Robbie Basho

Robbie Basho (born Daniel R. Robinson, Jr., August 31, 1940 – February 28, 1986) was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer.
Basho was born in Baltimore, and was orphaned as an infant. Adopted by the Robinson family, Daniel Robinson, Jr. attended Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and was prepared for college at St. James School, Maryland, an Episcopal school. He went on to study at University of Maryland, College Park. Although he played the euphonium in the high school band and sang in middle school and high school ensembles, his interest in acoustic guitar grew during his college years, as a direct result of his friendships with fellow students John Fahey, Ed Denson, and Max Ochs. In 1959, Basho purchased his first guitar and immersed himself in Asian art and culture. It was around this time that he changed his name to Basho, in honor of the Japanese poet, Matsuo Bashō.
Basho saw the steel string guitar as a concert instrument, and wanted to create a raga system for America. During a radio interview in 1974, promoting his album Zarthus, Basho discussed his music in detail. He described how he had gone through a number of "periods" related to philosophy and music, including Japanese, Hindu, Iranian and Native American. Zarthus represented the culmination of his "Persian period". Basho asserted his wish, along with John Fahey and Leo Kottke, to raise the steel-string guitar to the level of a concert instrument. He acknowledged that the nylon-string guitar was suitable for "love songs", but its steel counterpart could communicate "fire".
Basho credited his interest in Indian music to hearing Ravi Shankar, whom he first encountered in 1962.
Basho died unexpectedly at the age of 45 due to an accident during a visit to his chiropractor, where an "intentional whiplash" procedure caused blood vessels in his neck to rupture, leading to a fatal stroke.
== Links to Peel ==
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Guitarist Basho recorded for John Fahey's Takoma label. Fahey was one of Peel's favourites and praised him along with Basho in International Times, published on 15th December 1967, but didn't seem to have played anything by him on his shows, according to available tracklistings on this site.
Two of Robbie's albums ('Venus In Cancer ' and 'The Seal Of The Blue Lotus') were displayed as part of Peel's Record Collection: V&A LPs between 2016 and 2017 in London's Victoria And Albert Museum.
== Shows Played ==
* None
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
* Discogs
Category:Artists