L. C. Robinson
L. C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson (born Louis Charles Robinson; May 13, 1914 ā September 26, 1976)[1] was an American blues singer, guitarist, and fiddle player. He played an electric steel guitar.[2]
L. C. Robinson | |
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![]() Robinson in 1974. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Louis Charles Robinson |
Also known as | "Good Rockin'" Robinson |
Born | Brenham, Texas, United States | May 13, 1914
Died | September 26, 1976 62) Berkeley, California, United States | (aged
Genres | Blues |
Instruments | Vocals, steel guitar, guitar, violin |
Years active | 1930sā1976 |
Associated acts | A. C. Robinson, Dave Alexander, Lafayette Thomas |
Biography
Robinson was born in Brenham, Texas, United States.[1] He learned to play guitar at nine years of age, and was supposedly mentored by gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Willie Johnson in the bottleneck style.[3] Later in his career, he was introduced to the steel guitar by Western swing musician Leon McAuliffe, and became a noted fiddle player, who instructed Sugarcane Harris.[3] L. C. Robinson's brother, harmonica player A. C. Robinson, collaborated with him in Texas in the 1930s, and later the two performed and recorded together in a band in California in the 1940s.[2][4]
Oakland Blues, a studio album Robinson, Lafayette Thomas and Dave Alexander, was released in 1968 by World Pacific Records. This was followed in 1971 by the album Ups and Downs on Arhoolie, on which Robinson was accompanied by the Muddy Waters band and Dave Alexander's trio.[2] This material was later reissued, along with a previously unissued recording of a radio broadcast with his brother the Reverend A. C. Robinson, as Mojo in My Hand.[5]
Robinson played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in both 1973 and 1974. He visited Sweden the following year, but his work was never widely known in Europe.[2]
He died of a heart attack in Berkeley, California in 1976, aged 61.[6][7]
Selected discography
Year | Title | Genre | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Mojo in My Hand (reissued) | R&B | Arhoolie Records |
References
- Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, p. 3528, (1995), ISBN 1-56159-176-9.
- Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues ā From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 160. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- "L.C. Good Rockin' Robinson". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- Herzshaft, Gerald (1997). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 176.
- "Arhoolie Records: L. C. Robinson". Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2007.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- "Musical Calendar for September 26". August 13, 2004. Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved October 14, 2015.