So Long, Weepin' Willie

Bluesman Weepin' Willie Robinson, the man who was rescued from a Jamaica Plain nursing home yesterday, has since died. An earlier report mentioned he went into cardiac arrest, but he was also burned by the fire, which started when he smoked in bed.

Weepin' Willie Robinson's life unfolded like a blues song. In an obituary, the Globe noted that he performed with Bonnie Raitt and Steven Tyler, but he was found homeless in 2005. Local musicians then made sure he had shelter, and he performed at the Mount Pleasant Home right up until his death:

Robinson continued to perform, in clubs, in the rest home's hallways, and with visiting performers who stopped by. He gave a Christmas performance for residents last week, bringing in a few players to help out. He said that singing helped to numb the arthritis in his knees, recalled Merlin Southwick, executive director at the home.

The Mount Pleasant Home even had a page devoted to Weepin' Willie, along with a PDF of his schedule. The flyer boldly declares that Weepin' Willie and the All-Star Blues Band plays for "parties, weddings, divorces, etc." He was a JP fixture, and a piece in the Jamaica Plain Gazette describes who Robinson dominated whenever he played the Milky Way.

Weepin' Willie didn't seem to mind getting old, either--one of his titles on the album At Last, on Time was called "Dirty Old Man." Weepin' Willie was 81, and it seemed as if he was unstoppable. If anything, his music should live on, and perhaps he'll get his own square.

Image of Weepin' Willie album cover from Amazon.