FENTON ROBINSON

Fenton Robinson (23 septiembre 1935 a 25 noviembre 1997 ) fue un cantante de blues americano y exponente de la guitarra de blues de Chicago.

Nacido en Greenwood, Mississippi, Estados Unidos, Robinson salió de su casa a la edad de 18 para pasar a Memphis, Tennessee, donde grabó su primer sencillo "Tennessee Woman" en 1957.  Se instaló en Chicago en 1962.  grabó su canción de la firma, "Somebody loan me a dime " , en 1967 con la discográfica  Palos, la distribución a nivel nacional de los cuales fue abortada por una tormenta de nieve monstruosa  en Windy City . Fue versionado por Boz Scaggs en 1969, la canción fue atribuida a éste por error, lo que desembocó en un sin fin de batallas legales. Desde entonces se ha convertido en un estándar de blues, siendo "parte del repertorio de uno de cada dos artistas de blues", según la Enciclopedia de Blues refleja en 1997 

Robinson volvió a grabar la canción en  1974, 

         

el primero de los tres que produciría bajo el sello Alligator Records.  Robinson fue nominado para un premio Grammy por el segundo, de 1977 I Hear  some Blues Downstaris . 

En la década de 1970 fue detenido y encarcelado por homicidio involuntario en relación con un accidente de coche. Puesto en libertad condicional después de nueve meses, continuó tocando en los clubes de Chicago y más tarde enseñó guitarra.

Robinson murió de complicaciones de cáncer de cerebro, en Rockford, Illinois. El tema del cúal os hablamos se puede escuchar en The Blues Brothers en la radio cuando Jake (John Belushi) está siendo transportado y puesto en libertad condicional

                                       

Fenton Robinson 1990 Live at The King Edward Hotel (King Eddy) Calgary Alberta Canada.

Ray Lemelin- Guitar - Fred Larose- Bass- Brad Carter- Drums- Bill Dowey- Keys

                                                                   
                        

Artist Biography by Bill Dahl in allmusic 

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.

Somebody Loan Me a DimeRobinson 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.