It’s a procession that seems to stand outside time: the Bobby “Blue” Bland Revue, criss-crossing the country through a helter-skelter schedule of one-night stands. Peter Guralnick has called it the Lost Highway, but for those who wake up wondering (or not caring) what town it is, the name is always the same: The Road. At the helm of this weary caravan is the star, Bobby “Blue” Bland.

He seems an unlikely sex symbol for black America, yet for many that’s what he is and always will remain. A big, huggable man with an immediately endearing smile, he sings blues songs with a controlled intensity and slight insouciance, a style that lends even his most caustic lyrics a vulnerable softness. Others of his generation have come and gone, but Bobby “Blue” Bland remains King of The Road.