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.
When The Saints Go Marching In
Barbecue Bob Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the saints go marching in
And when the sun refuse to shine
Oh, when the sun refuse to shine
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
I had a dear old mother
She's gone on to heaven, I know
I promised the Lord I would meet her
When the saints go marching in
Now, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the moon gone down in blood
Oh, when the moon gone down in blood
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the moon gone down in blood
I had a dear old sister
She's gone on to heaven, I know
I promised the Lord I would meet her
When the saints go marching in
Now, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the saints go marching in
Oh, when the star begin to fall
When the star begin to fall
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the star begin to fall
I had a dear old brother
He's gone on to heaven, I know
I promised the Lord I would meet him
When the saints go marching in
Now, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the saints go marching in
When the moon gone down in blood
When the moon gone down in blood
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
When the moon gone down in blood
Barbecue Bob's version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" is a testament to the idea of spiritual rebirth and the hope of entering into heaven, signaled by the arrival of the saints into the afterlife. The song starts with a straightforward, joyful declaration of the desire to be among the saints when they come marching in. It expresses a yearning and a longing for that moment. The repetition of the phrase "Good Lord" shows that the singer recognizes that it is only by the grace of God that one can enter heaven.
The song then moves to a more somber tone, as it speaks of the end of the world. The desire to be among the saints transcends even the end of the world, the sun not shining, or the moon going down in blood. The singer promises to meet his dear old mother, sister, and brother when the saints go marching in. The sentiment expressed here is powerful because it speaks of the singer's faith in a reunification with his loved ones who have passed away. It also suggests a deep connection to the spiritual traditions that highlight the continuity of life after death.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, when the saints go marching in
The singer desires to be among the righteous souls who enter the gates of heaven on the day of reckoning.
Good Lord, I want to be in the number
The singer expresses his deep longing to be included among the count of God's chosen people.
And when the sun refuse to shine
Even in times when life seems bleak and the light of hope fades, the singer's desire to be counted among the saints remains steadfast.
I had a dear old mother
The singer reflects on the memory of his beloved mother, who has departed to the afterlife.
She's gone on to heaven, I know
He believes that his mother has entered the gates of heaven and hopes to meet her there one day.
I promised the Lord I would meet her
Out of love and devotion to his mother, the singer has made a promise to meet her in heaven when the time comes.
Oh, when the moon gone down in blood
Even in the midst of great turmoil and strife, the singer wishes to be counted among the faithful souls who will find redemption and salvation.
I had a dear old sister
The singer reflects on the memory of his beloved sister who has departed to the afterlife.
When the star begin to fall
In the final moments before the end of time as we know it, the singer hopes to be among those who are righteous and will be called to heaven.
I had a dear old brother
The singer reflects on the memory of his beloved brother who has departed to the afterlife.
When the moon gone down in blood
Even in the face of great adversity and calamity, the singer remains steadfast in his desire to be among those who will find eternal peace and happiness.
Contributed by Kaelyn M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.