Fenton Robinson

Fenton Robinson acquired the respectful nickname "the mellow blues genius" from admirers in Japan on account of his silky singing voice and the jazz-tinged character of his guitar playing. Yet beneath that polished surface burned an unrelenting drive for renewal, as the guitarist constantly sought to generate something new and compelling the moment he stepped in front of a band. The reserved native of Mississippi launched his professional path after relocating to Memphis at sixteen. Rosco Gordon first featured him on a 1956 Duke session that yielded "Keep on Doggin'." The following year Robinson made his initial appearance as a bandleader for the Bihari Brothers' Meteor imprint with an early version of "Tennessee Woman," backed by the Dukes, whose lineup included his guitar mentor Charles McGowan. His principal influences remained T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.

Also in 1957, Robinson joined bassist Larry Davis at Little Rock's Flamingo Club. Bobby Bland heard them perform there and steered the pair to Duke Records chief Don Robey. Both artists recorded for the label in 1958; Robinson contributed to Davis's landmark "Texas Flood" and delivered his own "Mississippi Steamboat." In 1959 he cut the first recording of Peppermint Harris's frequently interpreted slow blues "As the Years Go Passing By" for Duke, with New Orleans prodigy James Booker at the piano, along with a strong "Tennessee Woman" and the moving ballad "You've Got to Pass This Way Again." Robinson relocated to Chicago in 1962, where he worked South Side venues alongside Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Otis Rush before waxing the buoyant "Say You're Leavin'" for USA in 1966. His lasting reputation, however, rests on the gripping slow blues "Somebody (Loan Me a Dime)," issued on Palos in 1967. Boz Scaggs was sufficiently taken with the number to record it on his 1969 debut album, though he initially asserted authorship, prompting extended legal proceedings.

John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7/Seventy 7 concern plainly failed to grasp the essence of Robinson's style. The guitarist's 1970 Nashville sessions for the company proved largely disastrous, since he was rarely permitted to play his own instrument on the aggressively unsubtle, rock-oriented tracks. By that period his musical direction was shifting steadily toward jazz rather than rock.

Robinson achieved far stronger results at his subsequent major affiliation, Chicago's Alligator Records. The 1974 album Somebody Loan Me a Dime stands as the definitive statement of his catalog, showcasing his warm, full-bodied vocals and spontaneous, restrained guitar in the company of a sturdy horn-supported ensemble. In contrast, 1977's I Hear Some Blues Downstairs proved somewhat uneven despite the lighthearted title track and the propulsive T-Bone Walker homage "Tell Me What's the Reason." Alligator released the further exploratory Nightflight in 1984 before parting ways with the artist. His 1989 collection Special Road originated on the Dutch Black Magic imprint and later appeared on Evidence Music. Robinson died on November 25, 1997, at age 62 from complications of brain cancer.