Robert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob (September 11, 1902 – October 21, 1931), was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname was derived from his working as a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the three photographs of him that exists shows him playing a guitar and wearing a full-length white apron and cook's hat.

 During his short career he recorded 68 78-rpm sides, the first was ‘Barbecue Blues’, that was in March 1927. The record sold no less than 15,000 copies and made him a best-selling artist for Columbia's race series. Following this initial success, his next release firmly established him in the race market. At his second recording session, in New York City in June 1927, he recorded ‘Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, apparently inspired by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

Robert developed a flailing style of guitar playing usually associated with the traditional claw hammer banjo. He regularly used a bottleneck on his 12-string guitar, playing in a style that relied on an open Spanish tuning, similar to Charley Patton. He had a strong voice, which he embellished with growling and falsetto, and a percussive singing style.

Bob's 'Motherless Child Blues' was recorded by Eric Clapton and Robert's elder brother, Charley Lincoln,recording under the name of Laughing Charley Lincoln, sadly, he never received the same acclaim as his brother.