Robbie Dupree

Last updated

Robbie Dupree
Robbie Dupree (cropped).jpg
Dupree in 2015
Background information
Birth nameRobert Dupuis
Born (1946-12-23) December 23, 1946 (age 76)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres Pop rock, soft rock
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active1978–present
LabelsElektra, Beverly, Spectra
Website robbiedupree.com

Robert Dupuis (born December 23, 1946), known professionally as Robbie Dupree, is an American singer best known for his hit songs "Steal Away" (No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Hot Rod Hearts" (No. 15). [1]

Contents

Early life

Robbie Dupree was born on December 23, 1946, in Brooklyn, as Robert Dupuis. While growing up, his biggest musical influences included R&B musicians Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke.

Career

In 1981, he received a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist, losing to Christopher Cross. Dupree's final single to make the Billboard chart, "Brooklyn Girls", peaked at No. 54 in June 1981.

In 1987, Dupree contributed the song "Girls in Cars" to Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2 , a collection of theme songs for World Wrestling Entertainment (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). The tag team Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) used an instrumental version of "Girls in Cars" as their entrance music from 1987 to 1989.

In 2010, Dupree signed with Spectra Records and released the album Time and Tide featuring former E Street Band keyboards player David Sancious. On May 21, 2010, Dupree performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of Jimmy's ongoing tribute to yacht rock, the smooth West Coast sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 2011, Dupree toured as part of the All Star Rock concert series. The tour featured John Cafferty, Orleans, David Pack (Ambrosia), John Ford Coley, Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie, Joe Lynn Turner, and Joe Bouchard.

In 2012, Dupree released a new album of covers entitled Arc of a Romance.

In 2013, Dupree toured throughout the United States and Canada over the summer as part of the Sail Rock 2013 with Christopher Cross, Player, Gary Wright, Al Stewart, Orleans, Firefall, and John Ford Coley.

In the summer of 2018, he and John Ford Coley appeared on the Rock the Yacht 2018 tour alongside Ambrosia, Peter Beckett (of Player), and Stephen Bishop.

In the summer of 2019, Dupree appeared on the podcast "A Bunch of Malarkey" to discuss his career and recent work.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orleans (band)</span> American rock band

Orleans is an American pop rock band best known for its hits "Dance with Me" ; "Still the One", from the album Waking and Dreaming; and "Love Takes Time". The group's name evolved from the music it was playing when it formed; their music is inspired by Louisiana artists including Allen Toussaint and the Neville Brothers. Orleans was formed in Woodstock, New York in January 1972 by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter John Hall; vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and songwriter Larry Hoppen; and drummer, keyboardist, and songwriter Wells Kelly. In October of that year, the group expanded to include Larry's younger brother, Lance, on bass. Drummer Jerry Marotta joined in 1976, completing the quintet. Hall was later elected to the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KC and the Sunshine Band</span> American disco and funk band

KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way ", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Boogie Shoes", "Please Don't Go" and "Give It Up". The band took its name from lead vocalist Harry Wayne Casey's last name ('KC') and the 'Sunshine Band' from KC's home state of Florida, the Sunshine State. The group has had six top 10 singles, five number one singles and a number two single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrosia (band)</span> American rock band

Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1970. Ambrosia had five top 40 hit singles released between 1975 and 1980, including the top 5 hits "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me", and top 20 hits "You're the Only Woman " and "Holdin' on to Yesterday". Most of the original band members have been active with the group continuously for over thirty years to the present day, with the notable exception of original guitarist and lead vocalist David Pack since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Seals</span> American singer-songwriter (1948-2009)

Danny Wayland Seals was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted nine singles between 1976 and 1980, including the No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 hit "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ford Coley</span> American singer-songwriter

John Ford Coley is an American singer, classically trained pianist, guitarist, actor, and author most known for his partnership in the musical duo England Dan & John Ford Coley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seals and Crofts</span> American soft-rock duo

Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts They are best known for their hits "Summer Breeze" (1972), "Diamond Girl" (1973), and "Get Closer" (1976), each of which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Both Seals and Crofts were publicly outspoken advocates for the Baháʼí Faith. Though the duo disbanded in 1980, they reunited briefly in 1991–1992, and again in 2004, when they released their final album, Traces. Seals and his younger brother, the charting singer-songwriter "England" Dan Seals, later performed publicly together as Seals & Seals.

