Chris Robinson Brotherhood was an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band formed in 2011 by Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson while the Crowes were on hiatus. The original lineup consisted of Robinson (vocals, guitar),

Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...

(lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Dutton (bass guitar, backing vocals),

George Sluppick George Peter Sluppick (born January 14, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American touring and session drummer, best known for his association with bands such as The City Champs, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Sha Na Na, JJ Grey & Mofro and t ...

(drums), and Adam MacDougall (keyboards). Since 2015, the band had undergone various personnel changes with Robinson and Casal remaining the only constant members. Following the death of Neal Casal in August 2019, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood announced it would disband.

History

Formation and ''Big Moon Ritual''

Chris Robinson Brotherhood began as an experiment but became a 'band' during their California residency tour. The original intention, according to Robinson, was to "have a local L.A. band, just play in California, see where the music takes us and have a good time." They then embarked on a 118 date North American tour in 2011. Robinson names

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

members

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he developed a unique style of improvised six-string bass guitar. He was their bassist throughout their 30 ...

and

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

, who sat in with the band during CRB's run at the

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconie ...

, as both musical inspirations and friends. As well as Robinson, the band features fellow Black Crowes member Adam MacDougall,

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...

collaborator

Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...

, bassist Mark Dutton, and drummer

. Robinson describes the Brotherhood as a "farm-to-table psychedelic band". Chris Robinson Brotherhood released a version of "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" (written by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

) b/w a live version "Girl, I Love You" (written by

Al Bell Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell; March 15, 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter, and record executive. He is best known as having been an executive and co-owner of Stax Records with Jim Stewart based in Memphis, Tennessee, during the ...

and

Eddie Floyd Eddie Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Early life and education Floy ...

) for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

on April 21, 2012. The CD version also features a cover of the

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

song, " Bright Lights Big City". The band's debut album, '' Big Moon Ritual'', was recorded at

Sunset Sound Studios Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...

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, and was released on June 5, 2012. Chris Robinson suggests that ''Big Moon Ritual'' is "not a concept album, but it's very conceptual sonically." He also notes that CRB "isn't the type of band that's going to make a concise four-minute song record" and that they prefer instead to make lengthier compositions.

''The Magic Door''

Just three months after its predecessor, on September 11, 2012, Chris Robinson Brotherhood's second studio album, '' The Magic Door'', was released. It was recorded at the same time as ''Big Moon Ritual'' and features a cover of the

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

song "

Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" (also known as "There's a Thrill on The Hill") is a 1960 pop and R&B single written by Hank Ballard and performed by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters. Chart performance The single was the last of the Midnighters' th ...

," which the band has often played live.

"Betty's S.F. Blends, Volume One"

In September 2013, Chris Robinson Brotherhood released an album that featured songs picked by the Grateful Dead's record producer,

Betty Cantor-Jackson Betty Cantor-Jackson (born September 18, 1948) is an American audio engineer and producer. She is best known for her work recording live concerts for the Grateful Dead from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, including live album '' Cornell 5/8/77' ...

, which were recorded over five nights in San Francisco. The band played 96 songs altogether and Cantor-Jackson picked the best ones for the album. The album has only been released on vinyl record format, which results in it not being available on CD. The album was called "Betty's S.F. Blends, Volume One". The 5 full shows are also available as separate downloads.

''Phosphorescent Harvest''

Chris Robinson Brotherhood released its third studio album " Phosphorescent Harvest" on Silver Arrow Records on April 29, 2014. The songs on the album are mostly co-written by Chris Robinson and Neal Casal. Produced by Thom Monahan. FORMATS: 12" Vinyl / CD / Digital Download.

''Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel'' and EP

Chris Robinson Brotherhood released its fourth studio album ''Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel'' on July 29, 2016, and on November 4, 2016, an EP titled ''If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home By Now'', containing five songs left over from the same sessions.

''Barefoot In The Head''

The CRB released their fifth studio album ''Barefoot In The Head'' in 2017.

''Servants of the Sun''

Chris Robinson Brotherhood released their sixth studio album, ''Servants of the Sun'', on June 14, 2019. As Robinson notes, he wrote the songs on the new album with the idea that they would definitely be played live. "With our last couple of albums we made songs we knew we probably weren't going to play live," he said. "This time around every one of these songs will fall into the live repertoire."

Personnel

* Chris Robinson – lead vocals, guitars (2011–2019) *

Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...

– guitars, vocals (2011–2019; his death) * Adam MacDougall – keyboards (2011–2019) *Mark "Muddy" Dutton – bass guitar, vocals (2011–2016) *

– drums (2011–2015) * Tony Leone – drums (2015–2019) *Jeff Hill – bass guitar (2016–2019) *Joel Robinow – keyboards (2019) *

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock ...

– keyboards (2019)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

References

External links

* *
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{{Authority control The Black Crowes American blues rock musical groups American musical quintets Jam bands Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups from Los Angeles 2011 establishments in California