Robin Gautier
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Robin Gautier | |
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| File:Robert Nesta Marley.jpg | |
| Born | February 24, 1945 |
| Died | July 23, 1984 (age 39) |
| Other names | Robby Gautier, Too Tuff |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1962-1981, 1982-1984 |
| Spouse(s) | Peggy Morel-Gautier (m. 1966) |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | 5 siblings, including
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Robin Ifa Gautier (24 February, 1945 - 23 July, 1984) was an Emeraudian singer, musician and songwriter. Considered one of the founding fathers of Rande, as well as one of the most influential and well known Emeraudian cultural icons of all time, his musical career would be marked by helping give birth to the genre of Rande, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Gautier's contributions to the realm of music have increased the visibility of Emeraudian music worldwide, and he remains a staple of pop culture to this day. Over the course of his career, he became a Mufasti icon, and he injected a sense of spirituality into his music. He is also considered a global symbol of Emeraudian culture and music and identity, and was rather controversial with his outspoken support for social and democratic reform. His 1984 death at the hands of a gunman in Camden, Rizealand, is believed to have been politically motivated. He also advocated for the legalization of cannabis, and was an advocate for pan-Bahianism
Born in Port-au-Grégoire, Île d'Emeraude, Gautier began his musical career in 1962 at the age of 17, after forming the music group Yung Delinquents with his brother Bruno and close friend Milo Rémy, which would eventually become the Bawlers. They would release their debut album, The Bawling Bawlers, in 1965, which included the single One Love; the song gained worldwide popularity, and established the group as a rising musical force; it also signifies the rise of Rande as an up-and-coming genre. They went on to release 10 studio albums in total, and after signing to (some Gaullican record company), the band's name became Robin Gautier and the Bawlers. While initially employing louder instrumentation and singing, the group began engaging in rhythmic-based song construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s, coinciding with Gautier's conversion to Mufastism. Around this time, Gautier relocated to Verlois, and the group embodied their musical shift with the 1971 release of the studio album The Best of the Bawlers.
The group began to gain international attention after signing to (some Gaullican record company), and touring in support of new albums Full Moon and Hopin', both released in 1973. Following the disbandment of the group the next year, Gautier continued to perform under the group's name. He would release more albums over the next few years, which included 1974's Hanging Dread. He had his international breakthrough in 1975, following the popularity of (some Rizealander country singer)'s cover of his 1974 single I Shot the Sherriff, as well as the release of a live version of another 1974 single No Woman, No Cry. This was followed by his breakthrough album in Rizealand and Euclea, 1976's Mufastaman Vibration, which reached the Top 50 of the !notBillboard Soul Charts. After he permanently relocated to Verlois, he would record the album Exodus, which incorporated elements of soul, blues, and Estmerish rock, and he enjoyed widespread critical and commercial success.
In 1981, Gautier would be diagnosed with lung cancer, though he luckily caught it early in it's development. Because of the cancer, however, he was forced to briefly walk away from music. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to stay away for long; by Pascha 1982 he was in remission. After fully recovering from his treatment, he would resume his career, releasing a new album in 1983, Prodigal Son, and beginning a "Comeback Tour". While he was in Camden, Rizealand, on a stop on his tour, he would be struck multiple times in a drive-by-shooting, and would die of his injuries. His fans around the world expressed their grief, and he received a state funeral in Île d'Émeraude, being the first of only two civilians to receive one in Île d'Émeraude's history.
A posthumous greatest hits album, Legend would be released in 1985, and it became and remains one of the best-selling Rande albums of all time. Gautier also ranks as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more that 95 million records. He was posthumously honored by Île d'Émeraude soon after his death, being given the Medal of Honor by then-President Jocelyne Louisette-Noel. The baseball team the Port-au-Grégoire Robins were renamed from their previous name "Ressortissants" to Robins in his honor.
Early life and career
Robin Ifa Gautier was born on February 25, 1945 in the home of his maternal grandmother in Port-au-Grégoire, Île d'Émeraude, which at the time was still under the Arucian Federation, to Romaine Dubuisson Gautier and Sébastien Gautier. Sébastien was of mixed Bahian-Gaullican ancestry, with his father having been a Gaullois civil servant who worked within the government of the Viceroyalty of the Emerald Isles. Sébastien claims to have been a captain in the Gaullican Navy, but had been discharged when the Great War ended; when he married to Romaine Dubuisson, a then 18-year old Bahio-Emeraudian, he had been employed as a fisherman. He regularly provided financial support for his wife and children, but he didn't spend much time at home, as his job kept him away. Robin was the second-youngest of 5 children, with three brothers and one sister. In 1953, when Robin was only seven, Sébastien would suffer a heart attack and die at the age of 54. Romaine would go on to remarry, marrying a law clerk from Rizealand by the name of Joseph Phelps.
Robin and Milo Rémy had been childhood friends in Port-au-Grégoire. They had started to play music together as they attended primary and high school. Romaine and Milo's father, Pascal Rémy, would have a child together, a daughter whom they named Esther. Now that Gautier and Rémy were living together in the same house in Port-au-Grégoire, their musical explorations deepened to include the new ska music, the latest R&B from Rizealand radio stations whose broadcasts reached Île d'Émeraude, and Bahian-originated Djeli pop. Gautier formed a vocal group with Milo, as well as his older brother Bruno, who was also involved in their musical explorations. The line-up was known variously as the Yung Delinquents, the Bawling Delinquents, the Bawling Bawlers and finally just the Bawlers. Rocksteady artist Henri Beaumont, who had been part of a popular vocal act Beaumont and Chausson with Aaron Chausson, lived nearby and encouraged the young trio. Robin and the others did not play any instruments at this time, and were more interested in being a vocal harmony group. Beaumont helped them develop their vocal harmonies, and started to teach Robin how to play guitar.