Robert Wilkins

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Robert (Timothy) Wilkins (born January 16, 1896 in Hernando , Mississippi  , † May 26, 1987 in Memphis , Tennessee ), also known as the Reverend Robert Wilkins since his ordination in the 1930s , was a blues - or later gospel guitarist and -Singer of half African American , half Cherokee descent.

Wilkins performed - as did Furry Lewis , Memphis Minnie and Son House - in Memphis during the 1920s. At that time he founded a youth band , among other things , in order to benefit from the "jug band craze", which was fashionable at the time. Although he never had the same success as the Memphis Jug Band , for example , he was able to increase his local popularity in 1927 by appearing on a local radio station. Like Sleepy John Estes (and unlike Gus Cannon of the Cannon's Jug Stompers ) he made recordings mostly alone or with at most one accompanying musician. He also appeared as "Tim Wilkins" and "Tim Oliver" (his stepfather's last name).

His most famous songs are "That's No Way To Get Along" (the "worldly" text of which he exchanged for the biblical theme of the "Prodigal Son" after his ordination and called it from then on "The Prodigal Son" under this title in 1968 by the Rolling Stones was covered on their album Beggars Banquet ), "Rolling Stone" (not identical to "Rollin 'Stone" by Muddy Waters from 1950, the song that gave the Rolling Stones their name), and "Old Jim Canan's ".

In the 1930s Wilkins was ordained as an elder of the "Church of God in Christ" and began to play gospel music - but still with the "blues feeling" that he is familiar with.

"Reverend" Robert Wilkins was "rediscovered" during the folk and blues revival of the 1960s by blues enthusiasts Louisa and Dick Spottswood, and has since performed regularly in front of new, white audiences at folk festivals and made a variety of new records . Its specialty was its versatility; he could perform ragtime as well as blues , minstrel songs and gospel with equal virtuosity.