Bob Lohr: Tickling The Keys Of History

For Christmas my wife bought me a $25 ticket to see Chuck Berry perform at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis.  (Read about it HERE). 

That was the first I ever heard of Bob Lohr.  He was behind an electric piano sounding like one of the original artists on Chuck Berry's great 28.  I have had the good fortune of seeing Chuck Berry perform at least ten times since 1970, including some shows in the early 1970s when he was at his instrumental peak.  But I've never seen him have more fun with a band than at Blueberry Hill.  And I've never seen him play live with a better piano player.

Anyway, I was lucky enough to get Bob Lohr to answer some questions.  I thought I'd have to edit it into a story-- but we got very lucky here.  Enjoy.


What sort of law do you practice?

Mostly criminal: drug/DWI/traffic defense, Federal, State and local. If you get popped in Missouri, call me...I also defend mental illness patients against involuntary commitment...enjoy that as well....

How do you balance your life in the law and your life as a musician?

I'm a sole practitioner, so I call my own shots. I come and go according to a court schedule I set for myself. As such, I rarely have a problem with conflicts between playing w/ Chuck and the courtroom. A lot of the judges who toil in the same legal vineyard will come out to see me play...same with a number of prosecutors/fellow defense attorneys. For some reason, it all works out. I don't do a lot of trial work, plus I avoid high-stress cases....gets in the way of the dreaded blues/rock piano...

Do you know Bob Baldori? And what’s Chuck’s thing with musical lawyers?

I do know my evil twin Counselor Baldori...excellent piano/harp player and a top-flight attorney...he also does a lot of criminal defense in his home state of Michigan. Bob has played with Chuck for over 40 years...started backing him in the '60's with his legendary Michigan/Detroit band the Woolies. Bob comes in a couple of times a year to the Blueberry Hill gigs in St. Louis...we drag him up and force him to kick a few numbers on the piano...then he switches up and blows harp the rest of the set. Lately, Bob's been kicking some serious worldwide ass with his boogie-woogie piano duo, Seely & Baldori...they have two big grand pianos onstage and they let it roll...killer stuff. They've been playing to massive response all over Europe. As for Chuck's thing with musical lawyers? Pure coincidence, although Bob and I come in handy if any legal altercations arise while on the road...

(Editorial hint from Peter O'Neil:  Mr. Berry-- I am a lawyer.  Unfortunately, my piano repetoire is restricted to the key of C.)

How did you get started in the music business?

...started when the maid taught me to play "After Hours" on piano at the age of nine...got hip to Muddy Waters at 12, and took it from there...started hanging out in East St. Louis at all the gutbucket blues dives at 15...played with a gang of people since then...check out my MySpace page for a semi-complete listing...pretty wild, in that I ended up gigging with a lot of the same cats I grew up listening to on records as a kid...including Chuck...

Who did you grow up listening to?

...the usual suspects: Muddy, Wolf, Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Billy Boy Arnold, the three Kings (BB, Albert & Freddie), the entire Chess roster including Chuck, plus Magic Sam, Otis Rush, plus all Motown piano players...Johnny Griffith, Earl Van Dyke/Stax/r&b/blues indie labels, etc. Lots of New Orleans stuff as well...Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint...lots of funk too. Plus all the British blues/rock cats, Clapton, Beck, Page, Greene, Gallagher, Mayall, Savoy Brown etc...plus I love English rock...Free/Paul Rodgers, for example...Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, Bowie, T-Rex...you name it...I like it all and have played it all at one time or another...even country...haha...did the piano on a new country project for a cat a while back, plus I just played on a cool Detroit-style proto-punk CD which also features Wayne Kramer of the MC5...!!! I love the MC5/Stooges/Iggy Pop vibe...

Do you remember your first gig with Chuck Berry? What was that like?

I got a call from Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill, back in '96 at my law office...asked whether I'd like to play piano behind Chuck at his 70th birthday show..said Johnnie couldn't make it . This was the first official Chuck BBH monthly show. Of course, I said sure...and I've been there and elsewhere around the world w/ Chuck since...played with him well over 200 times and counting...also played on most of his new CD project...

Did you know Johnnie Johnson?

