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;
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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's 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 South side 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 --
Robinson 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 most recent disc, 1989's
Special Road, first came out on the Dutch Black Magic logo and was reissued by Evidence Music not long ago.
Robinson passed away on November 25, 1997 at the age of 62 due to complications from brain cancer. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
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