I was sitting downstairs in my blues room the other evening listening, ironically, to Fenton Robinson’s superb Alligator Records release entitled I Hear Some Blues Downstairs, enjoying that understated and yet penetrating guitar style of his, along with that subdued gliding voice.  It all yet again affirmed that Robinson remains one of my all-time favorite blues artists, one whose work always satisfies, however with a style that remains quite divergent from what was being played in Chicago when he was at the height of his recording and performing peaks.

I realized when enjoying Robinson’s blues that my deep appreciation for his musical genius called upon me to provide a brief overview of his life and career.  I am surprised that it took me this long to get around to outlining the particulars of his days and spectacular blues offerings.

Fenton Lee Robinson came into the world in late September, 1935 in Greenwood, Mississippi, a town and the county seat of LeFlore County, which is located in the state’s upper mid-western region.  The earliest impetuses for Robinson’s interest in music, specifically the blues, are vague, at best, but being in Mississippi during the time of his youth no doubt exposed him to the various social events where the music would be played.  Surely, the blues had to be all around him.

What is known is that a young Robinson had access to a radio, and he particularly reveled in the blues he heard being played over the airwaves.  A prominent awareness of, and appreciation for, the blues of T-Bone Walker especially grabbed Robinson and raised his interest for both the blues and the genre’s guitar playing component.

Around the age of 16, the teenaged Robinson left home and made the pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee.  By this time, Robinson was deeply enmeshed with the blues, his guitar playing, and vocal capabilities, and in Memphis he focused on developing his musical career in a city with a deep blues history and vibrant scene.

Serving, if you will, his blues apprenticeship in Memphis while in his early twenties, he realized two occurrences that must have only been dreams of his at one point.  First, he became a popular performer on the Southern U.S. blues circuit and, in 1957, he saw the release of his first recording. 

Robinson’s first record, one released on Memphis’ Meteor Records label, included “Tennessee Woman” and “Crying Out Loud,” under the name of Fenton Robinson With The Dukes.  Robinson played guitar and sang on the cuts, with the accompanying guitar of Charles McGowan, drumming by J.W. Hughley, and supporting bass work of Larry Dale.

Now, something was really materializing for Robinson, and through nonstop gigging he established a strong reputation among blues audiences in the U.S. South.  It was, thus, only natural that Robinson’s high blues proficiencies would come to the attention of Duke Records, a major Houston, Texas-based operation, and he recorded a number of very strong selections for the label between 1958-1959, including a remake of “Tennessee Woman.”  While on the Duke imprint, he recorded under his name solely, the Fenton & The Castle Rockers moniker, plus the Fenton Robinson – The Castle Rockers designation.

After spending the late 1950s and very early 1960s playing the southern U.S., 1962 saw Robinson make a major move northward to Chicago.  In the big northern blues hotbed city, Robinson continued to hone his blues craft, and his broad musical aptitudes allowed him to record singles for various Chicago labels including U.S.A. Records, Palos Records, and Giant Records during the 1966-1969 era.  His 1967 Giant Records release ”Somebody (Loan Me A Dime)” and “I Believe” was a true turning point in Robinson’s blues career arc, as ”Somebody (Loan Me A Dime)” was extremely popular and led to great demand for him in Chicago’s clubs.

There exists a very unfortunate story surrounding “Somebody (Loan Me A Dime).  Though exceedingly popular, poor distribution plagued the release.  Plus, a young rock artist, Boz Scaggs, greatly liked the song, and recorded it.  As a result, it became something of a huge blues rock landmark.  However, because of a major publishing mistake, Scaggs was indicated as the song’s writer, though Robinson finally received both the composer credits and owed royalties after a protracted court case.

Robinson continued to regularly play the blues circuit, and also continued to record singles for a variety of small labels during the 1970-1974 time period, including the Sound Stage 7, Seventy 7 Records, and P-M Records imprints.  But most importantly, he also saw the release of full-length LPs, first in 1972 then again in 1973 for Seventy 7 Records, the titles being Monday Morning Boogie & Blues and The Getaway, respectively.

