Robert Finley (musician)

Finley was born and raised in Bernice, Louisiana, United States. At 11 years old he began practicing the guitar he had purchased from a thrift store.[1] Gospel music played a crucial role in his early development: "I always went to gospel quartet groups and I always took the front row seat, and I just watched their fingers", recollected Finley in an interview.[2] In 1970, he joined the army, originally to serve as a helicopter technician in Germany. Upon his arrival, however, Finley accommodated the army band's need for a guitarist and bandleader by traveling with the group throughout Europe until he was discharged.[1]

After returning to Louisiana, Finley worked as a part-time street performer, leader of the gospel group Brother Finley and the Gospel Sisters, and as a carpenter. He was deemed legally blind and forced to retire from carpentry. In 2015, Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports aging blues musicians, discovered Finley busking before a gig in Arkansas. With their help, Finley made a musical comeback, featuring him in packaged tours with acts like Robert Lee Coleman and Alabama Slim.[3][4]

Finley released his debut studio album, Age Don't Mean a Thing, on September 30, 2016, on Big Legal Mess Records. Although for the most part Finley was a bluesman, his record producer Bruce Watson keyed in on more of his soulful compositions.[5] With production credits from Watson and Jimbo Mathus, Finley traveled to Memphis to record the album with members of the Bo-Keys. He penned all but two of the tracks, highlighted by an autobiographical title song, on Age Don't Mean a Thing, evoking influences from Booker T. and the MGs, James Brown, and B. B. King.[6][7] Music journalists were highly receptive to Finley's comeback and album, particularly his revitalizing take on Southern soul.[5]

After Age Don't Mean a Thing, Finley got connected with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Auerbach and Finley then released an original soundtrack for the graphic novel, Murder Ballads, published by z2 Comics.[8] Shortly after the release of the Murder Ballads soundtrack, Billboard announced that Finley would be releasing a full-length album produced and co-written by Auerbach.

The album, Goin' Platinum! was released on Easy Eye Sound (Nonesuch Records) on December 8, 2017.[9] The following year Finley joined Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound Revue tour.[10] Finley followed up the Easy Eye Sound Revue tour with a series of headline shows around the world.

In 2019, it was announced via social media that Finley was a contestant for the fourteenth season of America's Got Talent. AGT released a sneak peek where Finley sang an original song, called "Get It While You Can".[11] He managed to reach the live shows but was eventually eliminated in the semi-finals.

• An interview with Soul Express