Robbie Basho

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Baltimore, Maryland (August 31, 1940 – February 28, 1986)

Born on August 31, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland, he became an orphan in his early childhood and was adopted by Dr Donald R. Robinson and his wife, and grew up as Daniel R. Robinson jr.with a very typical middle-class childhood and youth. He spent his early years, up through high school, in Baltimore attending catholic schools run by nuns. At the high school level, he went to a military school and then on to the University of Maryland, where he was a premed student. He was athletic -playing lacrosse, doing weight lifting and other sports; he sang in school choirs and played the trumpet. After his junior year at the University of Maryland he bought his century-aged mexican 12string from a sailor for §200 and discovered every possible music, classical music, bluegrass, oriental, improvisations on Bing Crosby… He became a beatnik, became interested in Japanese literature, began to write his own poetry, dabbled in painting and guitar. After discovering the most famous Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Basho he changed his name into Robbie Basho, the musician. Guitar became his main creative outlet and he came into the steelstring after meeting John Fahey in Washington, DC, in the early 60s.He entered the upcoming musical scene of Washington within a few month. Max Ochs (can be heard on Takomas 1st guitar sampler “Contemporary Guitar”) introduced him to folk music. Robbie began playing and singing blues and a mixture of foreign protest songs. The young Leo Kottke heard him perform: “It was the first 12string I heard and he was the first player I heard who was doing something with his fingers that was his own,…I was mesmerized by him.”

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