Biography

Robert Ward – New Role Soul
Delmark DE 741
Compact Disc

Robert Ward’s singing has the urgency and immediacy of the great southern soul singers, and his guitar playing is legendary in the history of blues and soul. Possessed of a playing style so unique, Robert’s sound is instantly recognizable. He pioneered the use of the Magnatone amplifier on his ’60s singles and backed The Falcons, featuring Wilson Pickett, on “I Found a Love” one of the most inspired Soul records of all time. Robert did session work at Motown and is on the Temptations’ All Directions album (which included “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”). Robert was off the scene until he was re-discovered in 1991. He toured intensively, came out with three albums and won over many new fans. Soul. Truth. Power. Love. Conviction. New Role Soul — The positive message all rolled up into an undeniable, dynamic groove.


1. Put Yourself In My Place (Robert Ward) 3:41
2. New Role Soul (Roberta Ward) 4:05
3. Never Found A Girl (Floyd/Jones/Isbell) 4:28
4. Proud To Have You For My Love (Cecil Womack) 5:15
5. Peace Of Mind (Robert Ward) 4:39
6. The Chicken Jerk (Robert Ward) 4:00
7. Whatever I Receive (Robert Ward) 10:03
8. Don’t Make No Sense (Robert Ward) 3:02
9. I Come To Save You (Robert Ward) 3:50
10. Ark Of Safety (Roberta Ward) 3:11
11. Chittlins Con Carne (Kenny Burrell) 3:55
12. I Ain’t Drunk (Joe Liggins) 5:52
13. Somethin' Funky's Goin' On (Roberta Ward) 4:33

Soul. Truth. Power. Love. Conviction. New Role Soul -- The positive message all rolled up into an undeniable, dynamic groove.

Robert Ward, vocals, guitar
Kevin McKendree, organ & piano
Willie "Vamp" Samuels, bass
Wayne Stewart, drums
Roberta Ward, vocal on Ark Of Safety

Robert and Roberta Ward’s compositions are published by Robert Ward Publishing Co., BMI.

On Ark Of Safety add
Roberta Ward, lead vocal
Bruce Thompson, Sr., organ
Roberta Thomas, vocal arrangement, backup vocal and tambourine
Kay Reed, Theresa Davis, backup vocals

On 1, 3, 5, 9, 13 add
Kenny Anderson, trumpet
Hank Ford, tenor sax
Sonny Seals, tenor sax
Willie Henderson, baritone sax and horn arrangements

Robert plays the Magnatone Stereo Vibrato amplifier on 3, 4, 7, 11. On the remainder a Fender Vibrolux.

Produced by Steve Wagner and Pete Nathan
Album Production and Supervision: Robert G. Koester
Recorded at Riverside Studios on August 28 - 30, 1999 by Steve Wagner


