Richard Spencer Robinson (born May 24, 1969) is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band the Black Crowes. Along with older brother Chris Robinson, Rich formed the band in 1984 (originally called Mr. Crowes Garden) while the two were attending Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. At age 15, Rich wrote the music for "She Talks to Angels", which became one of the band's biggest hits.
Robinson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in the East Cobb County/Marietta suburbs of Atlanta. He is the son of Nancy Jane (née Bradley) and Stanley "Stan" Robinson.[1][2] His father's single, "Boom-A-Dip-Dip", was No. 83 on the 1959 Billboard charts.
The Black Crowes
The first incarnation of what would become the Black Crowes appeared as early as 1984. The band were then named Mr. Crowe's Garden after a favorite childhood fairy tale.[3] Robinson has stated that, because of his young age, he would have to sneak in and out the venues they performed and would be refused admittance if he returned the next day to attend a gig himself.[4]
By 1989, the band had become the Black Crowes and had gained momentum in their native Georgia. Producer George Drakoulias discovered the band during a New York City show the band gave that year, and had them signed to Rick Rubin's then newly formed Def American label. Recording sessions began almost immediately and the band's debut, $hake Your Money Maker, was released in 1990 to a wide charting success and good critical reception. Much of the album showcased the skills of then-21 years old Rich, from the opening riff of "Twice As Hard" to the melody of Mainstream Rock chart-topping hit "She Talks to Angels". The band quickly hit the road in support of the album, first with Aerosmith (1990), then with ZZ Top (1991). Having been fired from the latter for behavior issues, the band started its own tour in 1991.
The $hake Your Money Maker Tour was followed by the 1992 release of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Departing from the more traditional rock & roll approach of their first album, the album featured more syncopated rhythms and generally longer songs (with three songs exceeding 6 minutes). The single Remedy reached No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in May 1992. Extensive touring, including headlining shows and festivals in Europe and Japan followed the release of the album, with the band appearing at the 1993 Pinkpop Festival.
Although the band's popularity never again reached the pinnacle of their first two albums, the Black Crowes established a loyal and steady following across the United States and, to a lesser extent, United Kingdom and continental Europe.
Amorica (1994) and Three Snakes and One Charm saw the band delving further into jam rock, before By Your Side returned to a more straightforward sound, more relating to Shake Your Money Maker while retaining musical elements developed since Amorica.[5] After releasing Lions in 2001 and touring to support it, the Black Crowes took an indefinite hiatus.
After the announcement of the band's hiatus, Rich formed a new outfit called Hookah Brown. The band (featuring John Hogg on vocals, bass, guitar and keyboards, Bill Dobrow on drums and Fionn O Lochlainn on bass, guitar, harmony vocals and electric piano) was an attempt to create a sound that was a little different from the Black Crowes. Robinson handled most of the songwriting, with Hogg contributing lyric and melody ideas to some material. After their debut gig at Arlene's Grocery in New York City, the band entered Globe Recording Studio in New York to record a few original tracks. Included on this demo were "Cut the World," "Know Me" and "Black Cloud," among several others.
After completing the demo sessions, Hookah Brown began touring clubs and other small venues throughout the United States. The gigs were well received and it appeared that the band was on the cusp of success, both commercially and critically. In April 2003, however, it was announced that Hookah Brown would be going their separate ways and that Robinson would be continuing as a solo act.[6] The guitarist later revealed that the expense of operating a full band on tour, without the backing of a record label proved too much and forced the disbanding of Hookah Brown. Prior to this, John Hogg abruptly left Hookah Brown, followed by Fionn O Lochlainn and Bill Dobrow after a contract was presented to them by Robinson's New York lawyer.
Robinson continued to tour throughout the end of 2003 and well into 2004. His band featured a consistently rotating line-up, with drummer Bill Dobrow and bassist Gordie Johnson (ex-Big Sugar) being the only fairly regular faces. By August, Robinson had a full album of original material ready for release. Titled Paper, the record featured many new songs in addition to some reworkings of material from the Hookah Brown period. Robinson handled guitar, bass, and other instruments as well as taking over the lead vocals, with the gaps being filled in by Joe Magistro (drums),[6]Eddie Harsch (keyboards), Donnie Herron (fiddle, violin) and his own son Taylor Robinson (percussion).[7]
During breaks from touring with the Black Crowes, Robinson found time to assemble another band, Circle Sound, featuring Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi All-Stars), Bill Dobrow, Sven Pipien (The Black Crowes) and Rob Clores (The Black Crowes) in addition to himself; the band played a handful of gigs on the East Coast and were expected to perform again.
In addition, Robinson contributed to singer/songwriter Patti Smith's release Twelve, which was released in April 2007. He played dulcimer on "The Boy In the Bubble" and guitar on "Midnight Rider".
