Basho was born in
Baltimore, and was orphaned as an infant. Adopted by the Robinson family, Daniel Robinson, Jr. attended Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and was prepared for college at
St. James School, Maryland, an Episcopal school. He went on to study at
University of Maryland, College Park. Although he played the
euphonium in the high school band and sang in middle school and high school ensembles, his interest in acoustic guitar grew during his college years, as a direct result of his friendships with fellow students
John Fahey,
Ed Denson, and
Max Ochs. In 1959, Basho purchased his first guitar and immersed himself in Asian art and culture. It was around this time that he changed his name to Basho, in honor of the Japanese poet,
Matsuo Bashō. Basho saw the steel string guitar as a concert instrument, and wanted to create a
raga system for America. During a radio interview in 1974, promoting his album
Zarthus, Basho discussed his music in detail. He described how he had gone through a number of "periods" related to philosophy and music, including
Japanese,
Hindu,
Iranian and
Native American.
Zarthus represented the culmination of his "Persian period". Basho asserted his wish, along with John Fahey and
Leo Kottke, to raise the steel-string guitar to the level of a concert instrument. He acknowledged that the
nylon-string guitar was suitable for "love songs", but its steel counterpart could communicate "fire". Basho credited his interest in
Indian music to hearing
Ravi Shankar, whom he first encountered in 1962. Basho died unexpectedly at the age of 45 due to an accident during a visit to his
chiropractor, where an "intentional whiplash" procedure caused blood vessels in his neck to rupture, leading to a fatal stroke. ==Guitar style==