Fenton Robinson • Somebody Loan Me A Dime

 

Biography
by Bill Dahl
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.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fenton-robinson-mn0000794441/biography

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Biografía
por Bill Dahl
Sus fans japoneses apodaron con reverencia a Fenton Robinson "el genio del blues suave" por su voz ultrasuave y su trabajo de guitarra con influencias de jazz. Pero bajo la evidente sutileza reside una chispa de constante regeneración: Robinson se esfuerza incansablemente por inventar algo fresco y vital cada vez que se acerca a un escenario. Este nativo de Mississippi, de voz suave, comenzó su carrera en Memphis, donde se trasladó a los 16 años. Primero, Rosco Gordon lo utilizó en una sesión de 1956 para Duke que produjo "Keep on Doggin'". Al año siguiente, Fenton debutó como líder para el sello Meteor de los Bihari Brothers con su primera lectura de "Tennessee Woman". Su banda, los Dukes, incluía a su mentor Charles McGowan a la guitarra. T-Bone Walker y B.B. King eran los ídolos de Robinson.

En 1957, Fenton se asoció con el bajista Larry Davis en el Flamingo Club de Little Rock. Bobby Bland pilló a la pareja allí y los recomendó a su jefe, el representante de Duke Records Don Robey. Ambos hicieron enceres para Duke en 1958, Robinson tocando en el clásico de Davis "Texas Flood" y haciendo su propia declaración con "Mississippi Steamboat". Robinson grabó la versión original del blues lento "As the Years Go Passing By", escrito por Peppermint Harris, para Duke en 1959 con el prodigio de Nueva Orleans James Booker al piano. La misma fecha también produjo una estupenda "Tennessee Woman" y una maravillosa balada de blues, "You've Got to Pass This Way Again". Fenton se trasladó a Chicago en 1962, tocando en los clubes del Southside con Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson y Otis Rush y componiendo el swing "Say You're Leavin'" para USA en 1966. Pero fue su impresionante blues lento "Somebody (Loan Me a Dime)", grabado en 1967 para Palos, el que le aseguró la inmortalidad del blues. A Boz Scaggs le gustó tanto que la versionó para su primer LP de 1969. Desgraciadamente, al principio también afirmó que él había escrito la melodía; después hubo muchos litigios.

Los sellos Sound Stage 7/Seventy 7 de John Richbourg, es seguro decir, no tenían realmente una idea de lo que era la música de Fenton Robinson. Los discos que el guitarrista grabó en Nashville en 1970 fueron en su mayoría horribles: ni siquiera se le invitó a tocar su propia guitarra en la mayoría de las caras, terriblemente poco sutiles, de corte rockero. Su mentalidad musical era cada vez más jazzística, no más rockera.

A Robinson le fue mucho mejor en su siguiente parada sustancial: Alligator Records, de Chicago. Su álbum de 1974, Somebody Loan Me a Dime, sigue siendo el punto de referencia absoluto de su carrera, destacando sus voces ricas y satisfactorias y su trabajo de guitarra discreto y de espíritu libre al frente de una banda sólida de vientos. En comparación, I Hear Some Blues Downstairs, de 1977, fue un poco decepcionante a pesar de su juguetón tema principal y de un emocionante homenaje a T-Bone, "Tell Me What's the Reason". Alligator publicó Nightflight, otro conjunto desafiante, en 1984, y luego dejó de lado al guitarrista. Su disco de 1989, Special Road, salió por primera vez con el sello holandés Black Magic y fue reeditado por Evidence Music. Robinson falleció el 25 de noviembre de 1997 a la edad de 62 años debido a complicaciones de un cáncer cerebral.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fenton-robinson-mn0000794441/biography

Tracklist
A1 - Somebody Loan Me A Dime 2:54
A2 - The Getaway 3:17
A3 - Directly From My Heart To You 4:17
A4 - Going To Chicago3:46
A5 - You Say You're Leaving 3:15
A6 - Checking On My Woman 3:23
B1 - You Don't Know What Love Is 3:50
B2 - I've Changed 4:23
B3 - Country Girl 4:55
B4 - Gotta Wake Up 4:25
B5 - Texas Flood 4:12


Credits:
    Arranged By [Horns] – D. Baldwin*
    Bass – Cornelius Boyson
    Design [Logo] – Michael Trossman
    Drums – Tony Gooden
    Engineer – Stu Black
    Guitar, Vocals – Fenton Robinson
    Keyboards – Bill Heid
    Liner Notes – Jim O'Neal
    Photography By [Covers], Design – Jan Loveland
    Producer – Bruce Iglauer, Fenton Robinson
    Rhythm Guitar – Mighty Joe Young
    Tenor Saxophone – D. Baldwin*
    Trombone – Bill McFarland
    Trumpet – Elmer Brown, Jr.*, Norval D. Hodges

Note:
LP-Rip / one track by side

Label: Alligator Records – AL 4705
Released: 1974
Genre: Blues
Style: Chicago Blues
https://www.discogs.com/release/2863088-Fenton-Robinson-Somebody-Loan-Me-A-Dime

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