Robert Dupuis (born December 23, 1946), known professionally as Robbie Dupree, is an American singer best known for his hit songs "
Steal Away" (No. 6 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100) and "
Hot Rod Hearts" (No. 15).
Early life
Robbie Dupree was born on December 23, 1946, in Brooklyn, as Robert Dupuis. While growing up, his biggest musical influences included R&B musicians
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
and
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
.
Career
In 1981, he received a Grammy nomination as
Best New Artist, losing to
Christopher Cross. Dupree's final single to make the ''Billboard'' chart, "Brooklyn Girls", peaked at No. 54 in June 1981.
In 1987, Dupree contributed the song "Girls in Cars" to ''
Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2'', a collection of
theme songs for
World Wrestling Entertainment (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). The tag team
Strike Force (
Tito Santana and
Rick Martel) used an instrumental version of "Girls in Cars" as their entrance music from 1987 to 1989.
In 2010, Dupree signed with Spectra Records and released the album ''Time and Tide'' featuring former
E Street Band keyboards player
David Sancious
David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on '' Human Touch'' (1992), '' Tr ...
. On May 21, 2010, Dupree performed on ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' as part of Jimmy's ongoing tribute to
yacht rock, the smooth West Coast sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 2011, Dupree toured as part of the All Star Rock concert series. The tour featured
John Cafferty,
Orleans,
David Pack (
Ambrosia
In the ancient Greek mythology, Greek myths, ambrosia (, ) is the food or drink of the Greek gods, and is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Mount Olympus, Olympus by do ...
),
John Ford Coley,
Jimmy Hall of
Wet Willie,
Joe Lynn Turner, and
Joe Bouchard.
In 2012, Dupree released a new four song album of covers entitled ''Arc of a Romance''.
In 2013, Dupree toured throughout the United States and Canada over the summer as part of the Sail Rock 2013 with
Christopher Cross,
Player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
,
Gary Wright,
Al Stewart,
Orleans,
Firefall, and
John Ford Coley.
In the summer of 2018, he and
John Ford Coley appeared on the Rock the Yacht 2018 tour alongside
Ambrosia
In the ancient Greek mythology, Greek myths, ambrosia (, ) is the food or drink of the Greek gods, and is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Mount Olympus, Olympus by do ...
,
Peter Beckett (of Player), and
Stephen Bishop.
Discography
Albums
*1980: ''Robbie Dupree'' –
US No. 51, AUS No. 83
*1981: ''Street Corner Heroes'' – US No. 169
*1989: ''Carried Away''
*1993: ''Walking on Water''
*1995: ''Smoke and Mirrors''
*1997: ''Vintage Volume 1'' (compilation)
*1998: ''Live All Night Long''
*2001: ''Vintage Volume 2'' (compilation)
*2003: ''Robbie Dupree with David Sancious''
*2010: ''Time and Tide''
*2012: ''Arc of a Romance''
Singles
*1980: "
Steal Away" –
US No. 6,
R&B #85;
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
No. 14, AUS No. 24
[
*1980: " Hot Rod Hearts" – US No. 15, ]Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
No. 42, AUS No. 58[
*1980: "Nadie Mas"
*1981: "Brooklyn Girls" – US No. 54
*1981: "Saturday Night"
*1981: "Are You Ready for Love"
*1987: "Girls in Cars"
*1988: "This Is Life"
*1993: "Walking on Water"
*1993: "Goodbye LA"
*1995: "Smoke and Mirrors"
*1997: "Make It Easy on Yourself"
*1997: "Live All Night Long"
*2007: "The Critics Are Never Kind"
*2008: "Fly Away"
*2010: "Lucky"
*2011: "Satisfied"
]
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Robbie
1946 births
Living people
Singers from Brooklyn
American male singer-songwriters
American rock songwriters
American rock singers
American soft rock musicians
Elektra Records artists
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)