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Robbie Basho
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<h2 id="biography">Biography</h2> <p>Basho was born in <a href="/facts/Baltimore/ncJvTzBU">Baltimore</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/St._James_School,_Maryland/4IF2fvHU">St. James School, Maryland</a>, an Episcopal school. He went on to study at <a href="/facts/University_of_Maryland,_College_Park/Wmc5R1kM">University of Maryland, College Park</a>. Although he played the <a href="/facts/Euphonium/WnqR5PDg">euphonium</a> 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 <a href="/facts/John_Fahey_(musician)/PT1sWQ5V">John Fahey</a>, <a href="/facts/Ed_Denson/1vr9fE4J">Ed Denson</a>, and <a href="/facts/Max_Ochs/Tdv77PTN">Max Ochs</a>. 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, <a href="/facts/Matsuo_Bash%C5%8D/wqEabCKp">Matsuo Bashō</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p><p>Basho saw the steel string guitar as a concert instrument, and wanted to create a <a href="/facts/Raga/BAL7eFMH">raga</a> system for America. During a radio interview in 1974, promoting his album <i><a href="/facts/Zarthus/JLSy4y7S">Zarthus</a></i>, Basho discussed his music in detail. He described how he had gone through a number of "periods" related to philosophy and music, including <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japanese</a>, <a href="/facts/Hindu/D7TFhcg1">Hindu</a>, <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iranian</a> and <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas/LG2r6wXm">Native American</a>. <i>Zarthus</i> represented the culmination of his "Persian period". Basho asserted his wish, along with John Fahey and <a href="/facts/Leo_Kottke/6HPYshqb">Leo Kottke</a>, to raise the steel-string guitar to the level of a concert instrument. He acknowledged that the <a href="/facts/Classical_guitar/P1QRb2lo">nylon-string guitar</a> was suitable for "love songs", but its steel counterpart could communicate "fire". </p><p>Basho credited his interest in <a href="/facts/Music_of_India/yFwovhbY">Indian music</a> to hearing <a href="/facts/Ravi_Shankar/IhSfBtjx">Ravi Shankar</a>, whom he first encountered in 1962. </p><p>Basho died unexpectedly at the age of 45 due to an accident during a visit to his <a href="/facts/Chiropractic_controversy_and_criticism/X04d3GAH">chiropractor</a>, where an "intentional whiplash" procedure caused blood vessels in his neck to rupture, leading to a fatal stroke.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="guitar-style">Guitar style</h2> <p>Robbie Basho's finger-picked guitar technique was influenced heavily by <a href="/facts/Sarod/IE6o6bt9">sarod</a> playing, and his studies with the Indian virtuoso <a href="/facts/Ali_Akbar_Khan/qL7BRXAy">Ali Akbar Khan</a>. Basho used unusual <a href="/facts/Open_tuning/fr9aUeQw">open tunings</a>, including a number of variants on "open-C" (CGCGCE), and played a <a href="/facts/Twelve_string_guitar/CNprTjkq">12-string guitar</a> to recreate the drone that is characteristic of <a href="/facts/Indian_classical_music/u74W31Gw">Indian classical music</a>. Basho often used Eastern modes and scales, but other influences include European <a href="/facts/Classical_music/oglVXmSb">classical music</a>, <a href="/facts/Blues/f2WSr9QQ">blues</a> (in his earlier period), and ballad styles of <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">the U.S.</a> </p> <h2 id="renewal-of-interest">Renewal of interest</h2> <p>In the 1970s and 1980s, Basho's contribution to acoustic steel string guitar was eclipsed early by <a href="/facts/John_Fahey_(musician)/PT1sWQ5V">John Fahey</a>, founder of <a href="/facts/Takoma_Records/9jBl9VRn">Takoma Records</a>, and the appearance of <a href="/facts/Windham_Hill_Records/zD1HFCtz">Windham Hill Records</a> and its roster of musicians. There has been a renewal of interest in his work since 2000, spurred on by reissues by Takoma, Tompkins Square, and Grass-Tops Recording as well as the release of previously unpublished concerts. Grass-Tops inherited tapes that had been preserved for 30 years by guitarist Glenn Jones. </p><p><a href="/facts/Buck_Curran/sK3yTddf">Buck Curran</a> of psychedelic folk band <a href="/facts/Arborea_(band)/35gnPJJn">Arborea</a> has curated two Robbie Basho tribute albums, <i>We Are All One in the Sun</i> (2010) and <i>Basket Full of Dragons</i> (2016). Both albums feature contemporary artists reinterpreting Basho's material and original compositions inspired by his style. </p><p>British filmmaker Liam Barker premiered the documentary <i>Voice of the Eagle: The Enigma of Robbie Basho</i> in London in October 2015 at the Raindance Festival and the film premiered at San Francisco's <a href="/facts/Roxie_Theater/q9UbscgN">Roxie Theater</a> in April 2018.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> It was nominated for the Jury Award at the <a href="/facts/Santa_Barbara_International_Film_Festival/dvgKGGQm">Santa Barbara International Film Festival</a>. The documentary traces the troubled life of Basho with previously uncovered archive material and interviews with <a href="/facts/Pete_Townshend/A4VtLnqj">Pete Townshend</a>, <a href="/facts/William_Ackerman/hzm1oMCX">William Ackerman</a>, <a href="/facts/Alex_De_Grassi/JIttSdSe">Alex de Grassi</a>, <a href="/facts/Henry_Kaiser_(musician)/QhEyd460">Henry Kaiser</a>, <a href="/facts/Glenn_Jones_(guitarist)/IjhCVyHG">Glenn Jones</a>, <a href="/facts/Country_Joe_McDonald/K9Voc0eG">Country Joe McDonald</a>, <a href="/facts/Steffen_Basho-Junghans/x6Yhyyvq">Steffen Basho-Junghans</a> and <a href="/facts/Max_Ochs/Tdv77PTN">Max Ochs</a>. </p> <h2 