Barbecue Bob (Robert Hicks, Walnut Grove, Georgia, September 11, 1902 – Lit… Read Full Bio ↴Barbecue Bob (Robert Hicks, Walnut Grove, Georgia, September 11, 1902 – Lithonia, Georgia, October 21, 1931) was an American Piedmont blues musician. He used a bottleneck regularly on his 12-string guitar, playing in an elemental style that relied on an open Spanish tuning reminiscent of Charley Patton. He had a strong voice that he embellished with growling and falsetto, and a percussive singing style.
His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.
He and his brother, Charlie Hicks, together with Curley Weaver, were taught how to play the guitar by Curley's mother, Savannah "Dip" Weaver. Bob began playing the 6-string guitar but picked up the 12-string guitar after moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1923–1924. He became one of the prominent performers of the newly developing early Atlanta blues style.
In Atlanta, Hicks worked a variety of jobs, playing music on the side. While working at Tidwells' Barbecue in a north Atlanta suburb, Hicks came to the attention of Columbia Records talent scout Dan Hornsby. Hornsby recorded him and decided to use Hicks's job as a gimmick, having him pose in chef's whites and hat for publicity photos and dubbing him "Barbecue Bob".
During his short career he recorded 68 78-rpm sides. He recorded his first side, "Barbecue Blues", in March 1927. The record quickly sold 15,000 copies and made him the best selling artist for Columbia up to that date. Despite this initial success, it was not until his second recording session, in New York during June 1927, that he firmly established himself on the race market. At this session he recorded "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues", a song inspired by the major floods taking place in Mississippi at that time. This song, as well as his other blues releases, gained considerable popularity, and his records sold much better than those of other local blues musicians.
The two part duet with crosstalk, "It Won't Be Long Now" was recorded with his brother Charlie (a/k/a Charlie Lincoln, or Laughing Charlie) in Atlanta on November 5, 1927. In April 1928 Bob recorded two sides with the female vocalist 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 early effects of The Depression. Although Barbecue Bob remained predominantly a blues musician, he also recorded a few traditional and spiritual songs including "When the Saints Go Marching In", "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 that included guitarist Curley Weaver and harmonica player Buddy Moss. As a group they recorded a handful of sides including their own adaptation of Blind Blake's "Diddie Wa Diddie" (recorded as "Diddle-Da-Diddle") and the Mississippi Sheiks' "Sitting on Top of the World" (recorded as "I'm On My Way Down Home"). These were the last recordings that Bob recorded.
He died in Lithonia, Georgia, of a combination of tuberculosis and pneumonia brought on by influenza, at the age of 29, on October 21, 1931. His recording of "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" (about the 1927 flood) was apparently played at his graveside before burial.
Bob developed a "flailing" or "frailing" style of playing guitar more often associated with the traditional clawhammer banjo (as did his brother, and, initially, Curley Weaver). He used a bottleneck regularly on his 12-string guitar, playing in an elemental style that relied on an open Spanish tuning reminiscent of Charley Patton. He had a strong voice that he embellished with growling and falsetto, and a percussive singing style.
Bob had some influence on Atlanta blues musicians such as the young Buddy Moss (who played harmonica with him on The Georgia Cotton Pickers recordings), but his way of playing was quickly overshadowed by the finger-picked Piedmont blues style that rose in popularity by the late 1920s/early 30s as can be heard in the development of the recordings of Curley Weaver.
Bob's elder brother, Charley, also played blues and was recorded by Columbia under the name "Laughing" Charley Lincoln. However, he never received the same acclaim as his brother.
Robert Hicks was an extrovert young man of 24 when Columbia's Dan Hornsby arranged his first recording session in March 1927, and had only moved into Atlanta from the countryside a few years before. When he recorded He had learned guitar, along with their friend Curley Weaver, from Curley's mother; all three played in a similar style, favouring the big, booming sound of the 12-string guitar, and relishing the contrast of pulsing bass riffs with the whine of a bottleneck on the treble strings. Barbecue Blues was a good seller, but it was at his second session, in New York in June 1927, that Bob firmly established himself with black record buyers, and thus with Columbia; Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, inspired by the catastrophic floods that had occurred that very month, was a considerable seller, and as a result Robert became Atlanta's most-recorded blues singer of the 20s. It was probably his success that persuaded Columbia to record both his brother Charlie and, in 1928, Curley Weaver.
From the first, Barbecue Bob's music was instantly recognisable, both for the characteristic guitar style and for his warm, nasal singing voice. He could sound fiercely involved with his material, as on Barbecue Blues, ironically detached, as he did when performing Mama You Don't Suit Me!, or crushed by rejection, alike on Crooked Woman Blues and the traditionally based How Long Pretty Mama. The two-part It Won't Be Long Now, in crosstalk and duet with Charlie, is probably an example of the kind of material Robert performed on the medicine show with which he is known to have visited the small town of Waycross, in southwest Georgia, about which he made up a blues.
Barbecue Bob's lyrics are remarkable for their blending of traditional formulae with a wry originality that is all his own. He was well acquainted with traditional songs; the content of Barbecue Blues and Motherless Chile Blues is almost proverbial, and the session where he cut versions of two well-known gospel songs also produced Easy Rider Don't You Deny My Name and a stunning account of Poor Boy A Long Ways From Home. Barbecue Bob rapidly impressed himself on his fans' minds as sharp, clever and original.
His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.
He and his brother, Charlie Hicks, together with Curley Weaver, were taught how to play the guitar by Curley's mother, Savannah "Dip" Weaver. Bob began playing the 6-string guitar but picked up the 12-string guitar after moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1923–1924. He became one of the prominent performers of the newly developing early Atlanta blues style.
In Atlanta, Hicks worked a variety of jobs, playing music on the side. While working at Tidwells' Barbecue in a north Atlanta suburb, Hicks came to the attention of Columbia Records talent scout Dan Hornsby. Hornsby recorded him and decided to use Hicks's job as a gimmick, having him pose in chef's whites and hat for publicity photos and dubbing him "Barbecue Bob".
During his short career he recorded 68 78-rpm sides. He recorded his first side, "Barbecue Blues", in March 1927. The record quickly sold 15,000 copies and made him the best selling artist for Columbia up to that date. Despite this initial success, it was not until his second recording session, in New York during June 1927, that he firmly established himself on the race market. At this session he recorded "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues", a song inspired by the major floods taking place in Mississippi at that time. This song, as well as his other blues releases, gained considerable popularity, and his records sold much better than those of other local blues musicians.
The two part duet with crosstalk, "It Won't Be Long Now" was recorded with his brother Charlie (a/k/a Charlie Lincoln, or Laughing Charlie) in Atlanta on November 5, 1927. In April 1928 Bob recorded two sides with the female vocalist 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 early effects of The Depression. Although Barbecue Bob remained predominantly a blues musician, he also recorded a few traditional and spiritual songs including "When the Saints Go Marching In", "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 that included guitarist Curley Weaver and harmonica player Buddy Moss. As a group they recorded a handful of sides including their own adaptation of Blind Blake's "Diddie Wa Diddie" (recorded as "Diddle-Da-Diddle") and the Mississippi Sheiks' "Sitting on Top of the World" (recorded as "I'm On My Way Down Home"). These were the last recordings that Bob recorded.
He died in Lithonia, Georgia, of a combination of tuberculosis and pneumonia brought on by influenza, at the age of 29, on October 21, 1931. His recording of "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" (about the 1927 flood) was apparently played at his graveside before burial.
Bob developed a "flailing" or "frailing" style of playing guitar more often associated with the traditional clawhammer banjo (as did his brother, and, initially, Curley Weaver). He used a bottleneck regularly on his 12-string guitar, playing in an elemental style that relied on an open Spanish tuning reminiscent of Charley Patton. He had a strong voice that he embellished with growling and falsetto, and a percussive singing style.
Bob had some influence on Atlanta blues musicians such as the young Buddy Moss (who played harmonica with him on The Georgia Cotton Pickers recordings), but his way of playing was quickly overshadowed by the finger-picked Piedmont blues style that rose in popularity by the late 1920s/early 30s as can be heard in the development of the recordings of Curley Weaver.
Bob's elder brother, Charley, also played blues and was recorded by Columbia under the name "Laughing" Charley Lincoln. However, he never received the same acclaim as his brother.
