"The First Noel" | Harry Robinson | Unvarnished Christmas

From the album, "Unvarnished Christmas" by Harry Robinson.
Available on all streaming and digital platforms.

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About Harry Robinson:

After decades of success playing and recording with some of the biggest world’s most known, loved and respected artists including Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood, Don Everly to name a few, Harry Robinson has a new energy, passion and direction with his music. With his new project, “Unvarnished Memoir”, Harry adds to his musical legacy with new compositions, performances and arrangements while sharing highlights of his musical history over the years.

It all started when Harry picked up the guitar when he was 18 and spent his first year of college doing little else. This led to a new school the second year where he studied acting and broadcasting. While in school he organized a folk group that played all over the Boston area until graduation. In the late 60’s, duty called and Harry entered the Navy. While in the service he served as a journalist-broadcaster and honed his music in several bluegrass bands in the New England area. In 1969 a group called The New Christy Minstrels came aboard Harry’s ship in Vietnam and changed his life forever. The ship promptly lost its anchor at sea, and the group was stranded onboard for three days. Harry, as public affairs petty officer, was in charge of them. The Christies ended up jamming with Harry while they were on the ship resulting in his first real music gig when he left the service. Since then, Harry has played, recorded, toured and been music director for the likes of Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood, Don Everly, Guy Clark and countless others.

He has also played on countless recording sessions over the years with artists including Glen Yarborough, Iain Matthews, Jim Rooney, David Cassidy and Dolly Parton entrusted him with producing the only sessions ever recorded of her mother, Avie Lee Parton.

In 1993 he decided to retire from touring when an opportunity was handed to him to become an artist-in-residence at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski Tennessee. He taught and studied music, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Church Music (Summa Cum Laude). He has released a series of albums under the ‘Unvarnished’ brand: Unvarnished Praise and Unvarnished Christmas. Currently, he is the Director of Music and Arts at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, TN and plays music regularly around the Franklin and greater Nashville areas.

With the release of “Unvarnished Memoir”, Harry has chronicled his life in music with a collection of mostly original songs and a few classics that are important to his vast musical journey. Harry is a multi-instrumentalist and this recording showcases his unique stylings on dobro, guitar and banjo. The twelve songs on “Unvarnished Memoir” were recorded at Java Jive Studios with David Martin producing and playing bass, Wanda Vick on fiddle, Bryan Ward on piano and Steve Klinck on drums.

“Unvarnished Memoir” contains a variety of stylings from bluegrass, folk, blues, hymns and new interpretations of jazz and pop classics from Pat Metheny and The Beatles which will give the listener a new appreciation of how a well-loved song can be reimagined. ‘Unvarnished’ represents a desire to portray a simplicity, transparency and rawness to approaching the music much like classic furniture that is not ‘polished’ but raw and honest in its form. If you spend any time with Harry or listen to him play, you’ll find a similar charming quality about him – unvarnished, honest, and raw…like having a long cup of coffee with a dear friend.