The Black Crowes are an American, blues-oriented hard rock jam band that has sold over 20 million albums. They were hailed by Melody Maker as "The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World". In 1990, the readers of Rolling Stone named it the 'Best New American Band'. The Crowes - as fans refer to them - are listed at #92 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
The first incarnation of The Black Crowes began in 1984 as "Mr. Crowes Garden" in Atlanta, Georgia a revivalist band dedicated to celebrating and playing 1970s era blues-rock. Although the Crowes have had many members over the years, the driving force behind the band has always been the brothers Chris & Rich Robinson.
The Crowes released their first studio album, Shake Your Money Maker, in 1990. On the strength of singles "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," "Jealous Again," "Twice as Hard," "Sister Luck," and "Seeing Things," their debut album received multi-platinum certification and eventually sold over three million copies. The band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and their acoustic ballad "She Talks to Angels" both broke the Top 30 on the pop charts in 1991. The Black Crowes pumped up their sales by opening for ZZ Top on a tour sponsored by Miller Beer, which they were fired from on March 1991 after Chris Robinson sarcastically remarked about commercialism on stage. The Crowes launched their own tour that May and later took part in a Monsters of Rock tour in the Soviet Union.
After replacing guitarist Jeff Cease with Marc Ford from retro-rock power trio Burning Tree, the Crowes released their second album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1992. The record debuted at #1 on Billboard's top 200 albums. The title is a tribute to the shape note anthology of the same name that has been sung annually at The Big Singing in Benton, Kentucky since 1884. The effort spawned the singles "Remedy," "Thorn In My Pride," "Sting Me," "Sometimes Salvation" and "Hotel Illness". 'Remedy' and 'Thorn In My Pride' both broke the Top 100 in 1992.
In 1994 the now six-piece offered up Amorica after scrapping the unreleased album "Tall" the previous year. Though Amorica failed to produce a hit single, the album still eventually reached "Gold" status, selling over 500,000 copies. Die hard fans still embraced songs like 'Gone,' 'A Conspiracy,' 'Nonfiction' and especially 'Wiser Time'. As some stores would not carry the album due to the cover, an alternate version was released simultaneously with a solid black background. While on tour to support Amorica, The Black Crowes played a unique gig in Tampa on April 7th, 1995, opening for the Grateful Dead. This was the one and only time the two bands performed together.
Three Snakes & One Charm was released in July 1996, with lead single "Blackberry" receiving radio airplay and video rotation on MTV. The band's support tour included a summer stint with the 1997 Furthur Festival, along with Ratdog, Bruce Hornsby and others. During this period, the band recorded a nearly complete album called "Band," which was scrapped due to escalating tension within the band. Guitarist Marc Ford was fired and bassist Johnny Colt subsequently left the group, dissolving the Crowes lineup of the previous three albums. The unreleased tracks from "Tall" and "Band" surfaced among tape trading circles and were later officially released on The Lost Crowes compilation in 2006.
The band again regrouped, adding longtime associate Sven Pipien on bass prior to its next recording sessions. By Your Side was released in January 1999; the album stripped away the more adventurous sounds of Amorica and Three Snakes & One Charm in favor of leaner, soul-influenced songs ready for radio. The album's more mainstream approach spawned singles in "Kickin' My Heart Around," "Only A Fool," and "Go Faster." Guitarist Audley Freed, formerly of Cry of Love, joined prior to the recording of By Your Side but was not included in the recording sessions. Initial reception seemed promising for the album, as "Kickin' My Heart Around" reached #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The Crowes spent much of 1999 touring in support of the album, but ultimately, By Your Side sold fewer than 300,000 copies and The Black Crowes were dropped by label Columbia Records.
Despite the label drama, the Crowes continued to be a highly successful touring act. In October 1999, the band were joined by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page for two pairs of shows in New York and Los Angeles, yielding a live release, Live at the Greek on TVT Records. Due to contractual issues with Columbia, Live at the Greek does not feature any of the Crowes' songs performed with Page. The collaboration led to a more extensive tour with Page and The Who in summer 2000, during which bassist Pipien was replaced by Greg Rzab. Following the tour, singer Chris Robinson married actress Kate Hudson on December 31, 2000 before heading back to the studio for the Crowes' sixth studio album.
In May 2001, the band released Lions on Virgin mogul Richard Branson's V2 record label. Singles "Lickin" and "Soul Singing" had a solid presence on rock radio and Lions peaked at #20 on the charts (an improvement over the performance of By Your Side). The band launched its support of the album with the month-long Tour of Brotherly Love with Oasis and Spacehog in May and June 2001. Prior to the tour's two Los Angeles gigs, The Black Crowes were inducted into the Guitar Center Rockwalk, a walk of fame honoring notable musical acts and artists. Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher and Slash were on hand for the ceremony.
Throughout the rest of 2001, the band embarked on the successful 'Listen Massive' headlining tour in support of Lions, which spanned Europe and Japan before concluding with 36 US shows. The band effectively dissolved in January 2002 with the departure of drummer Steve Gorman and an announcement that the band was "taking a hiatus."
Following the band's announcement, singer Chris Robinson revealed his plans for a solo project, a deal with Redline Entertainment that resulted in two albums, New Earth Mud in 2002 and This Magnificent Distance in 2004. Both albums were supported by tours with two different bands, the last of which included former Crowes touring guitarist Audley Freed. A live Crowes album (featuring touring bassist Andy Hess) pieced together from two 2001 shows performed at Boston's Orpheum Theatre was released in August 2002. In 2004, some members of the band did reunite to play "Sometimes Salvation" with Gov't Mule at the 2004 Jammy Awards. Meanwhile, Rich Robinson formed a short-lived band called Hookah Brown before releasing his own solo album, Paper in 2004. Rich toured in support of Paper with his own three-piece band including Big Sugar guitarist Gordie Johnson on bass and Bill Dobrow on drums.
In early 2005, the Robinson brothers with Eddie Harsch reassembled the band, bringing Marc Ford and Sven Pipien back into the fold and recruiting Bill Dobrow, from Rich's solo band, on drums. Dobrow's seat at the drums was short-lived, as original drummer Steve Gorman rejoined the band during a four-night stand at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, the Crowes' home town. The reinvigorated band continued to tour throughout 2005, including a summer tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and five sold-out nights at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.