Robert Ward is one of those magical spirits. His passion for life and the
openness of his soul simply bubble forth like an ancient fountain. His music
goes to a spiritual depth (without being preachy) that most folks only find
in church. What Robert does is present that spirituality, those simple
truths, in song form, kind of like a Zen Master who also happens to be a bad
**** guitar player. Robert’s music will get under your skin, crawl down your
veins and wiggle it’s way into your heart. Like a parable out of the Bible
or an ancient Haiku from Japan, Robert’s words will come back to you when
you need them most. Simple truths about life and how to live it.
Robert was born on October 15, 1938 in Luthersville, Georgia. Music was, for him, a God given gift and by the time he was in his early teens his
father was taking him around to weekend parties. "My daddy used to take me
around to a house on Saturday night, at a fish fry, chittlin’ dinner or a
chicken dinner or something. There was always a woman that shook her ****
real good. There was always a man that could beat the hambone....When I got
ready to go home I couldn’t carry it [the guitar], it’d be so heavy, they’d
put the money in the hole." While in high school, Robert played every
Saturday night with a country and western band on a local radio station out
of LaGrange, Georgia. Robert would mimic the pedal steel lines on guitar
with a slide.
After a stint in the Army in the late 1950s, Robert came back
home and joined a local R&B group called the Brassettes. The band eventually
wound up opening for Atlanta piano legend Willie "Piano Red" Perryman,
playing the regional college circuit. But restlessness set in and Robert
pawned his Les Paul and headed north towards his aunt’s in Dayton, Ohio. It
was here that Robert formed his legendary band, The Ohio Untouchables. The
Untouchables sound was rooted in the emerging Soul of the early 1960s but
stamped with the unmistakable originality of Robert Ward. Robert had
recently purchased his first Magnatone amplifier and was already writing
truly remarkable songs like "Your Love is Amazing" and "Something For
Nothing". The band signed with Detroit label owner Robert West in 1962, and
Robert made his first recordings with fellow label mates, The Falcons. The
Falcons were at that time fronted by Wilson Pickett and included Eddie Floyd
and Sir Mack Rice. Pickett’s scorching vocals wrapped by Ward’s weaving
guitar lines makes the single "I Found a Love" one of the greatest Soul
recordings of all time.
Over the next five years, Robert Ward and the Ohio Untouchables recorded nineteen sides for LuPine and later for Don Davis’ Groove City. These
singles, although commercially unsuccessful, are legendary among Blues and
Soul fans. After the death of his first wife in 1977, Robert and his six
children moved back to Georgia. He went to work for the city of Macon and
for the next thirteen years Robert simply supported his family and played
guitar with a local gospel group, The Sermon Gospel Singers. Unbeknownst to
Robert , there were record collectors that prized his early recordings and
at least one who wanted to find him to record again. Black Top Records owner
Hammond Scott had been searching for Robert Ward for a number of years, and finally in 1990 the two were put in touch. The resulting Fear No Evil album
from 1991 ranks as one of the best albums of the decade in any genre.
For this album, the fifth since his "rediscovery", Robert Ward is once
again on top of his game. "I think this album here will be the best one yet.
Everybody willingly played freely and had a good time doin’ it." The songs
range from the funky to the sublime. "My favorites are ‘Put Yourself in My
Place’, ‘I Come to Save You’ and of course ‘Whatever I Receive’. You see,
the songs are spiritually inspired as you might can tell. Like if I had done
a gospel album they would have been right down the same line. They have
simple messages. You don’t have to say too much to get to the point. The
truth will come out." And in the end, that is what Robert’s music is all
about; truth. "I want people to hear something good for themselves. Or maybe answer a question that they have, maybe they need one word to help them. I’m
preachin’ a bit but mostly teachin’. Delivering a message, you know, but in
a real gentle way."
Robert Ward is one of those unique characters that can get his message
across in a multitude of ways. His lyrics are beautiful, but it is his dual
attack delivery that grabs your ear and keeps you listening. Robert is,
without a doubt, one of the great guitarists in blues history. A playing
style so uniquely his own and instantly recognizable that it puts him in a
class with men like Albert Collins or Earl Hooker. Artists who folks don’t
even try and copy. He invented a sound all his own and stuck with it,
developing it through the years into a second voice. Robert does not merely
play leads, he weaves them in and out and around his vocals forming a
beautiful tapestry of sound. For ten minutes of pure joy sit back and check out "Whatever I Receive" and listen to the magic Robert weaves.
Robert isn’t just a guitar player. He is also blessed with an outstanding
Soul voice. Full of the passion of classic Soul, his vocals rival those of
his long ago friends Wilson Pickett and Eddie Floyd. "I Come to Save You"
and "Somethin’ Funky’s Goin’ On" build to vocal crescendos like a good
Baptist sermon, while numbers like "Proud To Have You For My Love" and
"Don’t Make No Sense" glide along on restrained passion that threatens to
bubble over, but always remains just barely under control.
Robert’s wife, Roberta, adds to the mix by penning three numbers. "She can write good one’s because she’s in that gospel. She’s spiritually anointed!
Yea man." Roberta lends her gritty vocals to the sanctified "Ark of Safety".
In a world where so many folks are self absorbed and constantly trying to
be something they are not, it is refreshing to have an artist like Robert
Ward. Pure, honest and truthful, these are not words you can attach to a lot
of folks these days. But this is what Robert is all about. Sit back, listen,
and soak it in. I guarantee you’ll feel just a little bit better when it’s
all over. And really, isn’t that what the magic of good music is all about?

-Brett J. Bonner

All quotes taken from 1992 and March, 2000 interviews with the author.

Photogrpahy: Black/Toby
Design: Al Brandtner
Special thanks to Emmanuela Tao. Thanks to Dave Specter for the use of his Fender Vibrolux amplifier and Pete Nathan for the use of his Magnatone Stereo Vibrato amplifier.

Other Delmark albums of Interest:
Jimmy Burns, Leaving Here Walking (694)
Night Time Again (730)
Syl Johnson, Back In The Game (674) with Hi Rhythm
Talkin’ Bout Chicago (729)
The Big DooWopper, All In The Joy (742)
Magic Sam, West Side Soul (615)
Black Magic (620)
Live (645)
The Magic Sam Legacy (651)
Give Me Time (654)
Johnny B. Moore, Live At Blue Chicago (688)
Troubled World (701)
Little Milton, Live At Westville Prison (681)

Call or write for a free catalog of jazz and blues:
Delmark Records 1800 684 3480
4121 N. Rockwell
Chicago, IL 60618
C P 2000 Delmark Records
www.delmark.com