Robert Jr. Whitall, April 14, 1948 - April 25, 2024, acclaimed blues music magazine publisher, photographer, artist and historian Robert Wood Whitall, Jr. of Glen Arbor, MI passed away April 25, 2024 at the age of 76. Better known as Robert Jr. or Junior, he was born on April 14, 1948, in Ambler, Pennsylvania. A direct descendent of the founders of Whitall Tatum, one of the first glass factories in the United States, Robert’s family relocated to Michigan during his high school years. During the Vietnam War he served in the Army then studied at Eastern Michigan University upon his discharge. A videographer in Detroit during the early rock and roll and punk rock era, Whitall established Detroit Blues Magazine with former Creem Magazine founder Charles Auringer in 1995. At the urging of Buddy Guy, the scope was changed from regional to international and rebranded as Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine. The magazine has won many awards including the coveted Keeping the Blues Alive award from The Blues Foundation in 1998 and has been actively ‘keeping the blues alive’ to this day. In 2017 Junior was the recipient of a kidney donated by his wife affectionately known as Sugar, whom he married at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park on 9/11/1999. A lover of all things New Orleans, Whitall has been attending the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for the past 39 years that began when he was a driver for the late renowned activist John Sinclair, manager of the MC5. He and Sugar also sailed on over 40 Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruises. A champion of unknown and underappreciated musicians, he was friend, confidante, promoter and adviser to some of the greatest musicians and personalities who crossed his path within his lifetime, a list too numerous to mention. To this end, Junior and Sugar started a non-profit, Gimme Five, that assisted musicians and music-related individuals during times of need. He was also famous for his ‘intoxicatingly delicious’ cookies – Cooper Snaps – that were craved by his celebrity musical family. In spite of declining health over the past decade and a half, Robert Jr. began work as an artist in 2010 during extended hospital stays in Detroit, influenced by Frida Kahlo. His first art exhibit was at the New Orleans Museum of Art during the 2011 Jazz & Heritage Festival. Since that honor, his unique, musician-inspired artwork has been exhibited at various museums and venues around the country.