Yes I did know Johnnie...nice guy who I first met back in '74...invited me over to his house, sat down and played piano with me, etc. Didn't see him again until '88, when I was playing w/former Chess blues singer Barbara Carr who had just signed to Jewel/Paula Records...after the show, Johnnie came up and unexpectedly hugged me...said "Man...you sound just like me!"...nice compliment. To me, Johnnie pretty much laid out the blueprint as to how to play piano behind Chuck...needless to say, Johnnie was a big influence on me, especially cuts like "Wee Wee Hours"...of course, a lot of people don't know that there were other piano players instead of Johnnie on some of the classic Chuck cuts, most notably Lafayette Leake, who played piano on "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock & Roll Music"...also Otis Spann, (see him Here!), who played on "You Can't Catch Me" and "No Money Down"...Paul Williams, who played on "You Never Can Tell"...etc...they should also be in the RR Hall of Fame as sidemen...especially Lafayette Leake, who was essentially one of two Chess staff piano players, the other being of course Otis Spann...btw...that lawsuit was total/complete nonsense (here ) with no basis in fact...Johnnie was a good piano player, but could not write music nor lyrics if you held a gun to his head...I've played with both Johnnie and Chuck, and to a man, nobody I know who has played with either of them ever claimed Johnnie could write music other than play a straight blues progression...which is essentially like handing you a prefab musical template...great guy and sideman, but that's all he was...a great sideman...

Did you/Have you met any of the other Chess greats? Who? When?

Yes...starting back in the '60's...Muddy, Wolf, Koko Taylor, Hubert Sumlin, Otis Spann, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy...check my MySpace page as to who I've actually played with over the years...a gang of people from Chicago and Mississippi...

What’s the best thing about playing with CB?

The music and worldwide crowd response...you're playing with a major musical architect/icon of the 20th Century and somebody who's damn near as famous as the Beatles. The money's always right and on time, plus I rarely have to move any equipment...what I request is almost always there ahead of time. The touring conditions are the absolute best as well...five star hotels, sometimes first-class airfare, all expenses paid. Chuck is also very generous with solos...sometimes he'll let me burn 4-5 in a row...also, Chuck is an extremely funny guy onstage...he'll come over and start talking to me during the show...he'll get me laughing so hard I've almost fallen off the piano stool a couple of times...can't tell you what he said, though...haha...all in all, Chuck is the best cat I've ever played for by a long shot. He's always treated me with a ton of respect...essentially like one of his family, so what can I say?

What’s the toughest thing?

the one hour set length...stopping after the set is over...I'm ready to play another couple of hours...we have way too much fun...

Did you see him perform much in his younger days? Describe

...from the '60's on I'd see Chuck around town or at concerts...Chuck used to have rock festivals out at Berry Park in the late '60's early '70's...major acts, 10,000+ people would be there...he'd always play at some point...Chuck would also show up unannounced and sit in with local bands...

He seems comfortable up there having a regular band—any comments?

I would agree 100%...Keith Robinson, Jim Marsala, Ingrid Berry and I are old-school veterans from way back who know the Berry catalog inside out, and Butch (Chuck Jr.) has been in the band now for 8-9 years...he nails the rhythm guitar parts well and also kicks some nice lead solos when required...Jim has played bass w/ Chuck as his bandleader for over 35 years...I've been w/ Chuck for almost 14 years, and Keith (who used to be Johnnie's drummer) has been with us for 5 years...plus Ingrid has been playing w/ her Dad since she was 5...haha....btw...we actually do "Promised Land" and "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" from time to time...on the other hand, I've seen Chuck absolutely smoke over the years with a pickup band...that BBC TV program from '72 is a prime example...probably the best Chuck on video anywhere...

What are some of your other musical memories?

...playing/recording with some of the old-school Delta blues cats at the various festivals such as the King Biscuit in Helena, Sunflower Blues fest in Clarksdale, plus a bunch of blues fests nationwide and in Europe..getting called up onstage by Albert Collins back in '72 at the Keystone-Berkeley, CA...have also played some some interesting r&b cats...recently played for a few months in Ernie Isley's band here...started to conflict w/ Chuck, so I had to quit...can only do so much as one human on the planet. I have essentially retired from club work this year...too much smoke, drunk idiots and not enough money...haha...

What was it like for you going down to Mississippi where it all began?

...you have to understand that Memphis/Mississippi is just a short drive from St. Louis, which is essentially the Gateway to the South as well as to the West...as such, it's just another day at the office to me...I grew up in the same musical/cultural environment with the same people...it's cool to go to Clarksdale, but it's no different from the streets of East/Northside St. Louis...maybe slightly hotter in the summer, but not by much...

(Final Editorial Note:  After my utterly humiliating visit to Berry Park in the late 1970s all I can say is that actually Wentzville can be hotter than the red hot tamales at Clarksdale.  Hot enough to kill a Fiat.  Or at least stun it for an hour or two.  Beyond that, all I can say from all Chuck Berry fans is: Thank You Mr. Lohr, and keep on with what you're doing.  This gig of yours is historic.)