Reverend Robert Wilkins  ...Remember Me GCD 9902 Buy this CD for $14.00

Songlist: 1. Jesus Said If You Go 2. (Jesus Will Fix It) Alright 3. You Gotta Move 4. Streamline 'Frisco Limited 5. Pray For Me 6. Don't Let Nobody Turn You 'Round 7. Why Don't You Do It? 8. Just A Closer Walk With Thee  9. Rock of Ages  10. ...Remember Me 11. You've Got To Stand Your Test In Judgement 12. When The Saints Go Marchin' In  13. In The Army Of The Lord (Recorded live at the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival)

Reverend Robert Timothy Wilkins was born January 16, 1896, in Hernando, MS. He lived and ministered in Memphis until he was called home in 1987.

...in the month of February, 1964, when the young white men came to the house to ask Daddy to play the blues, the answer was uncomplicated. Daddy sat there and listened to their promises of fortune and fame. When they finished, he looked at them, smiled and said, "What would it profit a man to gain the entire world and lose his soul?"

Lane Wilkins, 1995. From 1964: To Profit A Man

Like several of the former bluesmen turned gospel artists, Reverend Robert T. Wilkins refused opportunities to remake his hits from the late 20s and mid 30s. He could not, however, resist the chance to reach a new audience with the Lord's message, so the old melodies, still delivered with virtuoso intensity, now carried warnings of a sinful world coupled with promises of redemption. With the respect of his contemporaries, men like Furry Lewis and Bukka White, and the affectionate adoration he inspired in young people, Reverend Wilkins enjoyed a long and impressive second career in music. These recordings are from that era and demonstrate the perfect marriage of blues to gospel. As Robert Palmer wrote in the liner notes to this release:

Listen to him and be transformed.

We are pleased to offer a film snippet of Rev. Wilkins' performance at the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival at this link.

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