Robbie King (born Robert Glenn King; May 27, 1947 – October 17, 2003)
[Uncredited]
B.C. musician helped create Motown sound
Victoria Times Colonist
The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily C ...
, October 22, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2012. was a Canadian musician, associated with many national and international acts.
[ He was most associated with his playing of the Hammond organ.
]
History
Born in Malartic, Quebec
Malartic is a town on the Malartic River in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the La Vallée-de-l'Or Regional County Municipality. It is located about east of the centre of Rouyn-Noranda along Quebec Route 117 and the Canadian National Railw ...
, on May 27, 1947, King came from a musical family. His mother Clarice played piano in his father's regional big band, Bob King and His Queens, an all-female band particularly popular in the 1940s.[
King's career as a professional musician began as a member of ]Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers
Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were a Canadian soul band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group recorded for the Gordy Records division of Motown Records in 1968, where they had a top 30 hit single, "Does Your Mama Know About Me". As ...
, which also included drummer Duris Maxwell
Duris Maxwell (15 June 1946 – 25 November 2020), also known as Ted Lewis, was a Canadian drummer who had played with many bands, including Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, Powder Blues Band, Doucette, The Temptations, Jefferson Airplane, and Sk ...
. King and Maxwell developed a forty-year friendship that continued until King's death.
Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were signed to the Gordy
''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of others ...
label of Motown Records. Based on that relationship, King later joined the studio musicians associated with Motown Records. In addition to contributing to various Motown recordings, King toured with The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...
, among other Motown acts.[Uncredited]
Heat of The Night
www.jimvallance.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
King later was a founding member of Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...
,[ a band that included ]David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
. Skylark is most closely associated with the hit song "Wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
", which has been the subject of multiple cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s.
Following Skylark, King was a founding member of The Hometown Band. He also played the organ part for the instrumental " Apache" recorded by The Incredible Bongo Band
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...
in 1973.
King settled in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, Canada and became a studio musician, playing keyboards on Bryan Adams' " Into The Fire" and "Waking Up the Neighbours
''Waking Up the Neighbours'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, released on September 24, 1991. The album was recorded at Battery Studios in London and The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, mixed at Mayfair Studio ...
" albums.[ He also spent approximately 20 years, starting in 1980, as a member of the Cal Batchelor Band and the Terry Edmunds Band 1985–2003.][Pacific Northwest Bands]
Membership of The Cal Batchelor Band
Retrieved December 9, 2012. Batchelor, as a member of Quiver, had previously been associated with the Sutherland Brothers.
King died from throat cancer on October 17, 2003, at the age of 56.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Robbie
1947 births
2003 deaths
20th-century Canadian male musicians
20th-century organists
Canadian organists
Deaths from cancer in British Columbia
Male organists
Musicians from Quebec
Musicians from Vancouver
Skylark (Canadian band) members