In late July 2011, three new tracks began streaming on Robinson's official Facebook page to coincide with the announcement of the release of his second solo record, Through a Crooked Sun, on October 11, 2011.[6] Tour dates were announced via the same method in mid-August.
In late November, 2013, Robinson announced via his Facebook page that he had signed with independent record label The End Records, which would be releasing his third solo album, The Ceaseless Sight. In January, 2014, The End Records released a free sampler via Amazon MP3 that featured an alternate version of "One Road Hill," a track included on the forthcoming The Ceaseless Sight.[9]
In 2016 Robinson joined Bad Company as a temporary, live substitute for guitarist Mick Ralphs on their 2016 US tour co-headlining with Joe Walsh.
In January 2005, Chris and Rich Robinson played an acoustic show together in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the first time since the Black Crowes went on hiatus in 2002 that the two brothers had played together on the same stage. This and the reactivation of the band's website[10] fueled rumors that the Black Crowes were re-uniting.
In March 2005, the Black Crowes officially went back on tour in Pittson, Pennsylvania at the Staircase Lounge. The tour included seven nights at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and when the band came for a four night run at the Tabernacle in their home town of Atlanta, Georgia, the band's original drummer, Steve Gorman, returned to the band. The tour continued with many dates in the US and a couple in Canada.
In June, the band began opening for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and also played several music festivals including the Bonnaroo Music Festival. While still on tour with Tom Petty they started playing clubs on their own, and treating their audiences to two-set shows that were close to three hours long. In August they did a five night run at The Fillmore in San Francisco, which was filmed for the 2006 live CD/DVD entitled Freak 'n' Roll Into The Fog. The band also did two shows in Japan. The Crowes spent that northern fall doing two set-shows around the US including four nights at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theater in Los Angeles.
In November and December Chris took time off from the Crowes to tour with Phil Lesh and Friends on their Shadow of the Moon Winter Tour. He joined back up with the Crowes to finish out 2005 with three shows including a New Year's Eve show at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Chris and Rich spent the month of April doing 13 acoustic shows. The tour was titled Brothers of a Feather and a CD and DVD from one of their three nights at the Roxy in Los Angeles during this tour was released in 2007. The Brothers played new material during their tour for the first time since the Black Crowes had reunited as well as playing each other's solo material together for the first time.
From here the brothers joined back up with the Crowes and headed to Canada for the month of May with openers Matt Mays and El Torpedo. They headed back to the States for a handful of two-set shows before heading out on a summer shed tour starting in June with the openers Robert Randolph and the Family Band and the Drive-By Truckers. They played mostly one-set shows although they did sneak in a few two-set club dates during the summer. The band continued to play a mix of songs from all of their albums, cover songs and a few new songs. This tour ended at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, on August 12 and then an acoustic brothers' show in Boulder, CO, on August 13. Tickets to the show were given only to winners of a contest put on the band's message board.
Before the band returned to the road in the beginning of September, guitarist Marc Ford quit, and keyboardist Eddie Harsch was fired. They were replaced by Paul Stacey and Rob Clores, respectively. This tour ended November 8 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.
During the winter and early spring of 2007, Robinson pulled together some friends to do two Circle Sound shows in New York. Both he and Chris did a handful of solo shows. In June, the Black Crowes headed back on tour doing one-set shows, sometimes with alternating openers including the Buffalo Killers and the North Mississippi Allstars. In July, Chris and Rich appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and played an acoustic version of the song "Wiser Time".
At their August 3 show at the Musikfest in Bethelem, Pennsylvania, the band made another member change when keyboardist Rob Clores left the band and was replaced by Adam MacDougall. This tour ended in early November, with two shows at the United Palace Theater in New York, and two shows at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On January 15, 2015, Robinson announced the final breakup of the band due to a disagreement with his brother over an alleged proposal regarding ownership of the band.[11][12] In an interview, drummer Steve Gorman indicated that prior to the breakup, the Black Crowes had been discussing a tour.[13]
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the following year. Their follow-up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, reached the top of the Billboard 200 in 1992. The albums Amorica (1994), Three Snakes and One Charm (1996), By Your Side (1999), and Lions (2001) followed, with each showing moderate popularity but failing to capture the chart successes of the band's first two albums. After a hiatus from 2002 to 2005, the band regrouped and toured for several years before releasing Warpaint in 2008, which reached number 5 on the Billboard chart.
Christopher Mark Robinson is an American musician. He founded the rock band The Black Crowes, then known as Mr. Crowe's Garden, with his brother Rich Robinson in 1984. Chris is the lead singer of The Black Crowes, and he and his brother are the only continuous members of the Crowes. He was the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which toured and recorded from 2011 through 2019. The band broke up after the death of guitarist, Neal Casal, and the Crowes’ return from hiatus, respectively. Robinson is noted for his high tenor vocal range and bluesy vocal runs.
