MEMORABLE MONDAYS: THE BLACK CROWES

Have you been wondering what happened to the good southern rock? Did it die out or just fade into oblivion? Well, a group straight out of Atlanta, Georgia refused to let that die out. While they never captured the same acclaim of their first two releases, the two consistent members have remained dedicated to keeping it alive. They came a bit late for their style, but kept the energy of those before them. Having sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, they are not a small force.

The first incarnation of the band was called "Mr. Crowe's Garden", named after the children's book Johnny Crow's Garden. This 1984 beginning was influenced by R.E.M., 60s psychdelic pop, and classic southern rock. They gradually evolved into a revivalist band dedicated to 70s blues rock. The band had a high turnover rate, but the driving force of the Robinson brothers, Chris and Rich, have kept the band alive. 

They recorded their first demo for A&M records in 1987. These led to an offer for a record deal under the label Dog Gone, by R.E.M.'s manager, but they declined it. They then continued to play in New York City clubs. The band had stabilized at this time in 1989 as a five piece including the Robinson brothers, Steve Gorman, Johnny Colt, and Jeff Cease. They signed to label Def American. Their new helper, George Drakoulias, turned the band onto The Faces and Humble Pie, and the band began covering Rolling Stone's songs. They also decided to change their name around this time to the Black Crowes instead of Mr. Crowe's Garden. 

Their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, release in 1990. It is the only album which features Jeff Cease. The album title is named after the classic blues song by Elmore James that they covered live over many years. The album was a resounding success, reading number 4 on the Billboard chart and two singles from the album reached number one for the mainstream rock chart. It is their best selling release at more than 5 million copies sold. Critics gave the album acclaim, some admitting they were a bit of an imitation act but a very good one. The band toured the album first as an opener for ZZ Top, but were fired when Chris Robinson went on a verbal tirade at tour sponsor Miller Beer. They launched their own tour later and joined the Monsters of Rock tour in Europe. 

In 1992, their sophomore album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion released. It debuted at number one on the Billboard chart. This album replaced Jeff Cease with guitarist Marc Ford. It also included keyboardist Eddie Harsch. This album was also acclaimed and created 4 number one singles. 

1994 brought their next release, Amorica. It spawned from the sessions of a scrapped album titled Tall. It sold around 500,000 copies. While it did not sell as strongly as the two previous albums, the critics gave this one more acclaim and consider it an iconic album of the year. The cover also faced some controvery. It shows a bikini American flag with a woman's pubic hair. Stores ended up censoring this cover. 

Three Snakes and One Charm, their next album, came out in 1996. During the tour for Amorica, the band had a lot of conflict and even the Robinson brothers were hating each other. The band took a bit more time to record the new album, wanting it to be better and allow them to experiment. The band decided to rent a house to record their ideas in, instead of using a studio. They all agreed this allowed a better musical relationship and creativity to flow. Doing promotion a bit differently, they began touring the album about three weeks before the actual release. The album received decent reviews, many praising their work at deepening their musicianship. Around this time, tape trading circles were sharing unreleased tracks from Tall and Band. 

The band regrouped, adding Sven Pipien on bass for the new album session. Audley Freed replaced Marc Ford in the band as well, but their next album had Rich Robinson play all the parts of guitar. By Your Side was released in 1999, stemming from scrapped sessions of Band. They cut some of the experimentation of the last two releases and returned to their more straight forward approach. Some critics did not like this decision, while other critics enjoyed their return to their roots. During the tour for this release, Pipien was replaced by Greg Rzab. 

Lions released in 2001, and was supported by a tour with Oasis and Spacehog. The album was met with mixed reviews, many considering it a poor rendition of inspirations like Led Zeppelin, likely inspired by playing with Jimmy Page for a time. Many felt the songs were not memorable, and some even told them someone needed to remind them it was not the 70s anymore. Drummer Steve Gorman departed the band, and in 2002 they dissolved and took a hiatus. 

During the hiatus, Chris Robinson released 2 solo albums and Rich formed a band called Hookah Brown before also releasing a solo album. Around 2005, the brothers reunited with Eddie Harsch, Marc Ford, and Sven Pipien at the helm. Bill Dobrow was recruited to take the place of Gorman, but it was shortlived as Gorman rejoined the group. They performed with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Fillmore which became the source for Freak 'n' Roll into the Fog, a live release. Around this time, they also released The Lost Crowes, which included original recordings from the scrapped Tall and Band albums as well as original releases of songs included on other albums. 

In 2006, Harsch and Ford left the band again. Rob Clores and Paul Stacey took their places. Clores then was replaced by Adam MacDougall. Luther Dickinson took Stacey's place, but Stacey stayed as a producer of their next album. Warpaint was released with good reviews in 2008. There was a small controvery with Maxim releasing a pre-release review, when no promotional copies of the album were sent for early listening. Maxim had to apologize to readers. This same year, the band filed a lawsuit against Gretchen Wilson, accusing her of infringing the copyright for their song Jealous Again. This was settled outside of court, and the Robinson brothers were given songwriting credits on the song. In 2009, they released another live album, Warpaint Live. 

2009 brought their next album, Before the Frost...Until the Freeze. It was recorded in front of a live audeince at Levon Helm's Woodstock, New York studio the Barn. The release received critical acclaim for the inspired approach. The CD album was made to look similar to a vinyl, and included a download to the other half of the album. The vinyl release has an alternate track order. Cabin Fever was released as a film documenting the recording of the album. 

The next years plagued the band a bit. They toured but would then take a hiatus, before doing some small tours again. In 2015, Rich Robinson announced the final breakup of the band. He said it was due to a disagreement with his brother over an alleged proposal regarding the ownership of the band. Drummer Gorman said prior to the breakup, the band had been discussing another tour, so it seems it came rather abruptly. The band ended up dividing in this time to which brother. Chris Robinson continued work with Adam MacDougall and Audley Freed, while Rich obtained Marc Ford and Sven Pipien for his outside releases. 

The brothers did an interview with Howard Stern in 2019, announcing they resolved their differences and were planning a tour to commemorate the anniversary of their debut album. The reunion saw mixed reviews from fans, with the only returning members being the brothers. The tour was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sven Pipien returned to the band in this off time. Brian Griffin became the new drummer. After this, the band released their first album of original material since the breakup, Happiness Bastards, March of 2024. 

If you have not taken a walk down the path of this resilient band, it may be the time to try them out! These brothers at least buried the hatchet better than Oasis did...