b. October 22th, 1942 in Livingstone (Tennessee)
EXPERIENCE
Perfect Toy
December 1967 - 1980's
Roy quitte la ferme familiale pour vivre à Greensboro (Caroline du Nord) chez son oncle. Il apprend la guitare et fréquente les clubs et les bars de la ville. Solomon Burke le prend sous son aile quelques temps et il joue derrière Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding et Eddie Floyd. Dans le même temps, il forme son propre groupe The Roy Roberts Experience et commence au milieu des années 60 à graver ses premiers titres de Soul. En 1967, il enregistre son premier simple pour le label Ninandy (dirigé par Nina Simone et Andy Stroud) : "Legend of Otis Redding" (non repris dans ce CD) et "Got to have your love". Puis, il travaille pour divers petits labels locaux comme Tina (les excellents "I'm number one" et "Returning from cloud nine"), House of the Fox ("You move me"), Parman ("Stop watch what you're doing to me"), Big Brother ("Bee hive"), House of Roton ("Let's wrap up tonight baby").
Roy leaves the family farm to live in Greensboro (North Carolina) with his uncle. He learned the guitar and frequented the city's clubs and bars. Solomon Burke took him under his wing for a while and he played behind Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd. In the meantime, he formed his own group The Roy Roberts Experience and began recording his first Soul titles in the mid 60's. In 1967, he recorded his first single for the Ninandy label (led by Nina Simone and Andy Stroud) : "Legend of Otis Redding" (not included in this CD) and "Got to have your love". Then, he worked for various small local labels like Tina (the excellent "I'm number one" and "Returning from cloud nine"), House of the Fox ("You move me"), Parman ("Stop watch what you're doing to me"), Big Brother ("Bee hive"), House of Roton ("Let's wrap up tonight baby ").
COUNTRY STAR
House of Roton
1981
Après une période Soul, Roy Roberts se lance dans la Country sur les conseils de son ami Arthur Smith. Il accompagne notamment O.B. Mac Clinton, un autre chanteur de Country noir. Puis, Roy enregistre cet album de pure Country pour le label de Greensboro, House of Roton. Mais, ce LP n'est pas très original et ne fit guère parler de lui.
After a Soul period, Roy Roberts launched into Country on the advice of his friend Arthur Smith. He notably accompanies O.B. Mac Clinton, another black singer of Country. Then, Roy recorded this pure Country album for the Greensboro label, House of Roton. But, this LP is not very original and hardly attracted attention.
INTRODUCING
New Moon
September - October 1993
Après une longue absence, Roy profite du Blues Revival pour faire son retour avec cet excellent album produit par Randy Friel. Dans un style Soul-Blues goûteux, il chante parfaitement et sa guitare, précise et claire, est constamment inspirée. Derrière lui, les musiciens sont impeccables (les claviers Skeeter Brandon et Phil Mazarick et une sympathique section cuivres). On peut ressortir de cet intense programme "Me and my baby", "What should I do", "Comin' thru the back door", "Why you didn't come home last night", "She's so fine" et une belle reprise de "Baby what you want me to do". Malheureusement, le label promeut mal le disque qui ne rencontre que peu de succès. Roy réenregistrera le disque pour son propre label Rock House peu après.
After a long absence, Roy took advantage of the Blues Revival to make his return with this excellent album produced by Randy Friel. In a tasty Soul-Blues style, he sings perfectly and his guitar, precise and clear, is constantly inspired. Behind him, the musicians are impeccable (keyboardists Skeeter Brandon and Phil Mazarick and a nice horn section). We can point out from this intense program "Me and my baby", "What should I do", "Comin' thru the back door", "Why you didn't come home last night", "She's so fine" and a nice cover of “Baby what you want me to do”. Unfortunately, the label poorly promoted the record which met with little success. Roy will re-record the album for his own Rock House label shortly after.
A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE
2 Hot
1995
LIVE
Rock House
1995
Sur sa propre marque Rock House qu'il vient de créer, Roy Roberts propose ce puissant album live capturé dans un club de Winston-Salem. Il délivre un fougueux set de Soul-Blues dans lequel sa voix et sa guitare sont brillants : "Comin' thru the back door", "What should I do", "My baby left me" et une belle reprise de "Thrill is gone".
On his own Rock House imprint that he has just created, Roy Roberts offers this powerful live album captured in a Winston-Salem club. He delivers a fiery set of Soul-Blues in which his voice and guitar are brilliant : "Comin' thru the back door", "What should I do", "My baby left me" and a beautiful cover of "Thrill is gone".
INTRODUCING
Rock House
1996
EVERY SHADE OF BLUE
King Snake
Rock House
November 1996
Sous la supervision du producteur Bob Greenlee, Roy continue de délivrer une Soul-Blues cuivrée, puissante et inspirée, avec des titres consistants comme "I got a gypsy woman", "Hard to find a woman", "Have you seen my baby", "My baby left me". Il se montre ici une nouvelle fois un excellent chanteur et un guitariste précis.