Amorica is the third studio album by U.S. rock band The Black Crowes. Spawned from the band's unreleased Tall album sessions, Amorica was released on November 1, 1994, on American Recordings. Amorica reached gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies.
Shake Your Money Maker is the debut studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes, released on February 13, 1990, on Def American Recordings. It is the only album by the band to feature guitarist Jeff Cease. The album is named after a classic blues song written by Elmore James. The Black Crowes have played the song live many times over the years, but it is not included on this album.
Live at the Greek: Excess All Areas is a double live album by Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes, released by musicmaker.com on 29 February 2000 and reissued by TVT Records on 4 July 2000.
Three Snakes and One Charm is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes. It was released on July 23, 1996, and is their final release on American Recordings.
Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes. It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia, and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed. Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year, and was produced by Don Was. Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was, as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album.
By Your Side is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. It was released on January 12, 1999 on Columbia Records, following the band's move from American Recordings, after second guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Johnny Colt had left the band in 1997. It is the only album to be released on that label. Audley Freed and Sven Pipien were hired as the new guitarist and bassist, respectively, although Rich Robinson played all the guitar parts on the album. By Your Side was recorded in New York City during the second quarter of 1998 and produced by Kevin Shirley. It comprised songs written in the studio, revised songs from pre-production and re-recorded songs from the abandoned 1997 album Band.
New Earth Mud is the solo debut studio album of Chris Robinson. It was released October 22, 2002 on Redline Records. Initial pressings came with a bonus DVD, which included a documentary on the making of the album and several acoustic live performances. The album was Robinson's first solo effort after a dozen years recording and touring with the band he formed with his brother Rich Robinson during the 1980s, the Black Crowes, which had gone on hiatus after the completion of its 2001 tour in support of the album, Lions. The songs "Sunday Sound" and "Ride" have gone on to become staples of Robinson's live shows.
Audley Freed is a guitarist from Burgaw, North Carolina.
Moke were a British rock band who released two albums and a handful of singles; most notably the single "My Degeneration", described as "an angry indictment of callous youth".
Marc Ford is an American blues-rock guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is a former guitarist of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes, the former lead guitarist of The Magpie Salute and the leader of his own bands: Burning Tree, Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club, Marc Ford & The Sinners, Fuzz Machine, and Jefferson Steelflex.
The Lost Crowes is a compilation album by American rock band The Black Crowes. The two-disc compilation comprises material composed and recorded during the Tall and Band sessions in 1993 and 1997, respectively. Many of the songs on Tall were early versions of songs that later appeared the 1994 album Amorica, with one appearing on the 1996 album Three Snakes and One Charm.
Live is a live album by The Black Crowes, released on August 20, 2002. It was produced by Rich Robinson and recorded at the Orpheum in Boston, MA on October 30 & 31, 2001.
The Tour of Brotherly Love was a concert tour featuring Oasis, The Black Crowes, and Spacehog, three rock bands featuring pairs of brothers: Noel and Liam Gallagher, Chris and Rich Robinson, Royston and Antony Langdon, respectively. The tour's title is a nod to the fact that all three pairs of brothers have been known to fight, sometimes physically, sometimes even publicly.
Paper is the debut solo album from Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. This album contains brand new material along with songs that were initially written for Robinson's 2002–2003 project, Hookah Brown. Robinson handled guitar, bass, and other instruments as well as taking over the lead vocals, with the gaps being filled in by Joe Magistro (drums), Eddie Harsch, Donnie Herron and his son Taylor Robinson (percussion).
Warpaint is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. Released on March 3, 2008, it was the band's seventh studio album and first studio album in almost seven years, and its first with new members Luther Dickinson and Adam MacDougall, as well as the first to be released on the band's own Silver Arrow Records label. Despite its predecessor, Lions, selling more copies, Warpaint debuted 15 spots higher in the United States, at number five.
Buffalo Killers are an American rock band comprising guitarist and vocalist Andrew Gabbard, bass guitarist and vocalist Zachary Gabbard and drummer Joseph Sebaali. The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2006 following the dissolution of Thee Shams, of which the trio were members. Buffalo Killers were quickly signed by Alive Records and their self-titled debut album was released in October 2006; Buffalo Killers drew the attention of Chris Robinson, who invited the band to open a string of dates for The Black Crowes in 2007. Buffalo Killers' second album, Let It Ride, was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and released in July 2008.
The Magpie Salute was an American rock band formed in 2016 by the Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. The band also includes former Black Crowes members Marc Ford and Sven Pipien and Moke singer/songwriter John Hogg, as well as Rich Robinson band members Matt Slocum and Joe Magistro.
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