David Sancious is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on Human Touch (1992), Tracks (1998), and Western Stars (2019). Sancious is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known as a keyboard player and guitarist. He left the E Street Band in 1974 to form his own band, Tone, and released several albums. He subsequently became a popular session and touring musician, most notably for Stanley Clarke, Narada Michael Walden, Zucchero Fornaciari, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Jack Bruce, and Sting among many others. In 2014, Sancious was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.

Player is a British-American rock band that was formed in the late 1970s. The group scored several US Hot 100 hits, three of which went into the top 40; two of those single releases went top 10, including the No. 1 hit "Baby Come Back", written by group members Peter Beckett and J.C. Crowley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Duprees</span> American band

The Duprees are an American musical group of doo-wop style who had a series of top-ten singles in the early 1960s. Their highest-charting single, "You Belong to Me" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. In 1970, they recorded as The Italian Asphalt & Pavement Company.

<i>Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II</i> 1987 soundtrack album by World Wrestling Federation

Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II is the second soundtrack album released by the World Wrestling Federation. It was released on September 21, 1987 by Epic Records. It featured actual vocal performances from several of the wrestlers themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">England Dan & John Ford Coley</span> American soft rock duo

England Dan & John Ford Coley were an American soft rock duo composed of Danny Wayland "England Dan" Seals and John Edward "John Ford" Coley, active throughout the 1970s. Native Texans, they are best known for their 1976 single "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit. After they disbanded, Seals began performing as Dan Seals and launched a country music career through the 1980s which produced 11 No. 1 country hits.

Peter Beckett is an English musician and songwriter who has written songs for many prominent recording artists, his own bands and solo work, and for several films. He is likely best known as the lead singer and guitarist for 1970s soft rock group Player, which scored a U.S. number one hit in 1977 with "Baby Come Back".

Starbuck was a rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1974 by keyboardist/vocalist/record producer Bruce Blackman and marimba player Bo Wagner. Both Blackman and Wagner, along with guitarist Johnny Walker, had previous success with Mississippi-based "sunshine pop" group Eternity's Children, scoring a Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Mrs. Bluebird" in the summer of 1968. Wagner worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show, and played drums for the extravagant pianist Liberace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Marotta</span> American drummer (born 1956)

Jerome David Marotta is an American drummer who resides in Woodstock, New York. He is the younger brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a drummer and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Tee</span> American pianist, singer and arranger

Richard Edward Tee was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", "Slip Slidin' Away", "Just the Two of Us", "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow ", "Crackerbox Palace", "Tell Her About It", "Don't Give Up" and many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill LaBounty</span> American musician

Bill LaBounty is an American musician. He was initially a singer-songwriter in the soft rock genre. As a solo artist, LaBounty recorded six studio albums, including four on Curb/Warner Bros. Records. His first charting single, "This Night Won't Last Forever", was covered in 1979 by Michael Johnson, whose rendition was a top 20 pop hit that year, and eventually also covered by the country group Sawyer Brown in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again</span> 1978 single by England Dan & John Ford Coley

"We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again" is a song by Jeffrey Comanor from the album A Rumor in His Own Time, which debuted in September 1976. Written by Comanor, the song describes a couple who spend a night together, one which the narrator wishes would "never end". Both the song, which Epic Records released as a single, and album failed to chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steal Away (Robbie Dupree song)</span> 1980 single by Robbie Dupree

"Steal Away" is a song by American singer Robbie Dupree, from his 1980 debut album Robbie Dupree. Released as the first single from the album, it became his biggest hit, peaking at No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song reached No. 14 on the Pop chart and spent three weeks at No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Rod Hearts</span> 1980 song by Robbie Dupree

"Hot Rod Hearts" is a song by American singer Robbie Dupree, from his 1980 debut album Robbie Dupree. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 24 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song reached No. 42 on the Pop chart.

References

  1. McAleer, Dave (2001). The Book of Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day. Backbeat Books. p. 223. ISBN   9780879306663 . Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 97. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.