When asked how he related to the 1960s, Robert replied "I didn't." He didn't care much for the British Invasion but he identified with soul singers such as James Brown and Otis Redding whom he saw, among other great R&B acts, performing at Washington DC's famous Howard Theatre. During the turbulent times of the late 1960s, with the rioting and antiwar protests of the period, Robert served in the National Guard in Washington, D.C. "I didn't want to be sent to Vietnam," he recalls.