ROBERT FINLEY TO RELEASE DAN AUERBACH PRODUCED NEW ALBUM SHARECROPPER’S SON, ON EASY EYE SOUND, ON MAY 21ST
“THE GREATEST LIVING SOUL SINGER” REFLECTS ON GROWING UP IN THE JIM CROW ERA SOUTH AND BECOMING AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS AFTER 67 YEARS OF HARD WORK
LISTEN TO “SOULED OUT ON YOU” AND PRE-ORDER ALBUM HERE: https://found.ee/sharecroppersson
“The greatest living soul singer” – Dan Auerbach
“Sharecropper’s Son is a reflective look at his Louisiana upbringing and the realization of his musical dreams” – Rolling Stone
“A blind carpenter and army vet is revealed, belatedly, to be a herculean soul man” – UNCUT
Friday, March 5 – Today, Robert Finley announced Sharecropper’s Son, the career defining new album from “the greatest living soul singer,” released on Easy Eye Sound, on May 21 2021. A soulful masterpiece written by Finley and co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach, Sharecropper’s Son features blues veterans and studio legends who have worked with everyone from Elvis to Wilson Pickett.
The announcement was accompanied by “Souled Out On You,” the album’s debut track, which was released today, along with a striking video directed by Tim Hardiman, which featured Dan Auerbach on guitar. The video was premiered with Rolling Stone.com who described the track as, “a slow-burning piano ballad that conjures Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ 1956 signature song “I Put a Spell on You.” “Ain’t it a pity, it’s a crying shame,” Finley offers in his weathered, expressive voice, which alternates between baritone and falsetto, “I’m in the heart of the city, and I still feel the pain.””
“Souled Out On You,” is “the story of a relationship that’s ending,” Finley explained, adding, “It’s about someone who takes on everything in the relationship. All the good and the bad and even after all of that, they notice that it just isn’t going to work out and the relationship has run its course. I took all I could take and I’m starting my life over.”
Finley has always been a consummate entertainer and sensational soul singer, but when he lost his sight, he became an overnight success after 67 years of hard work. Finley has a voice that has stood the test of time and can glide from a gut-deep growl to a transcendent falsetto, all in a single phrase. Rooted in the vintage sounds of southern soul, country, rhythm and blues, Sharecropper’s Son showcases Finley’s formidable vocals, which take centre stage and encapsulate his remarkable life story and reflect on his childhood during the Jim Crow era south. Finley’s stories of pain and joy will uplift as he shares his belief that you are never too young to dream and never too old to live.
Robert is an army veteran and was a skilled carpenter before losing his sight in his 60s to finally pursue his musical dream. Finley has overcome divorce, house fires, an automobile accident and is legally blind following losing his sight due to the medical condition, glaucoma, which forced him to retire from carpentry and finally pursue his long delayed music career. Finley believes his sight was improved by the power of prayer and Finley’s faith has also helped him focus on launching his music career in his 60’s. According to Finley, “losing my sight gave me the perspective to see my true destiny.”
His ascent has been swift. His Auerbach produced previous album, Goin’ Platinum, received widespread critical acclaim including Associated Press who praised Finley’s ability to lend “instant credibility to any song”, and The Observer who exclaimed, “Finley’s versatile voice ranges from prime Motown holler to heartbroken falsetto croon.” Finley also toured more than 10 countries, and his live show drew praise from publications including The New York Times. Finley was profiled on PBS NewsHour, which led to him becoming a contestant on the 2019 season of the TV competition America’s Got Talent, reaching the semi-finals.
Auerbach saw Finley’s potential straight away, proclaiming him “the greatest living soul singer.” “He walked in like he was straight out of the swamp.” Auerbach recalled, adding, “He had leather pants, snakeskin boots, a big country & Western belt buckle, a leather cowboy hat and a three-quarter-length leather duster. The final touch was the folding cane the legally blind Finley wore on his hip, in a holster. Basically, he was dressed for national television.”
