Fenton Robinson; Blues Guitarist, Singer and Composer

Fenton Robinson, 62, blues guitarist, singer and composer. A native of Greenwood, Miss., Robinson began performing as a teenager in Memphis, Tenn., and made his recording debut at age 22 with “Tennessee Woman.” He moved to Chicago in 1961 and played with blues legends Junior Wells and Otis Rush. Robinson scored a national hit in 1967 with his version of “Loan Me a Dime.” In the 1970s he served a sentence for involuntary manslaughter stemming from an automobile accident. When Robinson appeared locally at the Sweetwater in 1981, Times reviewer Don Snowden called him “an intriguing performer who breaks many of the predictable molds associated with blues musicians.” In his later years, Robinson taught blues in Springfield, Ill. On Tuesday in Rockford, Ill., of brain cancer.