The fifth studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Robert Cray, Strong Persuader was recorded at the Los Angeles studios Sage & Sound and Haywood's under producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker. Released by Mercury Records and Hightone Records on November 17, 1986, it marked Cray's mainstream breakthrough and by 1995 it had sold over two million copies. The album was ranked #42 on Rolling Stones' list of the 100 greatest albums of the '80s.