The first time I saw Duke Robillard play was at the storied, long-gone Boston club Ed Burke’s. I also saw, for the first time, Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson the previous night at Ed Burke’s. It was quite the weekend for me as I was starting my journey on the path that finds me writing this today. As my years and career ascended, I became friends with Luther and Duke. Luther has left us but I had the pleasure of sitting down with Duke one afternoon to talk about his amazing journey through music.
Published in June 2023, I feel this is a fine time to revisit my conversation with Duke Robillard. This is what I wrote at that time, as Duke’s then new album Six Strings of Steel was about to be released.
“On a pleasant spring afternoon, Duke and I talked about his life and career journey of discovering and playing blues, jazz, R&B, and rock-n-roll. We dive into his searching for 78rpm records and this collecting influence on the start of Roomful of Blues. The conversation wraps up discussing his new record Six Strings of Steel.”
Please listen here for the first time, or once again to enjoy anew.
For those of you in Cambridge and the greater Boston area, I will be leading a music history and appreciation course at Cambridge Continuing Adult Education on Thursdays in June and July at 6:00pm. It is called The Gathering. You can find out more and sign up here. I look forward to seeing some of you over the summer.
Catch me on the radio dial every Saturday afternoon 4-5pm EST with Crooked Road Songs on WICN 90.5fm locally in Central Massachusetts, and globally at wicn.org. My playlist from Saturday, June 14, 2025:
Frank Stokes “Downtown Blues”
Guy Davis “In the Evening Time”
Dave Alvin “Evening Blues”
Tom Russell & Barrence Whitfield “Irma Jackson”
John Hiatt “Lincoln Town”
Sister Rosetta Tharpe “Down by the Riverside”
Mahalia Jackson “Down by the Riverside”
Bob Dylan & Ralph Stanley “The Lonesome River”
Creedence Clearwater Revival “Green River”
Los Lobos “Down on the Riverbed”
Charlie Rich “River, Stay Away from My Door”
Clara Ward “Time is Winding Up”
Bobby “Blue” Bland “Turn on Your Love Light”
Johnny Ace “Pledging My Love”
James Davis “I’m Gonna Tell It on You”
Fenton Robinson “As the Years Go Passing By”
Little Junior Parker “Seven Days”
Larry Davis “Texas Flood”