Robert Cray says he and his band are planning for a good time Friday in Clayton.
And those who show up at The Clayton Center that night will be treated to what Cray promises will be an unforgettable evening of blues.
"What we've been doing recently is working without a set list," said Cray, calling from his home near Santa Barbara, Calif. "We get on stage and start calling out the songs, and every so often if an audience member calls out something, we just might do it. We are trying to keep it loose and make every night different than the night prior."
Cray is never content to play his music the same way twice.
"If you have a set list you're doing night after night, you become kind of complacent," he said. "You are getting to the position where you're just doing it. I like the idea of not knowing what's going to be next. It puts smiles on people's faces when we pull out songs we haven't done in a long time. The songs may not be as happening as we want them to be, but we will turn around, smile and give it a shot another time."
Finding his sound
Cray was born in Columbus, Ga., and grew up in Newport News, Va. During junior high school, he took mechanical drawing and thought he wanted to be an architect.
He loved music and immersed himself in his parents' record collection.
"They had a great collection with a lot of jazz, blues and R&B, and I listened to what was on the radio in the '60s - The Beatles, Sam & Dave and Jimi Hendrix," he said.
Cray started listening to blues guitar players like B.B. King.
"The way he would approach a guitar - it was like having a conversation with somebody, and I thought that was really cool," he said. "I started to hear how he'd make the guitar a part of the song instead of having the guitar rule the song."
Cray also appreciated the way Hendrix played opposite of King.
"Jimi would be all over the place and B.B. King would tell a story in the song and the guitar accentuates the story," he said. "I try to do that but don't always succeed. I try to make it where the song and the story are the most important thing. Sometimes it serves well not to have a solo in a song, though we haven't gotten that far yet."
Cray was in high school when he formed his first band. A few years later, his group backed up blues legend Albert Collins on Collins' West Coast tour.
"He (Collins) played my high school graduation party and four or five years later, we backed him up," Cray said. "We were young men in our early 20s and we had a father figure like Albert Collins. It was pretty educational for us."
After several years of regional success, Cray signed with Mercury Records in 1982. His third album, "Strong Persuader," produced a Grammy Award, a hit single, "Smoking Gun," and name recognition.
"That album, because it got so much exposure and sold so many copies, gave us the position we are in now, which is where any band would love to be," Cray said. "That is, to be able to continue to work. We couldn't ask for anything more than that. Id say that's the ultimate - having success gave us a larger fan base."
Hitting the big time
Cray has won five Grammys and gone on to play with Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker, Collins, Buddy Guy, King and Muddy Waters and worked with Tina Turner, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Tony Bennett, among others.
He has appeared on countless television shows and magazines and this year became the youngest member ever inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
"That was quite nerve-wracking," he said. "I don't feel like I can speak to people without a guitar in my hand, and the acceptance speech was a big fumble. But it was exciting, and I felt like everyone in attendance and the ones who nominated and voted for me were really sincere.
'It was really humbling."
Out of everything he has accomplished in his three decades of making music, Cray is most proud of his longevity.
"I'm proud of the fact that we are still here," he said of his band. "The thing is, I am proud of the fact that we went at it just to have fun and to this day, it still is.
"The business end kind of gets in the way and gets you frustrated a little bit, but as soon as you get to the stage, you remember why you did it in the first place."
Tickets for the show are $35.50 and can be purchased by phone at 553-1737, online at theclaytoncenter.com or through the venue's box office.
