Robert John Mann Aldridge

Robert J. Aldridge - Rockin' Rob - left this earth, and his loved ones, too soon on Saturday,

October 2, 2021. He was born on September 19, 1965 at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, GA. He

attended grade school at Longino Elementary in College Park, GA, high school at Colonial Hills

in East Point, GA , and then pursued undergraduate studies at Georgia State University in the

heart of downtown, ATL.

In his younger days, Rockin' Rob was crowned the local youth football Turkey Bowl King (1973),

while playing for the College Park Steelers. He was most proud of this achievement, and

regaled loved ones (and any one else who would listen) with this beautiful story at every

opportunity. Rob pursued music excellence early on in his life, and began playing piano and

violin at the tender age of nine. Rob's grandmother gave him a guitar at the age of 14, and so

began the ever memorable story of our beloved Rockin' Rob!"

Rob was a rabid music fan of countless artists and bands - but revered Sinatra, Elvis, and The

Beatles above all others - and much preferred rock 'n' roll to any other genre. Rock 'n' Roll was

in his blood, and it showed in everything he did. He was a talented songwriter, a charismatic

frontman, and a singer with a voice that was truly gifted by God.

For most of his adult life he played and sang in various bands, performing covers and original

material - The Pulse, Thing 1 Thing 2, Umajets, among others. As a member of the band,

hollyfaith, a major player in the vibrant local music scene of the late 80's and early 90's, and with

all of his bands, he touched many, many lives, both intimately and while on stage in Atlanta,

Athens and the southeast. His ability to take control of an audience of any size, to hold it in the

palm of his hand, to pull its strings, to have his way with it, was virtually unmatched within the

local music scene. And those that were fortunate enough to see hollyfaith while touring the US

and overseas in support of their major label debut on Epic Records, would witness the same

reaction from those audiences.

He was especially proud of his pet recording project, ...The Mod Mod Sounds of Middlesex,

which he and local musician Doug Jacobs created and performed along with the help of a cast

of other well-known Atlanta musicians. We are blessed to have his recorded catalog as a lasting

tribute to his immense talents. He devoured Westerns endlessly (movies and TV shows), and

thought it was cool to be the son of John Wayne Aldridge. But in the fall, it was all college

football, and he always pulled for his dad's beloved Kentucky Wildcats.

Rockin' Rob loved food and loved "the business" - especially BBQ. Over several years in the

late 1990's he spent untold hours and weekends seeking out and visiting local, not-so-local,

famous, and obscure BBQ joints, with camcorder in hand, to taste the 'Q, interview the

proprietor, and talk shop - compiling hours and hours of footage, for no real reason, other than

just wanting to do it.

In the early 2000's, Rob partnered with several good friends to open, own and operate Rockin'

Rob's BBQ in Decatur, GA. Decorated with his own rock 'n' roll memorabilia, he proudly

displayed his vinyl record collection that numbered over 10,000 LPs, allowing patrons free use

of the turntable - all while cranking out what is to this day considered by many to be the best

BBQ & sides ever served in Atlanta. And all this before the dawn, proliferation, and onslaught of

what he considered to be, "fancy, overpriced, nouveau 'Q joints."

After Rockin' Rob's closed its doors (much to the publics' deep chagrin), Rob became a fixture

on the waitstaff at the downtown "Ted's Montana Grill" for almost 10 years. As a testimony to

Rob's hospitality and dedication, Ted Turner himself would often demand that Rockin' Rob be

his personal server each time he dined at the downtown corporate headquarters.

No matter where he travelled, he was never a stranger. He was an entertainer who entertained

himself and others wherever he happened to be. He was a magnet that attracted people -

music fans, other musicians, restaurant patrons, freaks, passersby, the young, the old, the

general public - and he attracted love.

He was a proud patriot who loved America. But more than anything, he was a loving uncle to

Atticus (whom he adored beyond words), a loving brother to Gabe and his wife Sheila and also

his sister Hollyfaith, a loving son to Dorinda and John, and adored by his grandparents Lois and

Robert and a loving friend to many - and if you happened to be picked to be among his closest

friends, you were rewarded with the most fiercely loyal and loving friend you could ask for.

He will be missed dearly. In lieu of flowers you may make donations to any of the below charities:

thegivingkitchen.org

musiciansfoundation.org

loavesandfishesatl.org

diabetes.org

To send a flower arrangement in memory of
Robert John Mann Aldridge, please click here to visit our sympathy store.

To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Robert John Mann Aldridge, please click here to visit our sympathy store.