Originally published on May 24, 2021 12:27 pm
While Robert Finley doesn't live far from where he grew up – less than 200 miles – he's come a long way. "I don't really like sharing nothing too much now, because I never got my share as a sharecropper."
"All of my parents on grandparents on both sides were into music, even if they were just singing in the cottonfield." He bought his first instrument at the age of 10, with money he'd been given for a new pair of shoes.
After trying, but failing, to find a reliable band to play with after his time in the armed forces, Finley pivoted to building houses, running his own business for many years. But then, he lost his eyesight to glaucoma around the time he turned 60 years old. His life seemed irrevocably changed. "I had my little pity party ... but sooner or later, you've gotta pick up the pieces."