Robin Wilson (born July 12, 1965) is an American musician most notable for his work as the lead vocalist of the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, '' New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that al ...

Career

Wilson replaced Richard Taylor as guitarist of Gin Blossoms in 1988, but switched places early on with vocalist

Jesse Valenzuela Jesse Valenzuela (born May 22, 1962) is an American rock musician and singer who is perhaps best known as a member of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. He was originally the vocalist in Gin Blossoms when the band first formed in 1987. In ...

. He remained a member of the band until its disbandment in 1997; prior to its split, the band released two albums. Its hit second album, '' New Miserable Experience,'' was certified quadruple platinum and featured singles " Hey Jealousy", " Found Out About You", "Mrs. Rita", " Until I Fall Away", and Wilson's "

Allison Road Allison Road may refer to: * ''Allison Road'' (video game), a horror video game cancelled in 2016 * "Allison Road" (song), a song by the American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms {{Disambiguation ...

". The band's next album, ''

Congratulations I'm Sorry ''Congratulations I'm Sorry'' (typeset as ''Congratulations...I'm Sorry'') is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, and the follow-up album to the successful 1992 release '' New Miserable Experience'', releas ...

'', which sold platinum, featured singles such as "

Follow You Down "Follow You Down" is a song by American rock band Gin Blossoms, and the first single released from their album ''Congratulations I'm Sorry''. It was released as a double A-side single with "Til I Hear It from You" in the United States. The song ...

", "As Long as It Matters", "Not Only Numb", and "Day Job", as well as Wilson's "Highwire". After the breakup of Gin Blossoms, Wilson was the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band

Gas Giants A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System. The term "gas giant" was originally synonymous with "giant planet". However, in the 1990s, it became known that Uranu ...

, which also included guitarist Dan Henzerling and former Gin Blossoms drummer Phil Rhodes. He also contributed vocals for The Longshadows album ''Simple Minded Way''. In 1995, Robin Wilson had an idea for an animated TV series called The Poppin' Wheelies: a teenage rock & roll band with a magical guitar travels through outer space while being chased by an evil witch's minion new wave band, the Techno-pops, who try to retrieve the enchanted instrument. While the animated series was worked on, it was never released. The supporting music for the series was released in November 2000 in an album of the same name
"The Poppin' Wheelies"
When the Gin Blossoms reunited in 2002, Wilson began touring with the band as well as recording the album ''Major Lodge Victory''. Released on August 8, 2006, the album featured the singles " Learning the Hard Way" and "Long Time Gone". Wilson ran his own studio, Uranus Recording in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, which he opened in 1994 until its closing in 2015. Wilson has served as an occasional lead singer for

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock music, rock band from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio lead vocals, (vocals and guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar and backing vocals, vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar and bac ...

since the 2017 death of lead singer

Pat DiNizio Patrick Michael DiNizio (October 12, 1955 – December 12, 2017) was the lead singer, songwriter and founding member of the band The Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros from Carteret, New Jersey. ...

Personal life

Wilson grew up in

. Wilson graduated from

Corona del Sol High School Corona del Sol High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona, United States. It was established in 1977 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. History The local architecture firm of Michael & Kemper Goodwin Ltd. was ...

. He attended

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the Unite ...

, where his father was a professor, from 1983 to 1988, majoring in planetary science, although he did not graduate. He is married to Gena Rositano who is the stage manager for SNL and they have 2 children. They currently live on Long Island, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robin Living people 1965 births 20th-century American guitarists American alternative rock singers American alternative rock guitarists American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American alternative rock musicians Gin Blossoms members Guitarists from Arizona Guitarists from Michigan Singer-songwriters from Michigan Singer-songwriters from Arizona