Robert Nighthawk

Robert Nighthawk, born Robert Lee McCullum, (born November 30, 1909 in Helena , Arkansas , USA ; † November 5, 1967 there ) was an American blues musician .

Robert Nighthawk grew up on a farm. He gained his first experience with music when a friend suggested he learn the harmonica in 1923 . He learned to play the guitar while working on a farm with his cousin, Houston Stackhouse , in the 1930s . Robert, his cousin and brother performed together as a blues band at festivals and parties.

Some time later Nighthawk moved to Memphis, Tennessee , where he performed with John Lee Hooker at the New Daisy Theater and with the Memphis Jug Band . In the mid-1930s he moved to St. Louis , where he played with Henry Townsend , the star of the St. Louis blues scene. He appeared under different names, such as B. Robert Lee McCoy, Rambling Bob or Peetie's Boy. In the late 1930s he came to Chicago to record his first solo record; Prowling Night-Hawk would become one of his best-selling songs. After this song he finally called himself Robert Nighthawk. He had a notable success in the R&B charts in late 1949 with Annie Lee . In the early 1950s he also recorded for the United label . The album "Live on Maxwell Street " was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989 .

One of Nighthawks sons was the drummer Sam Carr (1926–2009), who played and recorded with Frank Frost , among others .

Discographic notes

• Various Artists And This Is Maxwell Street (1964)

Web links

• Literature by and about Robert Nighthawk in the catalog of the German National Library