He may have lost his sight. And he’s the wrong side of 60. But Robert Finley can still rock the room.
The Winnsboro, Louisiana-native impressed once again when he performed on America’s Got Talent Tuesday night with an original song, “Medicine Woman.”
Finley has blues and soul in his veins, but he turned his back on a promising music career to serve in the Vietnam War. He carved out a second career as a carpenter to support his family, but when his sight began to deteriorate five years ago due to the effects of glaucoma, he could no longer ply his trade.
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The singer, songwriter and guitarist has cut a full length LP and performed on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Review tour in 2017 and on the Black Keys artist’s sophomore album Goin’ Platinum!. But there’s unfinished business to attend to.
“I’m 65 years old, I’m living my dream,” he said in a pre-taped segment. “Now all I’ve gotta do is win a million dollars.”
While telling his story on the AGT stage, Finley made light of his handicap. “My daughter bought me a rocking chair, and I told our baby, you can take it back to the store and get your money back because I’m not sitting in a rocking chair,” he quipped. “I’m rocking and rolling.”
And that’s precisely what he did, with a performance drenched in blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Watch below.