If you want a reminder of just how much the music industry has changed in the past few decades, consider the case of Robert Cray’s 1986 hit “Smoking Gun.”

Based out of the Pacific Northwest, Cray started a blues band in the 1970s and went to work establishing himself by recording solid albums and touring across the United States and Europe. In the mid-1980s, he signed to the Mercury Records label, which released his fourth album, “Strong Persuader,” in 1986.

The album’s first single was “Smoking Gun,” a sturdy blues-rock tune packed with fiery guitar work and lyrics about infidelity. The song’s nondescript video got some airplay on MTV and the song itself rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 22 on the Hot 100.

The strength of the single pushed “Strong Persuader” to double-platinum status in the U.S., and to the top of the charts across the world, including in Holland and New Zealand. It won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album and the “Smoking Gun” video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.

Anything is possible, of course, but it is hard to imagine a blues artist breaking through into the mainstream in 2025 like Cray did 40 years ago. Blues artists don’t sell millions of albums anymore. They don’t have big hit singles anymore. They don’t get played on MTV anymore.

Heck, MTV doesn’t really exist anymore — or at least it’s unrecognizable as compared to 1986.

Cray, on the other hand, continues to chug along, just as he has since 1974. He has won five Grammy awards, been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and has played with Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton, among others. And on Tuesday, he’ll play Bend’s Tower Theatre with his namesake band.

If You Go

What: The Robert Cray Band
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, doors open 6:30 p.m.
Where: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall Street, Bend
Cost: $60-$150
Contact: towertheatre.org