Robert Ealey

Robert Ealey, a vocalist and songwriter based in Dallas, first performed at age 15 as part of a quartet in the church of his hometown, Texarkana. The styles of Lightnin' Hopkins, Lil' Son Jackson, Frankie Lee Sims and Aaron "T-Bone" Walker shaped his approach, prompting him to launch a professional blues career at 20 once he relocated to Dallas. In nearby Fort Worth he entered the Boogie Chillen Boys and took the featured-vocalist slot at the Blue Bird Club. Two decades of appearances there led him to purchase the venue, which he operated for the next ten years.

He joined forces with guitarist Tone Sommer in 1990, after which the pair began performing beyond Texas. Their brand of authentic Texas urban blues quickly attracted listeners across Europe, a region they have visited more than a dozen times since that year. Sommer and Ealey also supplied music for television commercials. Each September Ealey stages his own blues festival in Fort Worth’s Sundance Square.

BlackTop Records acquired several master tapes from Dallas’s Top Cat label and issued Ealey’s Turn Out the Lights. The album features guitarists Mike Morgan and Sommer, drummer Ty Grimes and saxophonist Mark Rybiski, all drawn from the top ranks of D/FW blues players. I Like Music When I Party appeared in 1997.