Robert Hicks was an extrovert young man of 24 when Columbia's Dan Hornsby arranged his first recording session in March 1927, and had only moved into Atlanta from the countryside a few years before. When he recorded He had learned guitar, along with their friend Curley Weaver, from Curley's mother; all three played in a similar style, favouring the big, booming sound of the 12-string guitar, and relishing the contrast of pulsing bass riffs with the whine of a bottleneck on the treble strings. Barbecue Blues was a good seller, but it was at his second session, in New York in June 1927, that Bob firmly established himself with black record buyers, and thus with Columbia; Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, inspired by the catastrophic floods that had occurred that very month, was a considerable seller, and as a result Robert became Atlanta's most-recorded blues singer of the 20s. It was probably his success that persuaded Columbia to record both his brother Charlie and, in 1928, Curley Weaver.
From the first, Barbecue Bob's music was instantly recognisable, both for the characteristic guitar style and for his warm, nasal singing voice. He could sound fiercely involved with his material, as on Barbecue Blues, ironically detached, as he did when performing Mama You Don't Suit Me!, or crushed by rejection, alike on Crooked Woman Blues and the traditionally based How Long Pretty Mama. The two-part It Won't Be Long Now, in crosstalk and duet with Charlie, is probably an example of the kind of material Robert performed on the medicine show with which he is known to have visited the small town of Waycross, in southwest Georgia, about which he made up a blues.
Barbecue Bob's lyrics are remarkable for their blending of traditional formulae with a wry originality that is all his own. He was well acquainted with traditional songs; the content of Barbecue Blues and Motherless Chile Blues is almost proverbial, and the session where he cut versions of two well-known gospel songs also produced Easy Rider Don't You Deny My Name and a stunning account of Poor Boy A Long Ways From Home. Barbecue Bob rapidly impressed himself on his fans' minds as sharp, clever and original.
Gloomy Sunday
Barbecue Bob Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Gloomy Sunday' by these artists:
Abbey Lincoln Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Accompanied By Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra; Billie Holiday Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Andrew Cleyndert Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Angelina Jordan Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Artie Shaw Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Associates Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Big Maybelle Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Billie Holiday Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Billie Holiday Teddy Wilson Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billie Holiday & The Teddy Wilson Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Billie Holiday and the Ken Burns Jazz Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billie Holiday feat. Teddy Wilson Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Billie Holiday Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billie Holiday; Eddie Heywood & His Jazz Six Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Billie Holiday;Accompanied By Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billy Eckstine Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Billy Holiday Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest the sh…
Björk Sunday is gloomy, the hours are slumberless Dearest of shad…
Branford Marsalis Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Brightman Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumber less Dearest the shado…
Budapest Concert Orchestra Foundation Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest, the shado…
Carmen McRae Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Charles Brown Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Charlie Hunter & Lucy Woodward Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Christian Death Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Danny Michel Sunday is gloomy my hours are slumberless, Dearest the shad…
Diamanda Galás Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited With flowers in my arms…
Diamanda Galαs Sadly one Sunday, I waited and waited With flowers in my…
Elvis Costello Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the shad…
Elvis Costello; Marian McPartland Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the sha…
Emilie Autumn Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless Dearest the sha…
Erika Marozsán Trauriger Sonntag Dein Abend ist nicht mehr weit Mit schwarz…
Fókatelep Szomorú vasárnap száz fehér virággal, Vártalak kedvesem, t…
Gitane Demone Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Heather Nova From gloomy Sunday soundtrack Sunday is gloomy My hours are …
Herbie Mann Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Hildegarde Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited With flowers in my…
Iva Bittova Brian Dee Andrew Cleyndert Clarke Tracey Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
J2 Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Jimmy Witherspoon Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Johnny Griffin Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Leander Rising Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the…
Loreena McKennitt Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Lou Rawls Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Lucy Woodward Charlie Hunter Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Lydia Lunch Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumber less Dearest the shado…
