| | Robert Cray Strong Persuader CD Robert Cray Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
STRONG PERSUADER won a 1988 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording.
1986's STRONG PERSUADER was a milestone both for Robert Cray and blues in the '80s. It earned Cray, a veteran of the Pacific Northwest blues scene, both his first solo Grammy and Top 30 hit ("Smoking Gun") along with a lift out of the blues ghetto which he'd been excelling in during recent years. As for the blues themselves, Cray infused fresh blood into a genre that had been limping along in that particular decade.
With a smooth singing style to go with an equally recognizable guitar tone, Cray developed a sound that owed as much to soul stylist O.V. Wright as it did to Texas guitarist Albert Collins (with whom Cray had won a Grammy along with Johnny Copeland the prior year). The use of the Memphis Horns strengthened the soul connection on songs such as the punchy "Nothing But A Woman" and the chugging effervescence of "Guess I Showed Her." Of course, Cray's heart lay in the blues and when he wasn't lamenting the woes of infidelity in "Right Next Door (Because Of Me)" and a bad break-up in "Still Around," his guitar playing smoldered throughout the forlorn "New Blood."
Recorded at Sage & Sound and Haywood's, Los Angeles, California.
Personnel: Robert Cray (vocals, guitar); Peter Boe (keyboards); Richard Cousins (bass); David Olson (drums); Lee Spath (percussion).
The Memphis Horns: Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, trombone).
Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #42 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey.
Q - Highly Recommended Robert Cray Strong Persuader Songs Strong Persuader Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  Robert Cray at his best
Easy "blues" listening, a must for any record collection.
Submitted by Pat.tomlinson (Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Sill The One
Robert Cray has been called, 'The Triple Threat Of The Blues' The only thing better than his songwriting is his singing, only bettered by his guitar work. If you could, or would, only have one Cray disc, this is the one. 'Because Of Me' is his signature piece, 'Nothing But A Woman, 'Foul Play', and the notorious, 'Smoking Gun' are all classics.
Submitted by St.Davey (Windham, Me.)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No EXCELLENT!
EXCELLENT RECORDING. EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE. NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID. ROBERT IS PURE BLUES TAKEN TO THE HIGHEST POWER. BUY THIS; YOU WON'T REGRET IT. "SMOKING GUN" WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION RIGHT AWAY. I REST MY CASE.
Submitted by a reviewer (I live in a van down by the river)
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Purchase Strong Persuader CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Robert Cray Bad Influence CD (1983)
Strong Persuader
 $9.35   
Cray's second effort hews to the same musical template as TOO MANY COOKS, his under-appreciated debut. That ...
| | Robert Cray Take Your Shoes Off CD (1999)
Strong Persuader
$13.45 
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF finds Robert Cray picking up the Memphis soul thread that infused so much of 1997's SWEET POTATO PIE. Joined by the always-reliable Memphis Horns, Cray delivers another masterful batch of tunes that are as much a tip of the hat to Stax as they are to Chess. The bluesman's creamy vocals fall somewhere between Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and are particularly effective on the brassy "24-7 Man" and the pleading "Let Me Know." The R&B map is well traversed with Jim Pugh's flickering organ licks and Steve Jordan's solid playing (turning "It's All Gone" into a lost Hi track), while the strolling tempo on "There's Nothing Wrong" brings to mind Motown's finer moments.
As always, the talented guitarist's choice of covers is an interesting mix. Willie Dixon's "Tollin' Bells" is presented with brushed drums and a reverberating chord that eerily replicates the song's title. Most interesting is a reading of Solomon Burke's "Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)" that finds Cray being joined by Cajun accordionist Jo-El Sonnier on an arrangement that ...
| | Robert Cray I Was Warned CD (1992)
Strong Persuader
$5.85 
When Robert Cray recorded 1992's I WAS WARNED, he went with the same line-up that appeared on the wonderfully Stax-soaked MIDNIGHT STROLL. The only exception was Karl Sevareid replacing long-time bass player Richard Cousins. With the Memphis Horns on hand once again, Cray's efforts yielded yet another batch of songs detailing the universal ups and downs found ...
| | Paul Butterfield Blues Band CD (1965)
Strong Persuader
$6.19
The '60s Blues Revival begins here. Calling this album influential is an understatement akin to calling the Grand Canyon a rut; suffice to say that an entire generation of musicians (mostly young and white) heard this and had their lives ...
| | Junior Wells Hoodoo Man Blues CD (1965)
Strong Persuader
$9.85 
HOODOO MAN BLUES is one of the great albums from the era of classic Chicago blues. Though usually overshadowed by mid-century Chicago legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells ranks among the most dynamic and satisfying performers of the milieu, and his ...
| | VH1 Presents The Corrs Live In Dublin CD (2002)
Strong Persuader
$6.79
| | TNT The Complete Studio Recordings 1974-1976 CD (1996)
Strong Persuader
$13.39
| | Neilson Hubbard Why Men Fail CD (2001)
Strong Persuader
$12.89
| | Katrina Krimsky Stella Malu CD (2008)
Strong Persuader
$15.55
| | Freddie King Larger Than Life CD (1975) (Import) United Kingdom
Strong Persuader
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| | Lights Out Get Out CD (2005)
Strong Persuader
$10.29
| | Nanette Workman Roots N Blues CD (2008) (Import) Import
Strong Persuader
$24.95
| | B B King Blues In My Heart CD (1963) (Import) Japan; Mini LP Sleeve
Strong Persuader
$36.79
| | When The Levee Breaks: Mississippi Blues 1926 - 1941 CDs (2007) (Import) United Kingdom
Strong Persuader
$27.35
Track Listing of songs: DISC 1: Cottonfield Blues Part 1; Bedside Blues; Mississippi Bottom Blues; Poor Boy Blues; I'm Leavin' Town; Hittin' the Bottle Stomp; Last Kind Words Blues; Third Street Woman Blues; Muddy Water Blues; Fare Thee Well Blues; That Won't Do; Four O'Clock Flower Blues; Evil Devil Woman Blues; Jail House Blues, The; Black Spider Blues; Traveling Riverside Blues Take 1; Baltimore Blues; Down the Big Road Blues; You Scolded Me and Drove Me; Milk Cow Blues; Ten Pound Hammer; Noiseless Motor Blues; Jailhouse Fire Blues; 4a Highway; Times Has Done Got Hard; DISC 2: Mississippi County Farm Blues; When the Levee Breaks; Ninety Nine Blues; Snake Doctor Blues; Little Girl in Rome; It's Cold in China Blues; Bald Eagle Blues; Boodle-de-Bum Blues; Bull Frog Blues; Dangerous Woman; Shaggy Dog Blues; Devil in the Lion's Den; Quarrellin' Mama Blues; Devil and My Brown Blues; Take a Little Walk With Me; Last Time Blues; Dough Roller Blues; Crowing Rooster, The; Motherless Child Blues; Married Woman Blues; She's Young and Wild; Cherry Ball; Bad Notion Blues; Don't Cry Baby; Rowdy Blues; DISC 3: My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon; Snatch ...
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