id="discography">Discography</h2> Studio albums <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/The_Seal_of_the_Blue_Lotus/oFbzs3ko">The Seal of the Blue Lotus</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Takoma_Records/9jBl9VRn">Takoma</a>, 1965)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/The_Grail_%26_the_Lotus/0UcdFxUp">The Grail & the Lotus</a></i> (Takoma, 1966)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Basho_Sings/8qrDTHqs">Basho Sings</a></i> (Takoma, 1967)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/The_Falconer%27s_Arm_I/2T0TQx2R">The Falconer's Arm I</a></i> (Takoma, 1967)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/The_Falconer%27s_Arm_II/runbATlQ">The Falconer's Arm II</a></i> (Takoma, 1967)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Venus_in_Cancer/3vSFRHfx">Venus in Cancer</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Blue_Thumb_Records/ycfqKtqh">Blue Thumb</a>, 1969) remastered and reissued by <a href="/facts/Tompkins_Square_Records/zenVN0ct">Tompkins Square</a></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Song_of_the_Stallion/yavEVuzN">Song of the Stallion</a></i> (Takoma, 1971)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/The_Voice_of_the_Eagle/loeEL4zk">The Voice of the Eagle</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Vanguard_Records/fT8Cs0n3">Vanguard</a>, 1972)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Zarthus/JLSy4y7S">Zarthus</a></i> (Vanguard, 1974)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Visions_of_the_Country/7V4LuuKG">Visions of the Country</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Windham_Hill_Records/zD1HFCtz">Windham Hill</a>, 1978)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Art_of_the_Acoustic_Steel_String_Guitar_6_%26_12/IH5rdz9N">Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 6 & 12</a></i> (Windham Hill, 1979)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Rainbow_Thunder:_Songs_of_the_American_West/n92umVIj">Rainbow Thunder: Songs of the American West</a></i> (Silver Label, 1981)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Bouquet_(Robbie_Basho_album)/3UsJfkHV">Bouquet</a></i> (Basho Productions, 1983)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Twilight_Peaks/R2SywwwH">Twilight Peaks</a></i> (Art of Relaxation, 1984)</li> <li><i>Songs of the Great Mystery</i> (Real Gone, 2020) some tracks were released for a short period of time in 2007 as <i>Indian II</i></li></ul> Live albums <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Bonn_ist_Supreme/GQ5LesH2">Bonn ist Supreme</a></i> (Bo'Weavil, 2008)</li> <li><i>Art of the Acoustic Steel String Preview</i> (Grass-Tops, 2014)</li> <li><i>Robbie Basho Live in Milwaukee – 1982</i> (Grass-Tops, 2015)</li> <li><i>Portrait of Basho as a Young Dragoon</i> (Grass-Tops, 2015)</li> <li><i>Rocky Mountain Raga - Live from Elgin - 1981</i> (Grass-Tops, 2016)</li> <li><i>Robbie Basho Live at Folkstudio – 1982</i> (Grass-Tops, 2016)</li> <li><i>Robbie Basho Live in Forlì - 1982</i> (Topa Topa, 2016)</li> <li><i>Robbie Basho - Live in Forli, Italy 1982</i> Complete Concert (ESP-Disk'/Obsolete Recordings, 2017)</li></ul> Compilation albums <ul><li><i>Basho's Best, Vol. 1</i> (Basho, 1982)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Guitar_Soli/dKezXUQR">Guitar Soli</a></i> (Takoma, 1996)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/B%C4%83shovia/PoCLvas3">Băshovia</a></i> (Takoma, 2001)</li> <li><i>Song of the Avatars: The Lost Master Tapes</i> (Tompkins Square, 2020)</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Richards, Chris (28 December 2024). <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2024/12/28/robbie-basho-box-set-review/">"Robbie Basho Was a Cult Guitarist Searching for a Cult"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/The_Washington_Post/dRvzvqJc">The Washington Post</a></i>. Retrieved 28 December 2024.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.robbiebasho.net/">The World of Robbie Basho</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p30246">Robbie Basho</a> at <a href="/facts/AllMusic_(identifier)/Hb8cU8Fb">AllMusic</a></li> <li>Peghead Nation, <a href="https://pegheadnation.com/commentary/derks-discoveries/digging-basho/">Basket Full of Basho</a> by Derk Richardson, July 20, 2016</li> <li>Acoustic Guitar Magazine <a href="https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-the-late-robbie-bashos-cherished-12-string-guitar-resurfaces/">Robbie Basho's 12 String Resurfaces</a> by Buck Curran, November–December 2023</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Basho-Junghans, Steffen. "Robbie Basho-Archives/Biography". www.robbiebasho-archives.info. <a href="http://www.robbiebasho-archives.info/en/biography.html" target="_blank">http://www.robbiebasho-archives.info/en/biography.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"The Cosmos Club". Washington City Paper. July 7, 2006. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080627200714/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2006/cover0707.html?navEdit" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080627200714/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2006/cover0707.html?navEdit</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Reif, Max (2018-04-25). "Voice of the Eagle—The Enigma of Robbie Basho: A Film About a Legendary Musician Premieres in San Francisco" (film review). The Mindful Word. Retrieved 2018-08-31. <a href="https://www.themindfulword.org/2018/voice-eagle-robbie-basho/" target="_blank">https://www.themindfulword.org/2018/voice-eagle-robbie-basho/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>