Robert Finley

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Robert Finley at Indra Club 64 Hamburg (2018)

Robert Finley (* around 1953) is an American blues - and soul - singer-songwriter and guitarist . After a few decades as a semi-professional musician and the subsequent complete withdrawal from the music business, he released his debut studio album in a comeback in 2016: Age Don't Mean a Thing . At this point he was already over sixty years old.

Finley, born and raised in Bernice , Louisiana , began self-taught at the age of eleven to play a guitar he had previously bought from a thrift store. Gospel music was decisive in his early musical development . "I loved going to gospel quartets and sat in the front row to watch their finger play," Finley recalled in an interview. In 1970 he joined the US Army and served as a helicopter technician in Germany. He soon became the band leader and guitarist of an army band, with whom he performed throughout Europe until his discharge from the army.

After his return to Louisiana he worked as a carpenter, but remained loyal to the music as a street musician and as the band leader of the gospel group Finley and the Gospel Sisters . In 2015, an employee of Music Maker , a nonprofit that supports aging blues musicians , spotted him performing on the street in Arkansas . At this point in time he was already severely visually impaired and could no longer work as a carpenter. With the help of this organization Finely made a professional comeback as a musician.

Finley's debut album Age Don't Mean a Thing (Legal Mess Records), which was released on September 30, 2016, contains, with two exceptions, original compositions, led by the autobiographical title track. Music journalists were very positive about Finley's comeback and his album, with particular attention being paid to the revival of Southern Soul in Finley's music.

He has now released a second album, Goin 'Platinum! .

Robert Finley sings for Zeit-Online unplugged: Get it while you can.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Will Boone: Robert Finley - Biography . Music Maker . Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  2. ^ Making His Debut At 63, Bluesman Says 'Age Don't Mean A Thing' . Here and Now. September 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Bob Mehr: At 63, Louisiana bluesman Robert Finley living musical dream . The commercial appeal . September 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ Fabian Wolff: Learning from the great. In: THE TIME. 7th December 2017
  5. ↑ Jonathan Fischer: Because pain is true. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2nd January 2018
  6. ↑ Time online recorder

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Finley, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues and soul singer-songwriter and guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Bernice , Louisiana