Robin Lane (born 1947) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Her band, Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, released three albums on Warner Bros. Records in the early 1980s, and was best known for its single "When Things Go Wrong".

Early life

Born

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Robin Lane grew up in Los Angeles. Her father was Ken Lane, songwriter and pianist for Dean Martin; her mother was a model. While in her teens, Robin began singing and performing in folk-rock clubs in southern California. From 1968 to 1970 she was married to future

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

lead guitarist Andy Summers. In 1969, she sang backing vocals on the song "Round & Round" on

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

's album '' Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere''. In the 1970s, Lane moved to eastern Pennsylvania and then to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, where her musical interests turned from folk-rock to a harder sound influenced by the growing

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and new wave genres.

The Chartbusters

In 1978, Lane formed the Chartbusters with Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe (of The Modern Lovers), Scott Baerenwald and Tim Jackson. She had signed with Private Stock Records, which shortly afterward went out of business. After Jerry Wexler saw a Chartbusters show, however, he signed the band to Warner Brothers. Their first album, ''Robin Lane & the Chartbusters'' (1980) featured the singles "When Things Go Wrong" and "Why Do You Tell Lies?", earned favorable reviews, and received widespread airplay. "When Things Go Wrong" (which made, if not exactly ''busted'', the ''Billboard'' singles chart at #87) was the eleventh video shown on MTV's first broadcast day on August 1, 1981. The band had two more releases on Warner, the EP ''5 Live'' (1980) and ''Imitation Life'' (1981). The limited commercial success of these records, combined with business disputes and Lane's desire to have a child, led to the breakup of the Chartbusters in 1983.

Later years

Lane continued writing and recording music, and released the independent EP ''Heart Connection'' (1984), the self-produced cassette ''In Concert'' (1989), and the full-length ''Catbird Seat'' (1995). She co-wrote the song "Wishing On Telstar" for the 1991 Susanna Hoffs album '' When You're a Boy''. In 2001, Lane and several of the Chartbusters regrouped for two reunion concerts, and decided to continue recording and performing; they released ''Piece of Mind'' in 2003. Since then, Lane has moved to western Massachusetts, where she works with the Turners Falls, Massachusetts Women's Resource Center, using

music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...

to aid survivors of abuse. On 4 April 2014 Tim Jackson premiered his film of Robin Lane's life and career, ''When Things Go Wrong'', followed by a Q & A and a set by Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, at the Regent Theatre in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

. On March 2 and 3, 2019, band members staged another reunion concert at The Burren in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

to support the release of ''Many Years Ago: The Complete Robin Lane & the Chartbusters Collection'' (Blixa Sounds). That weekend's edition of the Chartbusters consisted of most of the original lineup: Lane on vocals and guitar, Asa Brebner on guitar, Scott Baerenwald on bass, drummer Tim Jackson, and guitarist Billy Loosigian (taking the place of original guitarist Leroy Radcliffe). ''Many Years Ago'' is a three-disc set. Previously released material consists of the two studio LPs, ''Robin Lane & the Chartbusters'' (1980) and ''Imitation Life'' (1981); and the EPs ''5 Live'' (1980) and ''Heart Connection'' (1984). In addition, the set contains outtakes from the recording sessions for ''Heart Connection'', as well as a series of demos, previously unreleased studio tracks, and various live performances. Since then, Lane has released the double ''Instant Album'' (2020), which consists of solo material from her entire 40-year career, and the country-tinged ''Dirt Road to Heaven'', released on Red on Red Records, to much acclaim in June 2022.

Discography

With The Chartbusters

*''Robin Lane & The Chartbusters'' (Warner Bros., 1980; #207) *''5 Live EP'' (Warner Bros., 1980) *''Imitation Life'' (Warner Bros., 1981; #172) *''Piece of Mind'' (Windjam Records, 2003) *''Many Years Ago: The Complete Robin Lane & the Chartbusters Collection'' (Blixa Sounds, 2019)

Robin Lane

*''Heart Connection EP'' (Independent release, 1984) *''In Concert'' (Independent release, 1989) *''Catbird Seat'' (1995) *''Out of the Ashes'' (2011) *''The Sweet Candy Collection'' (2011) *''A Woman's Voice'' (2013) *''Instant Album'' (2020) *''Dirt Road to Heaven'' (2022)

References

External links

Official site - Robin Lane's Songbird Sings Organization - A unique approach to healing trauma using the creative process of songwriting.
Richie Unterberger for 2003 rerelease of "Robin Lane & the Chartbusters"
Another profile of Robin Lane & the Chartbusters
Boston Phoenix, Feb. 13, 2003
Alan Lecker, "On the wings of a songbird - Robin Lane uses music to help victims of abuse"
Many Hands magazine

* Allmusic.com entrybr> MTV Yearbook:1981 - "When Things Go Wrong" music video
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Robin Living people 1947 births American rock songwriters American rock singers Musicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts Music therapists People from Greenfield, Massachusetts Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts