 Bobbie “Mercy” Oliver was born in 1939 in Atlanta, Texas. He was one of twelve children born to former sharecroppers, Claude and Mary Lee Oliver. His father was musically gifted and played the guitar and entertained his family after a hard day’s work. Bobbie inherited this talent, and taught himself to play on a cheap Sears & Roebuck guitar that his sister ordered for him (to the surprise of his father when the bill came). Bobbie was influenced by Jimmy Reed, who combined the harmonica and guitars with vocals. Bobbie also taught himself to play the harmonica. Shortly after graduation from high school, he moved to Chicago.
In Chicago, he formed his own blues band, the Oliver Family Trio. The band consisted of his sister, Mary, on bass guitar; his wife on drums; and Bobbie on guitar and harmonica. He was one of the first performers to play Slim Harpo’s Scratch My Back – a standard for Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Chuck Berry. It remains a staple in his repertoire.
Bobbie formed his present
band, Jam City Revue, in 1994 with just a drummer – Eddie
Robbins. Eddie’s brother, Kenny, joined them on the Congo’s
and percussions. Sister Mary joined in on bass guitar, and brother,
Freddy on the drums. When Mary and Freddy left the band, Bobbie
taught his nephew K. T. Turner to play the bass. Today the band
consists of Bobbie “Mercy” Oliver on rhythm guitar,
harmonica, and vocals; K. T. Turner on bass and vocals; Booker Carpenter
on drums and percussion's, and Winston (Commando) Watson from Jamaica
on lead and vocals, Jamaican music and Reggae and percussion.
Jam City Revue is an East
Texas treasure, having appeared in numerous annual festivals and
music events in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. They have performed
on Beale Street in Memphis. Bobbie and his band continue to share
his music from his home in Marshall, Texas. On June 17, 2006
Bobbie Oliver & Jam City Revue
were the premiere band
for the inaugural T-Bone Walker Blues Fe st. Bobbie will be
a regular featured performer for The T-Bone.
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