Rob Stoner | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Rothstein |
| Born | April 20, 1948 Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Multi-instrumentalist |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, piano |
Robert Rothstein (born April 20, 1948), known professionally as Rob Stoner, is an American singer and multi-instrumentalist known for his role as the musical director for three Bob Dylan tours and his contributions to hit albums, including Bob Dylan's Desire and Don McLean's American Pie . He has worked with a wide array of prominent artists across various genres and continues to perform as a solo act. He works as an online guitar instructor.
Rob Stoner grew up in Manhattan and New Rochelle, NY. He joined the musicians union at age 15, working as a singer-guitarist performing standards from the Great American Songbook. His parents were professional photographers. His father, Arthur Rothstein, is one of the premier photojournalists of the 20th century. Before graduating from NYC's Columbia College in 1969, Stoner began working as a session musician for artists like Don McLean, Pete Seeger, Tim Hardin and others.
Stoner's original compositions have been recorded by Johnny Winter, Link Wray, Robert Gordon, and others. In 1973, he was signed to CBS Records as a country singer. In 1974, Bob Dylan heard Stoner in an LA club and soon hired him as his bandleader and harmony singer. In 1978, Stoner resumed his solo career, releasing critically acclaimed solo albums released on all streaming platforms.
Stoner has worked with a diverse range of artists, including: Link Wray, Chuck Berry, Ringo Starr, Roy Orbison, the Jordanaires, Levon Helm, Carl Perkins, Mick Ronson, Joni Mitchell, Roger McGuinn, Joan Baez, Danny Gatton, Lynn Anderson, Thommy Price, Doug Sahm, James Maddock, Pete Farndon, Topper Headon, Anton Fig, D.J. Fontana, Howie Wyeth, Ed Sanders, Carlos Santana, Kinky Friedman, Gordon Lightfoot, Rick Danko, Tony Garnier, Larry Campbell, David Mansfield, Scarlet Rivera, Kenny Aaronson, Hank DeVito, Emmylou Harris, John Herald, Johnny Thunders, Robbie Robertson, Jack Elliott, Gary Chester, Hank DeVito, Ken Pine, Don Covay, Jerry Garcia, Michael Brecker, Chris Spedding, Timothy Schmitt, Dan Rothstein, Tommy Allsup, Jerry Foster, Arno Hecht, BJ Thomas, Bobby Chouinard, Allen Ginsberg, Gene Cornish, Robin Williams, Don Imus, the Del-Vikings, Charlie Gracie, Mark Mothersbaugh, Carter Cathcart, and many others. He played piano, guitar, and bass on several albums by Link Wray and Robert Gordon, continuing to work with the latter until 2020.
Rob Stoner is featured in the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Revue Netflix film, directed by Martin Scorsese. He also acted in Dylan's indie film Renaldo and Clara .
In his Rolling Thunder Logbook , playwright Sam Shepard describes Rob as "the brains behind the operation, grafting harmonies onto Dylan like a Siamese twin." Rolling Stone described his "cool vocals" as "high octane punkabilly," and Hi Fi Magazine wrote that "Stoner has a rich, romantic voice, full of rich expression."
Rob lives in Nyack, NY. The stage name "Stoner" had no meaning when Rob began using it; the word "stoner" did not come into use until years later. It is derived from Rothstein, which means "red stone" in German.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
Steven Soles is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist.
Nashville Skyline is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on April 9, 1969, by Columbia Records as LP record, reel-to-reel tape and audio cassette.
Desire is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 5, 1976, through Columbia Records. It is one of Dylan's most collaborative efforts, featuring the same caravan of musicians as the acclaimed Rolling Thunder Revue tours the previous year. Many of the songs also featured backing vocals by Emmylou Harris and Ronee Blakley. Most of the album was co-written by Jacques Levy, and is composed of lengthy story-songs, two of which quickly generated controversy: the 11-minute-long "Joey", which is seen as glorifying the violent gangster "Crazy Joey" Gallo, and "Hurricane", the opening track that tells a passionate account of the murder case against boxer Rubin Carter, who the song asserts was framed. Carter was released in 1985, after a judge overturned his conviction on appeal.
Hard Rain is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 13, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue.
"Coyote" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell from her eighth album Hejira (1976). It was released as the album's lead single.
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the same time.
Street-Legal is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 15, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was a departure for Dylan, who assembled a large pop-rock band with female backing vocalists for its recording.
Knocked Out Loaded is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 14, 1986 by Columbia Records.
The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue is a live album by Bob Dylan released by Columbia Records in 2002. The third installment in the ongoing Bob Dylan Bootleg Series on Legacy Records, it documents the Rolling Thunder Revue led by Dylan prior to the release of the album Desire. Until the release of this album, the only official live documentation of the Rolling Thunder Revue was Hard Rain, recorded during the less critically well received second leg of the tour.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan is a 2005 documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his "retirement" from touring following his motorcycle accident in July 1966. This period encapsulates Dylan's rise to fame as a folk singer and songwriter where he became the center of a cultural and musical upheaval, and continues through the electric controversy surrounding his move to a rock style of music.
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in a special issue of the magazine, issue number 963, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2010, Rolling Stone published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of songs released up until the early 2000s.
Kenny Aaronson is an American bass guitar player. He has recorded or performed with several notable artists such as Bob Dylan, Rick Derringer, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Foghat, Sammy Hagar, Billy Squier, New York Dolls, and Hall and Oates. Since 2015, he has been the bass player for The Yardbirds.
The Baron is an album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1981. The title track was a top ten hit, and three singles in all — including "Mobile Bay" and "The Reverend Mr. Black" / "Chattanooga City Limit Sign" — were released, though the latter two were rather unsuccessful in the charts, peaking at No. 60 and No. 71.
Arlen Roth is an American guitarist, teacher, and author. From 1982 to 1992, he was a columnist for Guitar Player magazine. Those ten years of columns became a book, Hot Guitar.
Other Voices, Other Rooms is the tenth studio album by American singer Nanci Griffith. It was released on March 2, 1993, by Elektra Records. Her first since leaving MCA Records, it consisted entirely of cover songs, in tribute to songwriters who influenced her own songwriting. Guest artists who appear in their own compositions included Frank Christian playing guitar on "Three Flights Up", Bob Dylan playing harmonica on "Boots of Spanish Leather", and John Prine lending harmony vocals on "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness". The album was titled after the Truman Capote novel of the same name.
Howard Pyle Wyeth, also known as Howie Wyeth, was an American drummer and pianist. Wyeth is remembered for work with the saxophonist James Moody, the rockabilly singer Robert Gordon, the electric guitarist Link Wray, the rhythm and blues singer Don Covay, and the folk singer Christine Lavin. Best known as a drummer for Bob Dylan, he was a member of the Wyeth family of American artists.
Cardiff Rose is a solo studio album by American singer/songwriter and ex-The Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn, released in 1976. The album, produced by Mick Ronson, was recorded on the heels of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue 1975 tour, in which both McGuinn and Ronson had participated. Other key members of the Rolling Thunder Revue were primary contributors: David Mansfield, Rob Stoner, Howie Wyeth, and lyricist Jacques Levy. Levy had previously co-written "Chestnut Mare" with McGuinn, and collaborated with Dylan on the album Desire.
"Thunder on the Mountain" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in 2006 as the first track on his album Modern Times. Like much of Dylan's 21st century output, he produced the song himself under the pseudonym Jack Frost.
"Rita May" is a song by Bob Dylan, originally recorded during the sessions for the album Desire, but released only as the B-side of a single and on the compilation album, Masterpieces. The song is based on the 1957 rockabilly song "Bertha Lou". Some listeners believe that the lyrics of the song refer to writer Rita Mae Brown, who had complained of the lack of opportunities for casual lesbian sex.
"One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the fourth track on his seventeenth studio album Desire (1976). The song was written by Dylan, and produced by Don DeVito. The album version of "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" was recorded on July 30, 1975, and released on Desire in January 1976. Dylan said the song was influenced by his visit to a Romani celebration at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in France on his 34th birthday.
