The Black Crowes is an American rock band that has sold over 20 million albums during its existence. The popular magazine Melody Maker proclaimed the team "the most rock and roll rock and roll band in the world." The guys have idols in every corner of the planet, so the contribution of The Black Crowes to the development of domestic rock cannot be underestimated.
History and composition of The Black Crowes
At the origins of the team are the Robinson brothers - Chris and Rich. Children from childhood began to get involved in music. One Christmas, the head of the family presented a classical guitar and a bass guitar as a gift. Since then, in fact, Chris and Rich have not let go of the instrument, having determined the nature of their activity.
Initially, the musicians performed under the creative pseudonym Mr. Crowe's Garden. At that time, the composition was constantly changing and was unstable. The situation changed in the late 1980s, then the team updated the name of the team. The musicians called themselves Black Crowes.
This time was enough for the soloists of the new group to find their own style of presenting musical material. The work of the group was greatly influenced by the work of Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.
At the time of recording the debut album, the team included:
- Chris Robinson (vocals);
- Rich Robinson (guitar);
- Johnny Colt (bass);
- Jeff Seas (guitar);
- Steve Gorman (drums)
Debut album release
The release of the first album was not long in coming. Soon, fans of heavy music could enjoy the compositions of the Shake Your Money Maker compilation. The album was recorded on the Def American label. After some time, the album went multi-platinum.
The success of the debut album was obvious. A significant role in the warm reception was played by the single with a cover version of Otis Redding Hard to Handle. Mignon entered the US Top 40, paving the way for the collection to the top ten.
In 1992, the band's discography was replenished with a new disc, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. The new album repeated the success of the debut album. It topped the American music charts.
Before the official presentation of their second studio album, The Black Crowes performed in front of thousands of Russian audiences at the popular Monsters of Rock festival. The Russians appreciated the creativity of the group.
The musical composition Southern Harmony, which was included in the second album, took 1st position in the American charts. At the stage of recording the collection, the band left Siz, and Mark Ford Burningtree took his place.
By the time the second album was released, the group's popularity had increased significantly. So, in support of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the musicians decided to give a concert in America. Tickets for the concert were completely sold out. In 1992, the talented keyboardist Eddie Hersh joined the team.
The popularity of the Black Crows group
Soon fans were enjoying the third Amorica album. The record took an honorable 11th position in the American music chart. Most of all, fans were surprised not by the content, but by the brightness of the cover of Amorica.
The cover of the collection showed a luxurious female body wrapped in a bikini with fragments of the US flag. From large venues, the band moved to small clubs, and its line-up increased to a septet, as percussionist Chris Trujillo appeared in the group.
The fourth album was a real "failure" for the team. Several musicians left the team at once. The talented Colt and Ford left the group. Soon the bassist was replaced by Sven Peipen, and the guitar was handed over to Audley Fried.
In the late 1990s, the band re-released the first four studio albums as a limited box set, which included several new tracks, as well as a recording of a popular live album.
The fifth studio album, which was released in 1999, returned the band's popularity. We are talking about the compilation By Your Side. In terms of popularity, it was in no way inferior to the Shake Your Money Maker collection.
Soon, the legendary "zeppelin" Jimmy Page became interested in the work of the American group. Jimmy invited the band to play a number of gigs.
It was a fruitful collaboration. Fans not only enjoyed the performances of the guys, but also received a double live album Live at the Greek. This release included things from the repertoire of Led Zeppelin and processing of classic blues.
In the early 2000s, the band toured several times, first with Oasis and later with AC/DC. The tour was more than successful. And, it would seem, a happy musical future awaits the musicians. But journalists became aware that real "Italian passions" were taking place within the team.
Breakup of The Black Crowes
First, drummer Steve Gorman left the band. A little later, Chris Robinson also said “chao” to the team, deciding to try his luck as a solo artist. As a result of conflicts, the rest of the musicians announced in 2002 that The Black Crowes ceased to exist.
After the breakup of the band, vocalist Chris Robinson announced the beginning of a solo career. Soon the singer presented two albums: New Earth Mud (2002) and This Magnificent Distance (2004). The American artist organized a big tour in honor of supporting the albums.
In 2004, Rich Robinson assembled a new team. He became the frontman of the band Hookah Brown. Soon, Rich also presented a solo album, Paper. In support of the debut collection, Robinson went on tour.
Group revival
The revival of the legendary team took place already in 2005. It was then that the Robinson brothers reassembled their team. Soloists included: Mark Ford, Eddie Harsh, Sven Paipien and Steve Gorman. The musicians began to give concerts again.
A year later, Eddie Harsh and Mark Ford left the band. The musicians were replaced by Rob Klors and Paul Stacey. In 2007, a new keyboardist, Adam McDougle, joined the band to replace Klors. A short time later, guitarist Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars joined the band to play on the Warpaint album.
In 2007, the band presented the live album Live at the Roxy. Fans enjoyed old hits with cover tracks. The new collection was warmly received by fans.
A little later, the band presented a new track, Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution. This song was included in the album Crowes Warpaint. The album was released in 2008 on the independent label Silver Arrow Records.
The new collection after such a long break attracted the attention of fans. He took an honorable 5th position in Billboard. The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion has been acclaimed by music critics as the best of its time. In honor of the release of the new album, the musicians went on a big European tour.
Upon their return from the tour, the musicians announced that the next work would be recorded in front of an audience at Levon Helm's Barn in Woodstock, New York for 5 nights in February and March 2009. Record sessions were called Cabin Fever Winter 2009. The musicians performed 30 new songs and several cover versions.
The musicians said that the new material will be included in the double album. The good news was that the work was accompanied by a DVD version. In 2009, Rich, in one of his interviews, shared with fans the information that a new album would be released this year.
In the same 2009, the band presented a two-disc live collection. We are talking about the record Warpaint Live, which was released on the label Eagle Rock Entertainment.
The first part of the album consisted of Warpaint tracks recorded live. There were cover versions on the second compilation. Journalists became aware that the recording of this collection was made back in 2008 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. The DVD version was released a year later.
In 2009, the discography of The Black Crowes was replenished with the eighth studio album. We are talking about the collection Before the Frost…. And here is one "trick" - the disc was supplied with a special download-code, the use of which gave access to the second part of the album ...Until the Freeze via the Internet.
These compilations were the result of a five day recording session at Levon Helm Studios and a recorded presentation of new material. In 2010, it became known that the musicians were recording a new album, which included 20 tracks.
In 2010, the band's discography was replenished with a double album called Croweology. In addition, the musicians went on the Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys tour.
The final breakup of The Black Crowes
In 2013, the musicians presented their fourth full-length live album, Wiser for the Time. The album was recorded live in New York in 2010.
A big concert tour followed. The musicians held 103 concerts in America and 17 in Europe. After hard work, the team took a break.
In 2015, Rich Robinson shocked fans with information about the breakup of the band. The reason for the collapse of The Black Crowes was the disagreement of the soloists.
