Fenton Robinson
His Japanese fans reverently dubbed Fenton Robinson "the mellow blues genius" because of his ultra-smooth vocals and jazz-inflected guitar work. But beneath the obvious subtlety resides a spark of constant regeneration -- Robinson tirelessly strives to invent something fresh and vital whenever he's near a bandstand. The soft-spoken Mississippi native got his career going in Memphis, where he'd moved at age 16. First, Rosco Gordon used him on a 1956 session for Duke that produced "Keep on Doggin'." The next year, Fenton made his own debut as a leader for the Bihari Brothers' Meteor label with his first reading of "Tennessee Woman." His band, the Dukes, included mentor Charles McGowan on guitar. T-Bone Walker and B.B. King were Robinson's idols.
1957 also saw Fenton team up with bassist Larry Davis at the Flamingo Club in Little Rock. Bobby Bland caught the pair there and recommended them to his boss, Duke Records prexy Don Robey. Both men made waxings for Duke in 1958, Robinson playing on Davis' classic "Texas Flood" and making his own statement with "Mississippi Steamboat." Robinson cut the original version of the often-covered Peppermint Harris-penned slow blues "As the Years Go Passing By" for Duke in 1959 with New Orleans prodigy James Booker on piano. The same date also produced a terrific "Tennessee Woman" and a marvelous blues ballad, "You've Got to Pass This Way Again." Fenton moved to Chicago in 1962, playing Southside clubs with Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Otis Rush and laying down the swinging "Say You're Leavin'" for USA in 1966. But it was his stunning slow blues "Somebody (Loan Me a Dime)" cut in 1967 for Palos, that insured his blues immortality. Boz Scaggs liked it so much that he covered it for his 1969 debut LP. Unfortunately, he initially also claimed he wrote the tune; much litigation followed.
John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7/Seventy 7 labels, it's safe to say, didn't really have a clue as to what Fenton Robinson's music was all about. The guitarist's 1970 Nashville waxings for the firm were mostly horrific: he wasn't even invited to play his own guitar on the majority of the horribly unsubtle rock-slanted sides. His musical mindset was growing steadily jazzier by then, not rockier.
Robinson fared a great deal better at his next substantial stop: Chicago's Alligator Records. His 1974 album Somebody Loan Me a Dime remains the absolute benchmark of his career, spotlighting his rich, satisfying vocals and free-spirited, understated guitar work in front of a rock-solid horn-driven band. By comparison, 1977's I Hear Some Blues Downstairs was a trifle disappointing despite its playful title track and a driving T-Bone tribute, "Tell Me What's the Reason." Alligator issued Nightflight, another challenging set, in 1984, then backed off the guitarist. His 1989 disc Special Road, first came out on the Dutch Black Magic logo and was reissued by Evidence Music. Robinson passed away on November 25, 1997 at the age of 62 due to complications from brain cancer.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Discografia
18 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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Monday Morning Boogie & Blues (Remastered)
R&B - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 24 de jun. de 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Somebody Loan Me A Dime (Remastered)
Blues - Lançado por Alligator Records em 1 de set. de 1974
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Getaway
Blues - Lançado por Seventy Seven Records em 28 de abr. de 1973
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
I Hear Some Blues Downstairs
Blues - Lançado por Alligator Records em 1 de jan. de 1977
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Out of Chicago the Chicago Blues Master Live and Studio Sessions 1989/92
Blues - Lançado por JSP ORIGINALS em 13 de abr. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monday Morning Boogie & Blues
Blues - Lançado por Seventy Seven Records em 6 de mai. de 1972
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fenton's Blues - [The Dave Cash Collection]
Blues - Lançado por The Dave Cash Collection - OMP em 9 de mai. de 2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues Jam Live Audio: Fenton Robinson
Blues - Lançado por Creative Sounds, Inc. em 1 de jan. de 2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Fenton Robinson
Blues - Lançado por Carter Lane - OMiP em 18 de nov. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nightflight
Blues - Lançado por Alligator Records em 1 de jan. de 1984
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fenton Robinson: The Ultimate Collection
Blues - Lançado por Carter Lane - OMiP em 18 de nov. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mellow Fellow (Remastered)
R&B - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 21 de jun. de 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stormy Monday
Blues - Lançado por Vanilla OMP em 29 de nov. de 2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sky is Crying / Let Me Come on Home
Blues - Lançado por Seventy Seven Records em 1 de abr. de 1970
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
She's a Wiggler
Funk - Lançado por Seventy Seven Records em 1 de abr. de 1973
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Somebody Loan Me A Dime (Remastered)
R&B - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 14 de jun. de 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Just Like I Used To Do (Live)
Blues - Lançado por Wolf Tree em 18 de nov. de 2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo