"I think of Janis as the consummate blues-rocker," said Robinson, who also co-produced Songs of Janis Joplin, Blues Down Deep "She had a reverence for old blues, but found her voice when she brought in a rock feel. 'Move Over" is a finely crafted blues-rock song. That was one of the finest tunes she wrote, it has a great feel with a passionate groove"

     Robinson, grew up listening to the sweet soul music of Arthur Alexander and Otis Redding. In 1980 he left New York City for Bloomington, Indiana to attend Indiana University's school of music. On the side, he formed the Hesitation Blues Band that played occasional weekend gigs in Chicago. (In 1965 Joplin recorded the traditional "Hesitation Blues" featuring an incisive arrangement by Jorma Kaukomen of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna fame).

"I came up to Chicago to learn blues from the masters", said Robinson, who is also a harmonica player. "Particularly (harpist) Junior Wells and Big Walter (Horton)."

"You're not going to beat Janis as a screamer," the soulful vocalist explained. "And I'm not really a screaming type of singer, so I wanted to smooth out 'Move Over'. We came up with an arrangement that featured a lot of interesting give and take. My voice was like another piece of the ensemble, we have that much interplay. This entire record was like 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,' in the way that so many musicians intertwine around Janis Joplin."