himself as a serious, progressive musician who conducted himself with dignity and professionalism. Often as irascible as he was authoritative, Lockwood demanded respect and competence from those he worked with, and in turn he bestowed songs, arrangements, advice, and music lessons upon both aspiring blues musicians and established artists, from the 1940s on up.
Lockwood, who was born in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, on March 27, 1915, was often called the “stepson” of Robert Johnson – his mother was Johnson’s girlfriend, and Johnson inspired him to take up guitar. Lockwood carried the Johnson legacy in grand fashion but proved that he could cross musical boundaries and master whatever styles he chose. His impact on the blues began to be felt in 1941, the year he cut his first records, including “Take a Little Walk With Me,” in Chicago for Bluebird. Though now regarded as classics, the records weren’t big hits at the time, and Lockwood came to prominence through another medium that year: live radio broadcasting back in Helena, Arkansas, when he joined Sonny Boy Williamson on “King Biscuit Time.” In the documentary “Blues Story,” B.B. King recalled listening to the show: “And to hear Robert Jr. . . . ooh, I just started to fantasizin’, dreamin’, if I could just play a little bit like him.”
Eventually the lure of Chicago and the steady work offered him there drew him back, and though he rarely recorded as a singer, he contributed guitar work to dozens of records by Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Sunnyland Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, St. Louis Jimmy, Eddie Boyd, Little Brother Montgomery, Otis Spann, Willie Cobbs, Freddie King, Roosevelt Sykes, Harold Burrage, The Moonglows, and others from 1949 to 1961. After taking a trip to Cleveland with Sonny Boy, he opted to stay, and soon took up a quiet family life, working a day job while keeping up his chops playing at local taverns and lounges. Delmark Records enticed Lockwood back into the studio in 1970 to record his first album, “Steady Rollin’ Man,” and Lockwood subsequently reclaimed a place of honor for himself, out front with his own band, recording and touring around the world.
Numerous awards and tributes, including a night in his honor at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, flowed his way in his final years. Lockwood died in Cleveland on Nov. 21, 2006.
— Jim O’Neal
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