Robert Johnson gravesite photo by Sheila Scarborough/CC BY 2.0 and HeavyDrunk photo by A. Scarlati
Blues musician Rob Robinson goes by the stage name of HeavyDrunk as he performs and records his music and has a new album out, You Don’t Know Me, produced by Casey Wasner. We had a chance to sit down with Rob about his music. And Rob has also taken on as a significant cause: helping to restore the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi. Anyone with a modicum of music history knowledge knows that Robert Johnson lived a short life, passed away under mysterious circumstances when he was only in his 20s, and later, posthumously influenced blues and rock n roll musicians worldwide. Currently his tombstone site at the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church is in need of repair, and HeavyDrunk is working toward that goal by donating time, fundraising, and spreading the word. To donate to the repair fund for the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church send by CashApp here $LittleZionMBChurch
Americana Highways: Can you tell our readers about the history and context of Robert Johnson’s gravesite as it currently stands?
Rob Robinson: Robert Johnson’s grave is in Greenville, Mississippi at The Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Money Road. Little Zion is a historic black Church built in 1872. Robert was buried there in 1938. HeavyDrunk was playing The Juke Joint festival in Clarksdale back in April of this year, so I drove to Greenville to pay my respects to Robert. The day I arrived, some folks were working on the church and cleaning up the grounds. I stepped inside the church to put some money in the plate and met Mrs. Clora. She explained how the church was struggling to keep up the historic building and graveyard. I felt called to lend a hand, so I reached out to Visit Greenwood. They graciously stepped up, keeping up the grounds for the year. They also built a fence around the graveyard. We are currently raising funds and seeking a grant to revitalize and sustain the historic church and graveyard.
AH: What the plan is for restoring it?
RR: There is some landscaping that needs to be done. The church needs a new roof, foundation work, some electrical updates and new paint.
AH: How would you describe Robert Johnson’s impact on the music scene?
RR: Robert Johnson sold fewer than 5,000 records in his lifetime. As of now, he has over 300,000 followers on Spotify (85 years after his death). He has posthumously sold millions of records. His struggles, the songs he wrote, the mystery and legend surrounding him had a profound impact on me and many other musicians over the years. He is one of the founding fathers of blues music. He influenced many rock, folk and blues artists, including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Johnny Winter, Elmore James, Keith Richards, Robert Plant and many others. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Johnson in the Early Influence category in its first ceremony in 1986. The licks he played still resonate with guitar players and blues fans everywhere and we seek to honor that by maintaining his grave site.
AH: How did HeavyDrunk’s new album You Don’t Know Me get started?
RR: Initially the new HeavyDrunk record was part of my rehabilitation. When I sold my BBQ/live music/gas station/grocery store in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. I needed some intervention, so that was the working title ‘The Intervention.’ Writing and recording the new record helped me kick my BBQ habit. I’ve been a habitual BBQ smoker the last 13 years. Over that time I smoked over 700,000 lbs. of BBQ. This record helped me stop.
AH: What was the production process like for the album?
RR: I had sketches of most of the songs, that I finished. I pulled in a couple things I had written earlier and some old standards I love to complete the material. We cut everything over at The Purple House with Grammy Winner Casey Wasner. Casey manned the knobs and faders recording and mixing.
Roy Agee, Emmanuel Echem and Evan Cobb constitute the Heavy Horns blowing great tone. Brothers Ted and John Seigel of The Deltaz grease up the rhythm section with Alison Prestwood and Brian Allen switching out on bass. Kurt Stowe returns on blues guitar and Casey Martin holds down the keyboards. Etta Britt and Jackie Wilson are the sweet soul sisters touching up the background. Rob Robinson fingers flatwounds and sings lead vocals.
AH: Tell us more about the story of the first song on the album, who was the bootlegger’s son “Sippi Dupree”?
RR: Sippi Dupree is about my bus driver when I was a kid. In the 3rd grade when I got my first D on my report card, I was crying when I got on the bus. I knew I was going to get tuned up when I got home. He pulled me aside, sat me beside him and talked me down. He didn’t have to be kind to me, but he was. We became friends. He disappeared the next year and I never saw him again. “Sippi Dupree” is his story.
AH: The title track, “You Don’t Know Me” has a message. What’s the message and who is it aimed for?
RR: “You Don’t Know Me” is about how we are changed when we meet certain people in our lives. We change so much, that they really don’t get to know the pitiful slob you were before. You pull yourself together and become a better you, and you hope no one lets on what a basket case you were before. The title also speaks to the fact that HeavyDrunk is a lot of things: Irreverent and Reverent, Blues, Soul, and Gospel with a lot of brass.
AH: If a person only had ten minutes to listen to three songs on the album, which would you suggest and why?
RR: “Sippi Dupree,”
“Love & Devotion,”
and “Fault Line.”
These are a fair representation of HeavyDrunk. It doesn’t cover every fascet of what we do, but if you like these you’ll like HeavyDrunk
AH: Which song on the album with you suggest as a first song for anyone to listen to it they haven’t heard your music before?
RR: “Love & Devotion.” It is a top request along with “Memphis” from the album ‘Holy Water.’
AH: What’s the next step in the Robert Johnson restoration project?
RR: We will continue to raise awareness and we will shepherd the maintenance of the church and graveyard as best we can.
AH: What’s your next step musically this winter?
RR: I am writing for the next record. Beginning pre-production while booking dates for next year.
To donate to the repair fund for the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church send by CashApp here $LittleZionMBChurch
Find more information about HeavyDrunk here: https://heavydrunk.com