Robert Wickens "Robbin" Thompson (June 16, 1949 – October 10, 2015) was an American singer-songwriter based in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Since 1976 he recorded several albums which included guest appearances by

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Beth Hart, Stevie Nicks, Miranda ...

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

and

Ellen McIlwaine Ellen McIlwaine (October 1, 1945 – June 23, 2021) was an American-born singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a solo singer, songwriter and slide guitarist. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, McIlwain ...

, among others. He was a member of an early

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

band,

Steel Mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

, and co-wrote songs with Timothy B. Schmit,

Phil Vassar Phillip George Vassar Jr. (born May 28, 1962) is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw (" For a Little While", ...

and

Butch Taylor Butch Taylor (born Clarence Francis Taylor on April 13, 1961) is a composer, writer, keyboardist and long time guest musician with Dave Matthews Band. Early life Butch Taylor was born in Shawsville, Virginia on April 13, 1961. Taylor attended J ...

and

Carter Beauford Carter Anthony Beauford (born November 2, 1958) is an American drummer, percussionist, and founding member of Dave Matthews Band. He is known for his ability to adapt to a variety of genres, and both his ambidextrous and his open-handed drumm ...

of the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

. He twice won the American Song Festival and in 1980 had a minor national hit with "Brite Eyes". He also wrote songs featured on the soundtracks of ''

Gleaming the Cube ''Gleaming the Cube'' (also known as ''A Brother's Justice'' and ''Skate or Die''; released in the Philippines as ''Challenge to Win Again'') is a 1989 American film directed by Graeme Clifford and starring Christian Slater as Brian Kelly, a 16 ...

'' and ''

The Fighting Temptations ''The Fighting Temptations'' is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a man who returns to ...

''. In March 2015, " Sweet Virginia Breeze", which Thompson co-wrote with Steve Bassett, became Virginia's second official state song (joining "

Our Great Virginia "Our Great Virginia" is the regional anthem of the U.S. state of Virginia. History It was adopted unanimously by the Virginia Senate as the official state song of Virginia on June 30, 2015. Sung to the traditional tune " Oh Shenandoah," with ...

").

Career

Early years

Thompson was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. From age seven he lived in

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne ( ) is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, Orlando along Florida's Space Coast, named because of the region's proximity to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. The city ...

, where he graduated from

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...

. Between 1963-67 he was the lead singer and songwriter with several Florida-based bands including The Hanging Five, The Five Gents and The Tasmanians. The latter band even released a couple of singles in 1966. In 1968 he formed Transcontinental Mercy Flight before moving to

, initially to attend

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

. While at VCU he formed Mercy Flight in early 1969.Brucebase 1970–71
br>liner notes from ''One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen''

Steel Mill

On November 11, 1969, Mercy Flight opened for

when they played a concert at VCU. Throughout early 1970 Mercy Flight continued to open regularly for Steel Mill and when

decided to add another vocalist he recruited Thompson. He made his debut with Steel Mill on August 29, 1970 at the 3rd Annual Nashville Music Festival, sponsored by

WMAC WMAC (940 AM, "News Talk 940") is a commercial Class B radio station in Macon, Georgia. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a news/talk format. The studios and offices are on Mulberry Street in Macon. It is one of the oldest radio statio ...

. Steel Mill was one of about twenty different acts to take part. Headliners included

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He had a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with " Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot B ...

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

, Bobby Bloom, Ballin' Jack, Ten Wheel Drive and The Illusion. During Thompson's time with Steel Mill they also opened for, among others,

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

Cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

. While Springsteen was Steel Mill's main songwriter, the band performed some Thompson songs, including "Train Ride". Thompson would release his own version of this song as a B-side in 1982 and then on a 1999 re-issue of ''Two B's Please''. Steel Mill played their final show on January 23, 1971 at The Upstage Club in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

. While Thompson went on to establish his own career, the remaining members of the band –

Vini Lopez Vincent Lopez (born January 22, 1949), nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974, he backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums, ...

