Sherman Robertson (October 27, 1948 – January 28, 2021) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

guitarist and singer who has been described as "one part

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

, one part

swamp blues Swamp blues is a type of Louisiana blues that developed in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s.Malone, Evelyn Levingston, "Swamp Blues: Race And Vinyl From Southwest Louisiana" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertation ...

, one part

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

and one part classic

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

Biography

Robertson was born in

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Breaux Bridge (;Jack A. Reynolds. "Breaux Bridge" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 77. french: Pont-Breaux; frc, Pont-(de)-Breaux ) is a small city in St. Martin Parish, Loui ...

, and raised in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. At the age of 13, he watched a performance on television by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. Duly inspired and equipped with a cheap guitar purchased by his father, he started playing the songs previously performed by

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

and Floyd London. As he lived close to the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

recording studio, Robertson took the opportunity to acquaint himself with some of the musicians who recorded there. At the same time, in his late teens, Robertson played in a band in various bars of his

Fifth Ward, Houston The Fifth Ward is a community of Houston, Texas, United States, derived from a historical political district ( ward), Retrieved on June 25, 2009. about West, Richard.Only the Strong Survive ( ). ''Texas Monthly''. Emmis Communications, February 1 ...

neighborhood. In 1982,

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...

heard Robertson's band playing at the Crosstown Blues Festival. Robertson moved back to Louisiana, learned to play

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, and toured for several years in the 1980s with Chenier. Robertson contributed to his ''Live At The'' (1982) and ''San Francisco Blues Festival'' (1985) albums. After Chenier's death, Robertson played with

Rockin' Dopsie Alton Jay Rubin (February 10, 1932 – August 26, 1993), who performed as Rockin' Dopsie (sometimes Rockin' Dupsee), was an American zydeco singer and accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States. ...

, appearing on his ''Crowned Prince Of Zydeco'' album (1986), and

Terrance Simien Terrance Simien (born September 3, 1965) is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his group The Zydeco Experience won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album in 2008 and for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2 ...

& the Mallet Playboys, before going solo. In addition, Robertson's guitar work appeared on

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' album, and he was on the bill at the 1994

Notodden Blues Festival Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually in early August. It has been running annually since 1988. The festival does not ...

. Robertson's ''I'm the Man'' (1994) was the first release on the Code Blue label. It was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award. Robertson's follow-up, ''Here & Now'' (1995), included his cover of the Tracy Nelson song "Here & Now". However the record label folded and Robertson re-appeared in 1998 on the independent label, Audioquest, with his next offering, ''Going Back Home''. In November 2005 he released ''Guitar Man – Live'' with his new backing band, BluesMove. In 2008, Robertson and BluesMove played at the Harvest Time Blues

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

, Ireland. In 2011, Robertson and BluesMove appeared at the

Rhythm Festival The Rhythm Festival was an outdoor music festival held in Bedfordshire. From 2006 until 2010 it was held at Twinwood Arena, near the village of Clapham In 2011 the festival moved to Shuttleworth House, Biggleswade. The 2012 Festival was due to ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England. In 2012, a proposed concert in

Gaildorf Gaildorf is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Kocher, 13 km south of Schwäbisch Hall. Gaildorf is the approximate center of the Limpurger Land district, formerly a county ...

, Germany, was canceled after Robertson suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. He died in 2021, aged 72.

Discography

*''I'm the Man'' (1994) –

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

/Code Blue Records *''Here & Now'' (1996) – Atlantic/Code Blue Records *''Going Back Home'' (1998) –

Sledgehammer Blues Sledgehammer Blues is an audiophile record label owned by Valley Entertainment. It was formerly named AudioQuest Music. Audioquest Music was founded in 1990 by Joe Harley of the audio cable company Audioquest to demonstrate the quality of its ca ...

(formerly AudioQuest Music) *''Guitar Man – Live'' (2005) – Movin Records

References

External links

Official websitePhotograph and videos at NME.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Sherman 1948 births 2021 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Songwriters from Louisiana Electric blues musicians Singers from Louisiana Musicians from Houston Slide guitarists People from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Blues musicians from Louisiana Songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Louisiana Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters