Jimmy Robinson grew up in New Orleans and studied classical guitar and composition at Loyola University New Orleans and the Eastman School of Music before going pro in 1968 with the psychedelic band Ejaculation. In 1975 he formed Woodenhead with fellow Loyola students, a prog-rock/jazz quartet spiced with New Orleans funk and R&B. The band has toured the world, opened for the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Dixie Dregs, Béla Fleck, and Chick Corea's Elektrik Band, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 by closing out the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival's Fais Do Do Stage.
Alongside Woodenhead, Robinson plays with the New Orleans Guitar Masters, Cranston Clements, Phil DeGruy, and John Rankin, and he has shared stages with John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, and the Neville Brothers. He also keeps up a solo career, and lately he has been playing with blueswoman Layla Musselwhite and her father Charlie Musselwhite.
