Rich Robinson
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Rich Robinson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Richard Spencer Robinson[1] |
Born | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | May 24, 1969
Genres | Blues rock, hard rock, Southern rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1984–present |
Website | Rich Robinson The Black Crowes |
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.
Biography
Early life
Robinson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in the East
The Black Crowes
The first incarnation of what would become the Black Crowes appeared as early as 1984. The band were then named
By 1989, the band had become the Black Crowes and had gained momentum in their native Georgia. Producer
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.
Solo
After the announcement of the band's hiatus, Rich formed a new outfit called Hookah Brown. The band (featuring
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
In 2009, Robinson performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States”.[8]
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 October 2016, Rich Robinson formed The Magpie Salute with other former Black Crowes members Marc Ford, Sven Pipien and Eddie Harsch. Their debut studio album, High Water I, was released on August 10, 2018.[citation needed]
Black Crowes reunited
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
In June, the band began opening for
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.
After a handful of shows in the States in March, the Black Crowes headed overseas to do three shows at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England, and three shows at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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
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
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]
On the November 11, 2019,
Influence and sound
Robinson was influenced by
In June 2023, Robinson named "11 Guitarists that Shaped his Sound". The list consisted of: Stephen Stills, Angus and Malcolm Young, Peter Buck, Nick Drake, Clarence White, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Page, and Duane Allman.[16]
Discography
- Live At The Knitting Factory, NYC - 01/16/04 (Dynasonic, 2004)
- Paper (Keyhole Records, 2004)
- Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2007) (with Chris Robinson)
- Through a Crooked Sun (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
- Llama Blues EP (Circle Sound/Thirty Tigers, 2011)
- The Ceaseless Sight (The End Records/Circle Sound, 2014)[17][18]
- The Dirigible Utopia EP (The End/Circle Sound, 2014)
- The Woodstock Sessions (Circle Sound, 2014)
- Flux (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2016)
References
- ^ a b "The Morris M. Bradleys of Marietta, Georgia:Information about Richard Spencer "Rich" Robinson". Familytreemaker.genealogy.com. 1996-08-15. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "The Black Crowes Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about The Black Crowes". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "Biography: The Black Crowes Archived April 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Rolling Stone. Taken from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
- ^ name="The Black Crowes - Interview Picture Disc"| Label=Baktabak Records| ASIN=B0000011QZ
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1999-01-12). "By Your Side - The Black Crowes , Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ a b c David Jeffries (1969-05-24). "Rich Robinson | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ [1] Archived January 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived July 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The End Records Free Sampler 2014: Various artists: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "The Black Crowes". The Black Crowes. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "The Black Crowes Are No More, Says Guitarist Rich Robinson". Blabbermouth.net. 15 January 2015.
- ^ "Rich Robinson Announces The Black Crowes Have Broken Up". Jambase.com. January 15, 2015.
- ^ "Steve Gorman Addresses Black Crowes Breakup". Jambands.com. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "The Black Crowes Announce Their Reunion on the Howard Stern Show". YouTube. 2019-11-11. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^ "Guitar World: 30 on 30: The Greatest Guitarists Picked by the Greatest Guitarists". Guitarworld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-24. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
- ^ Daly, Andrew (June 21, 2023). "The Black Crowes' Rich Robinson names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound". Guitar World. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ "The Ceaseless Sight - Rich Robinson , Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "Rich Robinson | Discography". AllMusic. 1969-05-24. Retrieved 2014-06-04.