North Louisiana blues singer Robert Finley has unveiled his deeply spiritual new single, “Helping Hand,” available now via Easy Eye Sound.
Produced by longtime collaborator Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville, the powerful track sees Finley infusing the sacred sounds of gospel into his already unique take on the blues, soul, and R&B, backed by an all-star combo featuring Auerbach and fellow guitarist Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie, Primal Scream, The The), drummer Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics, Madlib, DJ Shadow), bassist Tommy Brenneck, and keyboardist Ray Jacildo, along with call-and-response vocal support from his daughter, singer Christy Johnson.
After a lifetime of hard work, Robert Finley has established himself as one of today’s preeminent spokesmen of the blues. Born and raised in the small town of Bernice, LA, Finley spent decades playing music as a street performer and leader of the gospel group Brother Finley and the Gospel Sisters before making his long-overdue recording debut at the young age of 62 with 2016’s Age Don’t Mean A Thing. The album captured the attention of Easy Eye Sound founder Dan Auerbach, beginning a long collaborative relationship that has included 2017’s Goin’ Platinum, 2021’s autobiographical Sharecropper’s Son, and 2023’s critically acclaimed Black Bayou. An 11-track tour de force that coalesces southern soul, jazz, folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and more into a raw, thundering tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana, the latter album was met by ecstatic applause from leading publications around the world spanning SPIN, The FADER, No Depression, American Songwriter, Paste, Uncut, and more with MOJO simply declaring in a five-starred rave, “Black Bayou is surely the album Finley was put on Earth to create, filled with stories only he could tell.”
An electrifying performer known for his soulful swagger and gritty vocal power, Finley has since proven a hugely popular international live act with sold-out headline tours, countless festival appearances, shows alongside The Black Keys, and a leading role in Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Revue. Finley has also made a number of high-profile network TV appearances, including the 2019 season of NBC’s America’s Got Talent – where he eventually made it to the semi-finals – and CBS Saturday Morning. Having overcome great adversity – including losing his sight in his 60s – Robert Finley is now justly recognized the world over as a singular storyteller and one of the last great bluesmen of the modern era, a true living legend with still more magic to come.
