Alvin "Shine" Robinson (December 22, 1937 – January 25, 1989), sometimes credited as Al Robinson, was an American

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

singer, guitarist, and songwriter, based in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. His recording of "Something You Got" reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in 1964.

Biography

He was born in New Orleans, and by the late 1950s was established as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in the city. In 1961, he recorded for

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

in New Orleans, with "I'm Leaving You Today" betraying his influence by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

. Dan Phillips, "Further Reflections On Shine, Part 1", Home of the Groove, 14 September 2010
''Homeofthegroove.blogspot.com'', Retrieved May 12, 2013
''Redkelly.blogspot.co.uk'', Retrieved May 12, 2013 His management was soon taken over by singer Joe Jones, who had had a hit with " You Talk Too Much" and who won Robinson a recording contract with Tiger Records, a new label set up in New York City by songwriters and record producers

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

. In 1964, he recorded a version of

Chris Kenner Christophe Kenner (December 25, 1929 – January 25, 1976) was an American, New Orleans–based R&B singer and songwriter, best known for two hit singles in the early 1960s, " I Like It Like That" and " Land of 1000 Dances", which became staple ...

's song "Something You Got". John Broven, ''Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans''"> John Broven, ''Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans''
Pelican Publishing, 1988, p.192 The song, featuring Robinson's "fantastically bluesy growl",
. Retrieved May 11, 2013 rose to no.52 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart.Biography
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

''. Retrieved May 12, 2013 He moved with Leiber and Stoller to their next label,

Red Bird Records Red Bird Records was a record label founded by American pop music songwriters Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and George Goldner in 1964. Though often thought of as a " girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist roster on Red B ...

, and recorded "Down Home Girl", a song written by Leiber with

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

, arranged by Joe Jones, and produced by Leiber and Stoller. Although the record was critically acclaimed, and was regarded by Leiber and Stoller as the best record issued on the Red Bird label, it was not a commercial success, but was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

on their 1965 album '' The Rolling Stones No. 2''. Robinson's later recordings for Red Bird and its subsidiary Blue Cat label, including a reshaped version of " Let The Good Times Roll" arranged by Wardell Quezergue, also failed to reach the charts. This version inspired both

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

to cover it.

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

also covered the song on his 1972 album '' Dr. John's Gumbo''. Robinson continued to record in his own name and as a session guitarist. He moved to Los Angeles, and recorded "Let Me Down Easy", written by

King Curtis Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musi ...

, for

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

in 1967. He also began playing with

, and appeared as a guitarist on the albums ''

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

'', '' Dr. John's Gumbo'', and '' Hollywood Be Thy Name'', as well as co-writing several album tracks with Dr. John. As a solo performer, Robinson recorded for

Harold Battiste Harold Raymond Battiste Jr. (October 28, 1931 – June 19, 2015) was an American music composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on record ...

's A.F.O. and Pulsar labels; one of his recordings for Pulsar, "Sho' Bout To Drive Me Wild", featured contributions from many New Orleans musicians including Battiste, Dr. John, Jessie Hill and King Floyd. He was also credited on

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

's album ''

Playing Possum ''Playing Possum'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on April 16, 1975. It was Simon's third consecutive album to reach the top 10 on the ''Billboard'' Pop albums chart, peaking a ...

'',

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

's ''

Goodnight Vienna ''Goodnight Vienna'' is the fourth studio album by Ringo Starr. It was recorded in the summer of 1974 in Los Angeles, and released later that year. ''Goodnight Vienna'' followed the commercially successful predecessor ''Ringo (album), Ringo'', a ...

'', and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

' '' Blue Valentine''. Robinson later returned to New Orleans, where he died in 1989 at the age of 51.

Discography

1961 *"Haul Off and Die Over You" – Charly CRB 1181 *"Baby Don't Blame Me" – Charly CRB 1181 *"I'm Leaving You Today" – Imperial 5727 *"Pain In My Heart" – Imperial 5727 *"Wake Up (And Face Reality)" – Imperial 5762 *"I Wanna Know" – Imperial 5762 *"Truly" – Charly CRB 1181 1962 *"Oh Red" – Post 10001, Imperial 5824 *"The Blues" – Post 10001, Imperial 5824 *"They Said It Couldn't Be Done" – Charly CRB 1181 *"Lazy Mary" – Charly CRB 1181 *"Dedicated To Domino" – Charly CRB 1181 *"Little Eva" – unissued *"The Same Old Lonesome Town" – unissued *"I Can't Open The Door To Your Heart" – unissued *"The Wise Old Weeping Willow Tree" – unissued 1964 *"Something You Got" – Tiger TI-104, Blue Cat BC-104 *"Searchin'" – Tiger TI-104, Blue Cat BC-104 *"Fever" – Red Bird RB-10-010 *"Down Home Girl" – Red Bird RB-10-010 1965 *"How Can I Get Over You" – Blue Cat BC-108 *"I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You" – Blue Cat BC-108 *"Bottom Of My Soul" – Blue Cat BC-113 *" Let The Good Times Roll" – Blue Cat BC-113 1966 *"Whatever You Had You Ain't Got It No More" – Joe Jones JJ-1, Strike JH-307 *"You Brought My Heart Right Down To My Knees" – Joe Jones JJ-1, Strike JH-307 1968 *"She Knows What To Do For Me" – unissued *"Ton Of Joy" – unissued *"Let Me Down Easy" – Atco 6581 *"Baby Don't You Do It" – Atco 6581 *"Get Out Of My Life, Woman" – unissued *"Niki Hokey" – unissued *"If It Don't Work Out" – unissued 1969 *"Empty Talk" – Pulsar 2408 *"Sho' Bout To Drive Me Wild" – Pulsar 2408 *"Give Her Up" – Pulsar 2417 *"Soulful Woman" – Pulsar 2417 *"Tuned In, Turned On" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 450 *"Better Be Cool" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 462 *"I've Never Been In Love" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 462 *"We Got Love" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 462 *"Serpent Woman" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 520 *"Cry, Cry, Cry" – Ace (UK) CDCHD 520

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Alvin 1937 births 1989 deaths Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans American rhythm and blues musicians American soul musicians Singers from Louisiana 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers African-American songwriters 20th-century American musicians Imperial Records artists