Beyond civil rights, he was a karaoke star with his own radio show
Even after the death of Robert J. Booker on Feb. 22, his vibrant memory endures through the power of music. Booker was known locally not only as the city’s beloved historian but also as a charismatic karaoke singer.
Friday night karaoke at the downtown Skybox Sports Bar featured a superstar described by employees as unforgettable: a tall, dapper Black man with a smooth voice.
“He was a huge inspiration and a positive influence for everyone here at the Skybox; he was really just loved by everybody,” Stacey Bogus, a bartender at the Skybox, said. “He had a kind soul and an angelic singing voice. He will be remembered here forever.”
Skybox owner Noah Dunwoody told Knox News that Booker’s presence was unforgettable. “Whenever he was here, whether it was just a slow or rainy day, he brightened up the atmosphere in here.”
Booker, a columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel since 2003, often wrote about his love of karaoke and music, a hobby that many found intriguing and surprising for a man associated with the serious business of history and civil rights.
Former Knoxville city councilman Chris Woodhull, who served with Booker, told Knox News that trips to local karaoke bars with Booker were moments he would never forget.
“Him and I would walk into these little hole-in-the-wall spots after work and everybody in there would know him. It was always so amazing to see how he touched people you would never think he would be in friendship with,” Woodhull said
Booker’s radio show to continue
Booker’s Golden Oldies show, airing on WJBE 99.7, was a highlight of his final years. In 2020, radio station owner and fellow former State Rep. Joe Armstrong offered Booker his own show, which quickly became a hit with older music lovers.
Booker wrote in a column, “When I began the show two days after my 85th