LV blues saxophonist Mercereau dies at 61

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Bobby "Papa" Mercereau lived the life of a Hollywood-stereotyped blues musician.

He experienced it all, from the hazy jazz clubs he haunted as a teenager, to the drug use that landed him in prison as a young man, to the heavy drinking and chain smoking that took a tremendous toll on his health in recent years.

But he also was a caring man who loved his daughter and bragged when she won major high school track events. He loved the audiences for which he would render heart-wrenching numbers on his tenor saxophone. And he loved the music that won him much acclaim during the last four decades.

"Bobby's presence extended beyond the stage -- he oozed the blues," said Bill Cherry, editor and publisher of the Las Vegas Blues News magazine, which is circulated throughout the United States and in 13 other countries. "Playing the blues was so much a part of his life."

Robert George Mercereau, dubbed by Cherry and others as "the Father of Blues in Las Vegas," died Saturday at University Medical Center of complications from a recent heart attack and a longtime battle with emphysema. He was 61.

Viewing and services for the 36-year Las Vegas resident will be 6-9 p.m. Wednesday at Desert Memorial Chapel, 1111 Las Vegas Boulevard North. A musical wake will follow at the Sand Dollar Lounge, a local blues club.

At the services, in fulfillment of one of Mercereau's longtime wishes, blues guitarist Scott Rhiner of John Earl's Boogieman Band will perform "Amazing Grace."

A deeply religious man

"For all of his cantankerous ways, he was a deeply religious man," said Rhiner, who tagged the prematurely gray Mercereau with the nickname "Papa" in the 1980s and had a father-son relationship with him.

"His daughter and grandson meant the world to him and kept him going. When I last talked with him three weeks ago, he was upset that the emphysema prevented him from playing. Papa had always said he wanted to be able to play until the day he died, and he knew his time was coming to an end."

Mercereau, who played for John Earl's group as well as the Vegas Kings and the Blues Kings, was a regular in Strip orchestras during the 1960s.

Although Mercereau's style was unique, his roots were in the rocking bebop style of jazz, and his influences included saxophonists Louis Jordan and "Illinois" Jacquet.

"In the early 1980s, Bobby played with the jazz quartet James Toney and the Countdowns at a club on Paradise Road," said local jazz and blues enthusiast Patrick Gaffey. "Toney went on to be the band leader for B.B. King.

"While Bobby certainly was not the first to play the blues in Las Vegas, he has often been referred to as the father of blues locally. He was a fine sax player with a honking, energetic style. His presence in any band made it one of the best blues groups in Las Vegas."

California-born Mercereau began his career at age 3 when he played classical violin on a Los Angeles radio program. As a teenager, he hung around jazz clubs, seeing both the good and bad side of the scene.

The bad side led to his involvement with drugs and loss of his freedom.

"He talked about going to prison for three years in the late 1950s in Texas for possession of three marijuana joints," Rhiner said. "He was sent to the penitentiary at Huntsville, where he spent hard time on a chain gang."

Talked about prison days

During breaks in gigs at small intimate clubs, Mercereau talked openly with fans about his days behind bars. He boasted about once spending time in jail with the late baritone sax great Gerry Mulligan.

Noted for his long gray hair and beard and a gravelly voice, Mercereau had what musicians call "perfect pitch." He also had had a bit of an explosive streak. In his younger days, he took out his frustrations on drummers who either "dragged" (jazz term for played too slow) or "pushed" (played too fast).

"Oldtimers would tell me stories like how he once threw his sax at a drummer who couldn't keep time," Rhiner said. "But he also was a soft-spoken man who could be one of the nicest guys you would ever meet."

Rhiner noted that Mercereau quit smoking a few months ago and gave up hard liquor three years ago. But the damage had been done and was irreversible.

In the months prior to his death, Mercereau rarely was seen on his feet. At the Sand Dollar Lounge, he played sax while sitting on a stool. In between sets, he would retire to a stool at the bar.

His death was announced by John Earl to Sand Dollar patrons Saturday night.

Mercereau is survived by his daughter, Tammi, of Las Vegas; two brothers, John Mercereau of Las Vegas and Hubert Mercereau of Washington, and a grandson, Ricky, of Las Vegas.