Think it's too late in life to follow your creative dreams? Then let Robert Finley show you how it's done. Over six decades as a student, a soldier, a carpenter, and a family man, he made sure the blues remained a part of the fabric of his life. But when he was forced to retire due to failing eyesight, Robert decided that it was time to take his music seriously. An impromptu jam session led Robert to a deal with Fat Possum Records, and the beginning of his new career as a recording star at sixty-one years of age. Join Nick as Robert reminisces about his amazing life and the lessons learned along the way, a life that has taken him from rural Louisiana, to touring the world with legendary session musicians, to the upcoming release of his new album "Sharecropper's Son".
HIGHLIGHTS:
[02:01] Robert looks back on the low budget recording of his first album in 1999
[03:10] Robert was born and raised in northern Louisiana, the heartland of the Southern blues
[04:32] Robert credits his religious upbringing for giving him an open mind about faith and how it applies to the everyday world
[09:12] When he was a boy, Robert used the money his father gave him for shoes to buy a guitar
[11:55] As a 10 year old kid, Robert was routinely exposed to loud blues music from the juke joint across the street from his church
[13:46] Robert has always been able to use the Bible to justify being his own person and not following the crowd
[16:54] Losing his father at 17 drove Robert to joining the Army, despite losing many friends to the Vietnam war
[21:11] Robert has friends who were there with him from the early days, but he's learned that some people become haters when you make it in life
[22:42] Robert's musical talent was constantly being rewarded during his military career
[31:18] In 2015 Robert realized he was losing his sight, but even after being diagnosed with glaucoma he persevered
[32:21] When Robert got out of the military, he started a gospel group with his mother that performed live on the radio
[35:18] Robert's dad was a carpenter who built the house he grew up in back in the 1950s, a house where Robert's daughter and grandson are living now
[36:53] After his second marriage ended, Robert found he could travel about the country easier because he only had to look out for himself
[39:27] Gathering a crowd during a jam session in Arkansas in 2015, Robert wound up playing a 12 hour set for appreciative crowds
[48:55] Tim Duffy of Music Maker Relief Foundation saw Robert performing, and after recording some of his songs, introduced him to the people at Fat Possum Records
[50:37] While Robert was recording "Age Don't Mean A Thing", his first record with Fat Possum, he was attending a school for the blind, to learn how to work with his diminishing eyesight
[51:35] After fellow label mate Dan Auerbach got Robert to sing on his musical book project, Auerbach decided to record and produce Robert's second album "Goin' Platinum!" in three days
[56:46] The session players who worked with Robert on "Goin' Platinum" had such a great time in the studio, they came out of retirement to go on tour with him
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Find out more about today’s guest, Robert Finley.
Find out more about your host, Nick Terzo
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
@musicmakerblues [Tim Duffy's foundation, the guy who saw Robert at his jam in Arkansas]
