Jimmie Lee Robinson Will be Remembered.
by Chuck Cowdery, President of the Maxwell
Street Historic Preservation Coalition
cowdery (at) 21stcentury.net

Jimmie Lee Robinson died Friday, July 5, 2002. He was 71.

A prominent blues musician, Jimmie Lee Robinson was one of the most stalwart supporters of the struggle to save the historic Maxwell Street neighborhood, where he was born and raised. His earliest musical performances were in the 1940s as a skinny, teen-aged street musician performing at the Maxwell Street Market with veterans such as Floyd and Moody Jones, Snooky Pryor, Eddie "Porkchop" Hines and others.

Robinson was born in Chicago on April 30, 1931. Most of his family was from the Hillhouse, Mississippi, area. His great-grandfather, Mose Jenkins, was born a slave and after emancipation became a circuit riding preacher. Robinson could remember walking on Maxwell Street with his great-grandfather and grandfather before the elder man’s death in 1935 at age 91. Mose Jenkins’ daughter, Celia Jackson, was Robinson’s grandmother. Her mother was a Choctaw Indian.

Robinson spent much of his youth with his grandparents, Celia and Elijah Jackson. Elijah Jackson worked as a barber and at the McCormick Farm Equipment factory. As a sideline, he sold his wife’s sweet potato and apple pies.

Robinson’s parents were Almor Smith and Emma Robinson. Almor Smith was a construction laborer who worked for the WPA and also as a junkman. Emma had another son, Eddie Lee Robinson, by Jack Palmer, a communist who was friends with Paul Robeson.

In 1948, Robinson met singer/guitarist Eddie Taylor and they played the Chicago club scene together until 1952. Later he formed "The Every Hour Blues Boys" band with Freddie King. In his long career as a sideman, he worked with Little Walter, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Magic Sam, Willie Mabon, Shakey Jake, Sonny Cooper, Sunnyland Slim, Detroit Junior and Howlin' Wolf.

As a studio musician, Robinson was in demand at the Chess and Veejay studios. His lead guitar work can be heard on Little Walter's 1957 "Ah'w Baby," his rhythm guitar is on 1958’s "The Toddle," and his bass guitar is on the 1958’s "Confessin’ the Blues."

By the '80s, Robinson had virtually disappeared from the blues scene. He made a comeback in the '90s as a leader and solo artist with recordings on Delmark, APO and his own Amina label. His most recent release, All My Life, is on APO Records.

Robinson gained national attention for his protest of the destruction of Maxwell Street. In 2000-2001 he fasted for 81 days to draw attention to the devastation of the neighborhood known as the birthplace of Chicago blues. His hunger strike reached the front page of the New York Times. In addition to his fasts, Robinson appeared frequently at demonstrations and other Maxwell Street events, often performing his original composition, "The Maxwell Street Teardown Blues."

Jimmie Lee Robinson was a kind, gentle, soft-spoken man who loved to talk about spirituality, natural foods and health. He enjoyed meeting and talking with his many fans. He will be remembered as a talented artist and committed activist with a deep, loving spirit.

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