Since the beginning, when the band was known as Mr. Crowe’s Garden, the driving force behind the Black Crowes has always been brothers Chris and Rich Robinson who initially formed the band while going to Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. This is the band from Atlanta that brought the barroom raunch of the Stones, Faces and Humble Pie back to the charts beginning in 1989.
The Black Crowes 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. The follow-up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, reached the top of the Billboard 200 in 1992.
After the release of a greatest hits/acoustic double album Croweology in August 2010, the band started a 20th anniversary tour that was followed by an ongoing second hiatus. The band announced that they would return in early 2013 but that December they returned to hiatus status with no specific return date. They announced their break-up, two years later in 2015. The Black Crowe’s members have moved on to other musical projects, some of which were active prior to the bands dissolution. Chris Robinson has continued performing with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, a band he formed in 2011 which also includes Adam MacDougall. He released his third studio album with them, Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel, in 2016.
Rich Robinson has continued his solo career, recording his fourth solo album, Flux, in 2016. In late 2016 he announced the formation of The Magpie Salute which also includes former Black Crowes members Marc Ford and Sven Pipien. The band will perform Black Crowes songs in addition to selections from Robinson and Ford’s solo careers. Steve Gorman has continued to perform with Trigger Hippy, a band he co founded in 2009 which also featured Jackie Greene until late 2015 when he left to focus on his solo career. Former keyboardist Eddie Harsch died on November 4, 2016, at the age of 59.
The band has sold over 30 million albums and is listed at number 92 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. They were also labeled by Melody Maker as “The Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World” and the readers of Rolling Stone voted them ‘Best New American Band’ in 1990.
In late 2019, during an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Chris and Rich Robinson announced a 2020 tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Shake Your Money Maker. The tour will have 46 dates and feature an entirely new backing band including guitarist Isiah Mitchell (from the bands Earthless and Golden Void), bassist Tim Lefebvre (formerly of the Tedeschi Trucks Band), keyboardist Joel Robinow, and drummer Raj Ojha. This line-up premiered at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on November 11, 2019 where they played the entire Shake Your Money Maker album. Shortly before announcing The Black Crowes’ reunion, Chris tested out several of the new members with his As the Crow Flies project.
On January 8, 2021, The Black Crowes announced a 30th Anniversary multi-format re-issue of Shake Your Money Maker (album), releasing a previously unheard track ‘Charming Mess’ in conjunction.
Then. Fifteen years after their last new studio album…..On January 12, 2024, BC released the single “Wanting & Waiting.”
From Stereogum: “Atlanta boogie-rock kings the Black Crowes seemed like classic rock anachronisms when they first came along in the early ’90s. These days, they’re old-school a couple of times over, and they’ve been through the classic-rock arc of breakup and reconciliation. In 2019, after years of bitter feuding, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson announced a reunion tour. The pandemic complicated that whole thing, but the Black Crowes are once again playing shows and getting gully with stagecrashers. Now, they’ve got a new album on the way.
Today, the Black Crowes have announced that their new album Happiness Bastards is coming out in a couple of months. It’ll be their first since 2009’s Before The Frost… Until The Freeze. The band recorded the LP with big-deal producer and former Crowded House/Wallflowers guitarist Jay Joyce, and country star Lainey Wilson guests on one track. First single “Wanting And Waiting” is the kind of funky, hard-strutting party song that the band has been making for decades.
In a press release, Chris Robinson says, “Happiness Bastards is our love letter to rock ‘n’ roll. Rich and I are always writing and creating music; that has never stopped for us, and it is always where we find harmony together. This record represents that.” Check out the Happiness Bastards tracklist.”
TRACKLIST:
01 “Bedside Manners”
02 “Rats And Clowns”
03 “Cross Your Fingers”
04 “Wanting And Waiting”
05 “Wilted Rose” (Feat. Lainey Wilson)
06 “Dirty Cold Sun”
07 “Bleed It Dry”
08 “Flesh Wound”
09 “Follow The Moon”
10 “Kindred Friend”
Artist Website: https://theblackcrowes.com/
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