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

, 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 amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 19 ...

and one part classic

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, 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 p ...

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, Louis ...

, and raised in Houston, Texas. 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). Mo ...

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 Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

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 19 ...

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 R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and ...

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

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

. 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 WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * W.C. (film), ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connectio ...

. 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 co ...

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...

, Ireland. In 2011, Robertson and BluesMove appeared at the Rhythm Festival in

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 ...

, England. In 2012, a proposed concert in Gaildorf, Germany, was canceled after Robertson suffered a stroke. 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