Danny Federici Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, where he was its organist, accordionist and glockenspiel player. Federici appeared on ten ...

and

Steve Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in ...

– would continue to play with Springsteen and eventually evolved into the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

. After the breakup of Steel Mill, Thompson and Springsteen occasionally guested at each other's concerts. On August 6, 1981 at the Bayou Club in Washington D.C., Thompson was joined onstage by Springsteen,

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being the bass player and a founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing ...

and

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Clemons rel ...

for an eight-minute version of " Carol". On March 3, 2003 at the

Richmond Coliseum Richmond Coliseum is a defunct arena located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with a capacity of 13,500 that was most often used for various large concerts. The arena opened in 1971 and the region is looking to replace the aging facility with a la ...

during

The Rising Tour The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album '' The Rising''. Itin ...

, Thompson, together with

, joined Springsteen on stage for 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". According to Thompson they were going to try and perform a version of "He's Guilty (Send That Boy To Jail)", a Steel Mill-era song that Thompson had recorded. However, apparently nobody in the E Street Band could remember how it went.

Recording career

In 1976, Thompson launched his solo career with the release of an eponymous album on Nemperor Records. Among the album's highlights was the American Song Festival winner "Boy From Boston". The album featured guest appearances by Timothy B. Schmit,

and Rick Roberts. Schmit would go on to provide harmony vocals on several of Thompson's albums. They co-wrote "Find Out in Time", which was recorded by Schmit with

Poco In software engineering, a plain old CLR object, or plain old class object (POCO) is a simple object created in the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) that is unencumbered by inheritance or attributes. This is often used in opposition to the comp ...

on their 1977 album, ''

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or mor ...

''. In 1978 Thompson released ''Together'', a collaboration with another Richmond-based songwriter, Steve Bassett. Among the songs they co-wrote and recorded for this album was an early version of "Sweet Virginia Breeze". Thompson had some commercial success with ''Two B's Please'', released in 1980 and credited to The Robbin Thompson Band. Background vocals on the majority of album were provided by Schmit and Roberts. The album would eventually sell 200,000 copies and included a re-recorded version of "Sweet Virginia Breeze" as well as "Candy Apple Red" and "Brite Eyes". All three songs were hits in the Southeastern United States. The latter song was also a minor national hit and spent nine weeks on the ''Billboard'' charts, peaking at No. 66. It spent six weeks on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' chart, reaching No. 78. The album included "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues", which was originally intended to be theme song for a film based on the

Tom Robbins Thomas Eugene Robbins (July 22, 1932 – February 9, 2025) was an American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy dramas"). Robbins had lived in La Conner, Washington, since 1970, where he wrote nine of his ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of the same name.''Backstreets'' #28 Spring 1989 However, when a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

was eventually made the song was not featured. Thompson's 1985 album ''Better Late Than Never'', which featured cover versions of "

Fortunate Son "Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on the band's fourth studio album, '' Willy and the Poor Boys'' in October 1969. It had previously been released as a single, with " Down on the Corner" ...

" and "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...

", was his first to be released on his own label Out There Records. It also included "Guilty", Thompson's version of "He's Guilty (Send That Boy To Jail)", originally written by

for

. In 1997 this song was also included on the compilation ''One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen''. Another highlight was "You're My Obsession" which was an American Song Festival winner in 1984. In 1988 Thompson released ''Since Grade School: A Robbin Thompson Anthology'', which combined five new songs with eleven songs from his first four albums. Among the new songs was the title song for the film ''

''. ''I Don't Need A Reason To Ride'' from 1991 featured

while ''Out on the Chesapeake'' from 1998 was the first of several collaborations with

of the

and saw Schmit once again provide backing vocals. In between Thompson was also involved in a collaboration with fellow songwriters Michael Lille and Lewis McGehee, recording an eponymous album as The Famous Unknowns. In 2002 a second collection, ''The Vinyl Years'', was basically a reissue of ''Robbin Thompson'' plus later songs such as the original version of "Sweet Virginia Breeze" and a reissue of "Guilty". His 2003 album, ''One Step Ahead of the Blues'', again featured Schmit and Taylor, as well a song called "Orange Moon" that was recorded in Shanghai with traditional Chinese musical instruments. It included another Springsteen/Steel Mill song, "The Train Song". ''Live in Studio A'' was recorded at the in Your Ear Studios in

with an invited audience of eighty people over two nights. It features thirteen live tracks and stories about how some of the songs were written. ''Just A Blur in the Rearview'' featured a guest appearances by

