MACON, Ga. — On May 15, 1945, a Macon blues artist was born. His name is Robert Lee Coleman.
Coleman says when he was young, he would watch his stepdad play the guitar. He says his stepdad was the best he'd ever seen play the string instrument.
"Every time he grabbed the guitar at the house, I sat down on the living room floor, crossed my legs and watched him," Coleman said.
He said his stepdad never taught him how to play. He never knew why. Coleman says his stepdad would play "all the old blues."
"I'm talking about BB King and Buddy Guy," Coleman said.
The 78-year-old Coleman says he touched a guitar and fell in love when he was younger. He got his first taste of the stage at church.
"I started out playing gospel, like Aretha did. They come out of the church," Coleman said. "All good singers come out of the church."
The church would only be the starting point in Coleman's musical career. It wasn't until 1964 that he would begin playing with big names in the music industry.
"In 1964, I went with Percy Sledge. I went with Brown in the 70s," Coleman said.
Then, in the 1970s, Coleman toured with James Brown, who is most known for his songs "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." The Macon musician described Brown as strict and only played with him for three years.
Then he came back to Macon, playing with Music Maker Foundation.
That's an organization that helps older musician in their music career and educates the community about the music scene.
However, through all his years in music, Coleman was never taught how to read sheet music. He listened and couldn't find anyone to give him lessons.
But the Macon music legend did have a rough patch when his mother, Eula Mae Coleman, passed away in 1997 at the age of 79.
"For two years, I didn't touch a guitar," he said.
He said his mother's passing was hard. He described it as the worst thing to ever happen to him.
"You can't explain that hurt," Coleman said.
He said dropping the guitar was the worst mistake he ever made, but he got back up after accepting the fact that his mother was gone.
He said he went into the woods, put his hand up, and said: "God I know you don't make no mistakes." He said God slowly took that hurt away but he had no regrets.
Then he found himself at the Back Porch Lounge on Riverside Drive, playing with the next generation of musicians whom he teaches.
"He won't really show you what he's doing, but he shows you what he's doing when he's on stage. You see what he's doing and you pick up on that," band leader Nathan Harper said.
Harper has been playing the guitar for 30 years. He says playing with Robert Lee Coleman is a guitarist's dream come true.
Robert Lee Coleman plans to keep playing at the Back Porch Lounge every Monday night but when his time comes, he said he has made his final request known: "When the good Lord calls me, make sure you got a guitar in the casket because wherever I go, I will still be picking, I will still be playing."