Born Robert Lee McCollum on November 30, 1909 in Helena, Arkansas, the man who later became known as Robert Nighthawk was a busking musician early on, traveling through Mississippi and settling for a time in Memphis, Tennessee, where he played with several local musicians and bands, including the Memphis Jug Band. After another stint playing and wandering in Mississippi, he took his mother's name and began calling himself Robert Lee McCoy. Possessing a solid slide guitar style, he recorded a few sides under the McCoy name, including "Prowling Night-Hawk," for Victor Records in Aurora, Illinois in 1937. Settling in St. Louis, Missouri, he tracked additional sides for the Victor, Bluebird, and Decca imprints under various names. He re-emerged in the late '40s as the slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk, recording for Aristocrat and Chess Records, but soon dropped out of sight again, only to be rediscovered busking on the streets of Chicago in 1963, which led to further recording dates and club appearances. He continued to play regularly on Maxwell Street in Chicago before returning to Helena, Arkansas, where a heart attack and stroke ended his life on November 5, 1967 at the age of 57. He is the father of blues musician Sam Carr.
Robert Lee McCoy Biography by Steve Leggett