. The title song was co-written with

while "I Won't Quit" was co-written and recorded with

and Butch Taylor of the Dave Matthews Band. It was also featured on the soundtrack of ''

''. In early 2008, Thompson's ''Move on Down the Line'' won in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for Gospel Song.

Death

Thompson was first diagnosed with cancer in 2000. He was a resident of

and died of cancer on October 10, 2015, after a long battle with a rare gastrointestinal stromal tumor. He was 66.

Discography

Albums ** ''Robbin Thompson'' (1976, Nemperor 440 0698) ** ''Better Late Than Never'' (1985, Out There Records 585) ** ''Since Grade School: A Robbin Thompson Anthology'' (1988, Out There Records 1188) ** ''I Don't Need A Reason To Ride'' (1991, Out There Records 6591) ** ''Out on the Chesapeake'' (1998, Out There Records 0898) ** ''The Vinyl Years'' (2002, Out There Records) ** ''One Step Ahead of the Blues'' (2003, Out There Records 31003) ** ''Live In Studio A'' (2006, Out There Records 92305) ** ''Just A Blur In The Rearview'' (2007, Out There Records 2207) ** ''A Real Fine Day'' (2013, Out There Records) *Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett ** ''Together'' (1978, Richmond Records 1001) *The Robbin Thompson Band ** ''Two B's Please'' (1980, Ovation 1759) ** ''Live at the National'' (2010, Out There Records) *The Famous Unknowns (with Michael Lille and Lewis McGehee) ** ''The Famous Unknowns'' (1994, Out There Records 33194) *Tracks on anthologies ** "Guilty" ''One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen'' (1997, Capitol Records) ** "Wouldn't Want to Be You" on ''United We Stand'' (2001, Capitol Records) Singles ** ''Boy From Boston/Another Cup of Coffee and a Cigarette'' (1976, Nemperor Records 010) ** ''Boy From Boston(mono)/Boy From Boston(stereo)'' (1976, Nemperor Records 010) ** ''Dream On Melinda/It's My Turn'' (1976, Nemperor Records 011) ** ''Dream On Melinda(mono)/Dream On Melinda(stereo)'' (1976, Nemperor Records 011) *The Tasmanians ** "Baby/Love, Love, Love'' (1966, Conda Records 101) ** ''I Can't Explain This Feeling/If I Don't'' (1966, Power Records 4933) *Robbin' ** ''What Am I Gonna Do?/Changes'' (1972, Colpar Records 1007S) *Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett ** "Sweet Virginia Breeze/Virginia In the Springtime" (1978, Richmond Records 1002) ** "Looking for a Sunny Day/Let's Do One Together" (1978, Richmond Records 1003) ** "Sweet Virginia Breeze/Virginia Is For Lovers" (1986, Virginia Is For Lovers 605061XA) *The Robbin Thompson Band ** "Brite Eyes/That's Alright" (1980, Ovation Records 1157) ** "Candy Apple Red/Barroom Romance" (1980, Richmond Records 500) ** "Movin' On Up/Train Ride" (1982, Short Pump Records RR502)

References

Links

Notice of death of Robbin Thompson
nj.com; accessed January 9, 2016.

richmond.com; accessed January 9, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Robbin 1949 births 2015 deaths American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists Deaths from cancer in Virginia Singer-songwriters from Virginia Singer-songwriters from Florida Musicians from Richmond, Virginia People from Melbourne, Florida Independent Music Awards winners Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Florida Guitarists from Virginia Guitarists from Massachusetts Melbourne High School alumni 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Steel Mill members