Marc and the Mambas Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Marian McPartland Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the shad…
Marian McPartland & Elvis Costello Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the sha…
Marian McPartland/Elvis Costello Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the shad…
Marianne Faithfull Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the sha…
Marty Paich Orchestra Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumber-less Dearest the shad…
MC Sniper MC-sniper Gloomy Sunday Yo 우울한 오후 사랑의 질투는 실수를 연발해 참희 부서진 …
Mel Tormé Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Mel Torme & The Marty Paich Orchestra Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumber-less Dearest the sha…
Mel Torme and the Marty Paich Orchestra Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumber-less Dearest the shad…
Mel Tormу Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumber-less Dearest the sha…
Mickey Baker Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Mimi Maura Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Mr. Pendu Sunday is Gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest, the sha…
Negator [This song is based on "Gloomy Sunday" originally composed b…
Pallbearer Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest, the shado…
Paul Kim 시간을 잃은 time 가득 쌓인 dishes 바닥엔 옷더미 마르지 않은 양말 TV 소리에 나…
Paul Robeson Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited With flowers in my…
Paul Whiteman Orchestra Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest, the shad…
Peter Wolf Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Pia 그날 또 저무는 햇살에 떠오른 차갑게 숨쉬는 네 미소 날 흔들고…
Quadro Nuevo Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sh…
Rezső Seress Szomorú vasárnap Száz fehér virággal Vártalak kedvesem Templ…
Rick Nelson Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Ricky Nelson Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Rita Moss & Marty Paich Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumber-less Dearest the shad…
Sam M. Lewis Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
Sarah Brightman Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumber less Dearest the shado…
Sarah McLachlan Sunday is Gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest, the sha…
Sarah Vaughan Sunday is gloomy; my hours are slumber-less Dearest, the sha…
Serge Gainsbourg Gloomy Sunday Sombre dimanche Les bras tout chargés de fleu…
Sinéad O’Connor Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest the sh…
Sinéad O'Connor Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest the shad…
Sinιad O'Connor Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest the sh…
Teddy Wilson & Billie Holiday Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra Billie Holiday Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
The Associates Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadow…
The Smithereens Sunday is gloomy my hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Torme Mel Sunday is gloomy, My hours are slumberless Dearest the shado…
Wolf peter Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shad…
王菀之 Sunday is Gloomy, My hours are slumberless, Dearest, the sha…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Barbecue Bob:
Atlanta Moan Lord nobody knows Atlanta like I do, Lord nobody knows Atla…
Bad Time Blues Bad time are fallin' me, tell the world the panic…
Barbecue Blues Woke up this morning gal 'Twixt midnight and day With my han…
Mississippi Heavy Water Blues I was walking down the Levee with my head hanging…
Motherless Chile Blues If I mistreat you, gal, I sure don't mean no…
She Shook Her Gin I got a gal on Second Avenue She can do thing…
She's Gone Blues When you were down, sick down on your bed When you…
We Sure Got Hard Times Got a song to sing you, and it's no excuse I've…
When the Saints Go Marching In Oh, when the saints go marching in Oh, when the saints…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@JimDixon55104
WE SURE GOT HARD TIMES
As recorded by Barbecue Bob, 1930.
[I've] got a song to sing you, and it's no excuse. (2x)
And it's sure as the devil, I b'lieve he got aloose.
[When] you want a drink o' liquor [and] you think it's awful nice, (2x)
You put your hand in your pocket, and you ain't got the price.
You heard about a job; now you is on your way. (2x)
Twenty men's after the same job, all in the same old day.
Hard times, hard times, we [sure] got hard times now. (2x)
Just think and think about it: we got hard times now.
You started in [to] moochin', but your moochin's in vain. (2x)
Be careful with yourself; you'll get a ball and chain.
[That] lard and bacon goin' to a dollar a pound. (2x)
Cotton has started to sellin' but it keeps goin' down and down.
Just before election, you was talkin' how you was going to vote. (2x)
And after election was over, your head's down like a billy goat.
Hard times, hard times, we've [sure] got hard times now. (2x)
Just think and think about it: we got hard times now.
[Words in brackets are omitted in one of the repeats.]
@mooveover5758
Here we go again
@cliff8606
Love this music
@wanderingsemantics7266
this song is exactly like spider and the fly
@saraklotz7155
Hard times... could be coming again? Hmmmm
@user-mz6ts4xn6i
it's all about to crash again. trends every 10 years. Also another world war will break out within 10-20 years. There has never been a peace period averaging 60 years in modern times without a world war
@yvngchvp8695
@@user-mz6ts4xn6i Dude you have no clue what is going to happen.
@nevillegriffiths4395
Just before election you was talkin’how you was goin’to vote,
@dsnodgrass4843
For some of us, they've never left.
@ta_pegandofogo2988
@@yvngchvp8695 well, there's the pandemic, anyway
@johnholmes4363
2020 on prince Edward island ☹