Under the supervision of producer Bob Greenlee, Roy continues to deliver a brassy, powerful and inspired Soul-Blues, with consistent titles like "I got a gypsy woman", “Hard to find a woman”, “Have you seen my baby”, “My baby left me”. Here he once again shows himself to be an excellent singer and a precise guitarist.
DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE
Rock House
1999
BURNIN' LOVE
Rock House
2001
DAYLIGHT WITH A FLASHLIGHT
Rock House
2003
PARTNERS AND FRIENDS
Rock House
2004
Association des deux amis Roy Roberts et Johnny Rawls dans leur style Soul Sudiste traditionnel. Leur entente est perceptible tout au long de l'enregistrement partageant le chant et la guitare. On apprécie, en particulier, "Don't let this love slip away", "How long", "Country boy", "Can't you see", "What's been going on" et "Shaggin' down in Carolina".
Association of the two friends Roy Roberts and Johnny Rawls in their traditional Southern Soul style. Their understanding is perceptible throughout the recording sharing singing and guitar. We particularly like "Don't let this love slip away", "How long", "Country boy", "Can't you see", "What's been going on" and "Shaggin' down in Carolina".
BY REQUEST : THE BEST OF ROY ROBERTS
Rock House
2004
SICILY MOON
Rock House
2006
BLUES AND SOUL REVIEW vol.1
Rock House
2006
Dans cette excellente anthologie consacrée aux artistes du label Rock House, Roy Roberts est évidemment très présent puisqu'il est son créateur. Il apparait sur la moitié des titres. On apprécie en particulier "If you can't put it out", "Daylight with a flashlight" et surtout un "Three old blues men" partagé avec Chick Willis et Floyd Miles.
In this excellent anthology dedicated to the artists of the Rock House label, Roy Roberts is obviously very present since he is its creator. He appears on half of the titles. We particularly appreciate "If you can't put it out", "Daylight with a flashlight" and especially "Three old blues men" shared with Chick Willis and Floyd Miles.
MAN WITH A MESSAGE
Rock House
2007
IT'S ONLY YOU
Rock House
2008
Entre Soul et Blues, comme à son habitude, Roy Roberts propose un album consistant et bien produit pour son propre label. On trouve ici de beaux morceaux comme "Got to watch my step", "It's only you", "Singing another blues song", "The rain was falling" et une belle reprise de "Motherless child".
Between Soul and Blues, as usual, Roy Roberts offers a consistent and well-produced album for his own label. Here we find beautiful pieces like "Got to watch my step", "It's only you", "Singing another blues song", "The rain was falling" and a beautiful cover of "Motherless child".
STRANGE LOVE
Ocean Beach
2011
Pour le label Ocean Beach basé à San Diego, Roy enregistre dans son style habituel entre Blues et Soul Sudiste. Un album sympathique à la tracklist convaincante mais on peut retenir "My love bone", "Hey baby", "Strange love", "We still together", "The next time".
For the San Diego based label Ocean Beach, Roy records in his usual style between Blues and Southern Soul. A nice album with a convincing tracklist but we can point out “My love bone”, “Hey baby”, “Strange love”, “We still together”, “The next time”.
THREE PAIR
Ocean Beach
2012
Il s'agit en fait de la réédition de l'album "Partners and friends" que Roy Roberts partageait avec Johnny Rawls. A la tracklist de base, on a ajouté quatre morceaux dans lesquels Roy est associé à la chanteuse Barbara Carr : "It's only you", "Tonight your love belongs to me", "Don't let our love slip away" et "Shaggin' down in Carolina".
It is in fact the reissue of the album "Partners and friends" that Roy Roberts shared with Johnny Rawls. To the basic tracklist were added four songs in which Roy is associated with singer Barbara Carr : "It's only you", "Tonight your love belongs to me", "Don't let our love slip away" and "Shaggin' down in Carolina".
HANDS ON THE MUSIC
Rock House
2018
BACK IN LOVE
Rock House
2019
Cet album est malheureusement gâché par les arrangements synthétiques et aseptisés. Il reste quelques lueurs de bon blues par moments sur "I'll be your plumber man" ou "I'm a real blues man".
This album is unfortunately spoiled by the synthetic and flat arrangements. There are some glimmers of good blues at times on "I'll be your plumber man" or "I'm a real blues man".
NOTHIN' BUT THE BLUES
Rock House
2020
Toujours en forme, Roy présente ici une belle tranche de Soul-Blues cuivrée. Un solide album pas forcément très original (Roy reprend ses meilleurs titres blues) mais contenant de bons moments comme "Can't have it your way", "Why didn't you come home", "I'm a real blues man", "Singing another blues song".
Always in good shape, Roy presents here a nice slice of brassy Soul-Blues. A solid album not necessarily very original (Roy covers his best blues songs) but containing good moments like "Can't have it your way", "Why didn't you come home", "I'm a real blues man", "Singing another blues song".
WHEN COUNTRY WAS COUNTRY
Rock House
2021
COVERING THE YEARS
Rock House
2022