Currently living in Bernice, in North-Central Louisiana, Finley is one of eight children, and was born in Winnsboro, Louisiana in 1953. Song’s including Sharecropper’s Son’s title track, were inspired by Finley’s childhood. His family were Sharecroppers and he was unable to regularly attend school and often worked with his family in the field picking cotton. He later attended a segregated school but dropped out in the 10th grade to go into employment.
“I was ready to tell my story, and Dan and his guys knew me so well by then that they knew it almost like I do, so they had my back all the way.” Finley stated, reflecting back on his childhood stories that inspired the record, “Working in the cotton fields wasn’t a pleasant place to be, but it was part of my life. I went from the cotton fields to Beverly Hills. We stayed in the neighbourhood most of our childhood. It wasn’t really all that safe to be out by yourself. One of the things I love about music is that, when I was a boy growing up in the South, nobody wanted to hear what I had to say or what I thought about anything. But when I started putting it in songs, people listened.”
With songwriting by Finley, Auerbach, Bobby Wood, and contributions from respected country songwriter Pat McLaughlin, Sharecropper’s Son also features an all star band including guitar expertise from Auerbach himself, Mississippi hill country’s Kenny Brown – a blues veteran of R.L. Burnside’s band, and studio legends Russ Pahl, Billy Sanford and Louisiana guitarist Billy Sanford. They are joined by other notables: keyboardist and songwriter Bobby Wood and drum legend Gene Chrisman, who both played a historic role in Memphis and Nashville music. The line-up was completed by bass contributions from dap king Nick Movshon, blues legend Eric Deaton and former Johnny Cash bandmate Dave Roe, as well as a full horn section, and percussion from Sam Bacco.
The fire behind the conflagrant performances on Sharecropper’s Son is ignited by 67 year old Finley, who has cited a range of vocal influences, including Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Elvis, James Brown and The Beatles, all inspiring his genre diverse approach. Finley stated, “I want people to understand that I can’t be kept in a box. I like to do all kinds of music—everything that means anything to me, from gospel to blues to soul to country to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Sharecropper’s Son will be released on May 21 on Easy Eye Sound. There will be an exclusive sunrise yellow vinyl, available from the Easy Eye Sound store only. To pre-order and for more information please visit: https://found.ee/sharecroppersson
Tracklist:
1 Souled Out On You
2 Make Me Feel Alright
3 Sharecropper’s Son
4 Better Than I Treat Myself
5 Country Child
6 Starting To See
7 I Can Feel Your Pain
8 My Story
9 Country Boy
10 All My Hope
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For more information on Robert Finley please contact: Doug Hall, Big Feat PR, doug@bigfeapr.com
For Dan Auberach, please contact: Mary Moyer, Qprime, mary@qprime.com
Produced by Dan Auerbach
Recorded and Engineered by M. Allen Parker at Easy Eye Sound, Nashville, TN
Mixed by M. Allen Parker and Dan Auerbach at Easy Eye Sound
Additional Engineering by Caleb VanBuskirk, Josh Ditty and Trey Keller
Assistant Engineering by Michael Deano and Mickey Smay
Mastered: Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, Nashville, TN
Lyrics
Souled out on you
Sad but it’s true
After all we’ve been through
I’m souled out on you
You put me through hell
You got me under your spell
No matter how hard I try to hide it
The whole world can tell
There just ain’t no way
No matter how hard I pray
There ain’t nothin’ I can say
That’s gonna save us today
Souled out on you
Sad but it’s true
After all we’ve been through
I’m souled out on you
I don’t understand
You got my heart in your hand
I’m doing the best that I can
But I’m only a man
Ain’t it a pity
Ain’t it a cryin’ shame
I’m in the heart of the city
And I still feel the pain
Souled out on you
Sad but it’s true
After all we’ve been through
I’m souled out on you
Ain’t it a pity
It’s a cryin’ shame
I’m in the heart of the city
And I still feel the same
Souled out on you
Sad but it’s true
After all we’ve been through
I’m souled out on you