For Robinson, 1974 was a major year.  He signed with Chicago’s Alligator Records label, and his first LP release was entitled Somebody Loan Me A Dime, a brilliant 11-cut outing that featured his melodic, smooth blues guitar style and silky vocals.  The release included Chicago blues great Mighty Joe Young’s guitar support and a full horn section.  Impressive songs from the LP include the title cut, “Going To Chicago,” and a version of Larry Davis’ “Texas Flood.”  In fact, Davis’ original version of “Texas Flood” featured Robinson on lead guitar.

Robinson’s first Alligator Records release only solidified his high reputation as a blues artist of special renown, and his ability to perform only was enhanced on the strength of the LP.  Robinson was indeed “The Mellow Blues Genius.”  His entrancing blues guitar playing became steeped in a smoother jazz style once in Chicago, and those sensibilities clearly came through on his initial Alligator Records collection.

Unfortunately, in 1975 Robinson killed a pedestrian as a result of a vehicle accident, and subsequently was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to Illinois’ Joliet State Penitentiary for three years.  However, an intense letter writing campaign to free Robinson from prison was undertaken under the lead of Alligator Records’ founder Bruce Iglauer, and ultimately Robinson was released from his incarceration after serving nine months of his sentence.

As would be expected, being away from the blues scene temporarily halted any momentum achieved as a result of Robinson’s first Alligator Records outing.

In 1977, Alligator Records released Robinson’s I Hear Some Blues Downstairs, and its nine selections were very good.  Particular standouts from the collection are the title track, “West Side Baby,” and “As The Years Go Passing By.”  A modest horn section, Steve Ditzell’s rhythm guitar efforts, and Larry Exum’s bass frameworks greatly bolstered the session.

A third and final collection on Alligator Records entitled Nightflight was released in 1984, after initially seeing the light of day in the same year on the Black Magic Records label out of The Netherlands, with that release entitled Blues In Progress.  The collection’s breadth of styles including straight-ahead blues and jazz-soaked shuffles, plus that silky-smooth Robinson voice and those inventive guitar runs show Robinson still hitting great heights.  The proceedings were enhanced by the appearance of Chicago blues harmonica giant Junior Wells, blues guitar great Larry Burton supporting role, Aron Burton plying his expansive bass skills, with a full horn section wonderfully complementing the outing.

Soon after, Robinson was gone from Alligator Records.  By this time, Robinson’s lofty reputation for his guitar style, one imparted with a swinging nature, and chock-full of beautiful jazz chordal sequences, being both discriminating and dramatic, was intact.  His singing, always affecting, remained strong.  And being a man who authored well over ten blues benchmark songs, he was as vital as ever.  Simply, Robinson’s blues had always been a delicious meld of splendor and authority. 

In the 1980s, Robinson made a decision to leave Chicago for a life in downstate Springfield, Illinois.  What drove him away?  Robinson was always a very restrained stage performer, and as blues audiences were wanting more animated blues artists with louder approaches to the music, that style didn’t fit him. 

However, once settled into Springfield, Robinson decided that teaching about the blues, both academically and via instrumental lessons, was his calling.  He enjoyed teaching youth about a music he greatly cared about.  Yes, he would occasionally play, and continued to for the rest of his days, but he gleaned a lot of fulfillments from his instruction.

In 1989, Robinson saw the release of the exemplary 13-track collection entitled  Special Road on the Black Magic Records label.  The outing was reissued in 1993 on the Evidence label.

In 1995 in what certainly was a performing crowning achievement for Robinson, Robinson played for an audience estimated to have been around 100,000 blues lovers at that year’s Chicago Blues Festival.  However, in November, 1997 he passed away from the effects of brain cancer.

Robinson’s music has been lauded and covered by the likes of Eric Burdon, Elvin Bishop, and Charlie Musselwhite, to name but a few.  He was truly a brilliant musician.  However, Robinson certainly didn’t receive the recognition due him.  Perhaps his music was too melodious, too lush, and too tasteful for the blues “boogie ‘til you puke” crowd.  If that’s the case, and I believe it is, boy, did they miss the boat with Robinson.  But those of us in-the-know greatly appreciate Robinson’s blues legacy.