The pastor of Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church, Robert is a self-taught musician who developed a love for traditional blues music as a teenager and began playing professionally in his mid-twenties. Nowadays, he is a scholar of blues and gospel, and WDET is honored to have him as the host of
Deep River, a gospel and spiritual show that delves into America's devout and sacred music tradition. As a performer, Robert has shared the stage with a variety of well-known musical artists, such as Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams and Dr. John. His styles include songs and playing styles from the Mississippi Delta, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and early Chicago blues traditions. Aside from his performing and broadcasting careers, he has taught blues music at Central Michigan University, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo College, among other places. Robert has received many awards in the past, including 1991 Metro Times "Detroit's Best Blues Instrumentalist" and 1995 Living Blues Magazine named him "one of America's Top Blues Performers."
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Most radio is about what’s the latest cut and there is nothing wrong with modern gospel, but the rich heritage and tradition of this music has been the foundation for many contemporary performers" --Robert Jones
You can e-mail Robert Jones at rjones@wdetfm.org.
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