The Black Crowes

1984年，Robinson兄弟组成了Mr. Growe's Garden乐队，队名据说来源于某部童话。随后就开始在各个俱乐部演出，这个名字没持续多久，当年底Chris Robinson从大学退学之后，就改成了The Black Crowes，有人认为这个名字来源于爱伦·坡，但是从乐队自己的定位来看，似乎还是来源于一个美国南部的童话。不过，在短暂的Mr. Growe's Garden时期，他们的成名作《Shake Your Money Maker》已经写成，这之后的6年之中，乐队始终不稳定，人员进进出出，Chris Robinson结了婚。而Rich Robinson则每天忙于练琴，这种经历看做是厚积薄发也可以，不过这样的经历使他们避免了和当时大多数硬摇滚乐队一样追随Guns N' Roses乐队的发展。南部的拗劲和深深的自尊使得他们对Guns N' Roses嗤之以鼻，他们始终在尝试在硬摇滚之中加入更多性感活泼的南部风味，没想到的是，这种想法使得他们成了美国南部摇滚的先锋。
1990年，The Black Crowes形成了固定阵容，除了Robinson兄弟和他们的死党鼓手Steve Gorman之外，还有贝司手Johnny Colt，吉他手Jeff Cease。这一年，The Black Crowes推出了他们第一张专辑《Shake Your Money Maker》。这张专辑推出后获得了巨大的成功，光在美国就售出了超过三百万张，并在Billboard专辑榜前十名中停留了18个星期。单曲She Talks to Angles和翻唱Otis Reading的单曲Hard to Handle也在排行榜中取得了骄人的成绩。一夜之间，他们几近成名，他们那时髦的金属党装扮却又酷似Rolling Stones和Lynryd Skynyrd的苍白脸庞再嫁接上南方热情奔放又不失美国风味的布鲁斯音乐当然还有Chris Robinson慵懒的70年代打扮和罗圈腿，这样一个折中的产物马上被乐迷所接受被当年的《滚石》杂志评为“年度最佳新人乐队”，这个名称在日后被英国著名的音乐杂志《Melody Maker》所发扬光大，该杂志称他们为“世界上最摇滚的摇滚乐队”，这样的称号虽然过誉，但是也说明了一点事情。
1992年，他们的专辑《The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion》出版并迅速达到排行榜第一。这张专辑中有两首流行单曲Remedy和Thorn in My Pride。这时，吉他手Jeff Cease离开了乐队，替代他的是原Ex-Burning Tree乐队的吉他手Marc Ford和来自加拿大的键盘手Eddie Harsch。双吉他这个标志性的东西算是保住了。
而两年后的1994年，Chris Robinson的一个想法又给乐队带来了麻烦，当出版新专辑《Amorica》的时候，Chris Robinson建议把封面做成一个穿比基尼露着阴毛的模特形象，这种想法遭到了保守的南方教会的攻击，Chris Robinson乾脆加上了一笔，用美国国旗做成了模特身上的遮羞布，这种恶作剧遭到了很多人的反对，Chris Robinson感到很委屈，他说“我想这是我们愿意生活的地方，我们热爱美国，这就是我们专辑的灵感来源，但是，你知道，这是南方……”好在之后美国高等法院废除了国旗法，不然乐队还真有可能遭到牢狱之灾，不过，即使如此，他们还是受到了南方教会高规格的待遇，他们的专辑和许多著名乐队的专辑一样被当众焚毁，不知道是不是一种荣幸呢？
但是这一切已经挡不住乐队前进的步伐了，1996年夏天，乐队发行第四张专辑《Three Snakes and One Charm》，名列排行榜十五位。1997年8月，Marc Ford在担任了五年的主音吉他手之后被乐队解雇。1998年，乐队改与Columbia唱片公司签约，秋天，他们开始为期六周称为“Sho' Nuff ”的巡回演出，并发行了有5张CD的同名套装专辑，包括经数字化处理的前四张专辑和一张附加的EP。并在1999年推出他们第五张专辑《By Your Side》。
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialize in was out of style. Only Guns N Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson appropriated the sound and style of vintage Rod Stewart while guitarist Rich Robinson fused Keith Richards lean attack with Ron Woods messy rhythmic sense. At their best, the Black Crowes echo classic rock without slavishly imitating their influences.
The Robinson brothers originally formed the Black Crowes in Georgia in 1984. By the time of their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, the group comprised Chris Robinson (vocals), Rich Robinson (guitar), Johnny Colt (bass), Jeff Cease (guitar), and Steve Gorman (drums). Jealous Again, the first single from Shake Your Money Maker, was a moderate hit but it was the bands cover of Otis Reddings Hard to Handle that made the group a multi-platinum success. Hard to Handle climbed its way into the Top 40, propelling the album into the Top Ten. The acoustic ballad She Talks to Angels became the bands second Top 40 hit in the spring of 1991. Shake Your Money Maker would eventually sell over three million copies.
The Black Crowes delivered their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, in the spring of 1992. It entered the charts at number one, but it didnt have as many hit singles as the debut; none of the singles cracked the Top 40 and only Remedy and Thorn in My Pride made the Top 100. Nevertheless, the band established itself as a popular concert attraction that summer, selling out theaters across America. During 1992, the band added keyboardist Eddie Harsch as a permanent member. The Black Crowes third album, Amorica, arrived in late 1994. Amorica debuted in the Top Ten, but none of the singles from the album made the charts; even though the record went gold, it slipped off the charts in early 1995.
Three Snakes and One Charm, the groups fourth album, was released in July 1996. The album entered the charts at number 15, but it quickly slipped out of the Top 50. Nevertheless, the album received the best reviews of any Crowes album since The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Guitarist Marc Ford was fired from the Black Crowes in August 1997; two years later, the group returned with By Your Side. In mid-2000, the band collaborated with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on the double-disc Live at the Greek, an eclectic mix of newly recorded Zeppelin covers and additional classic blues cuts. Greatest Hits 1990-1999: A Tribute to a Work in Progress, a 16-track best-of compilation, was also released in mid-2000.
The Don Was-produced Lions appeared in spring 2001, and a summer tour with Oasis — the Tour of Brotherly Love — followed in June. But all was apparently not well with the group, and in January 2002, the band announced that it was on hiatus. Drummer Steve Gorman was fired, and Chris Robinson announced his intentions for a solo career. In 2005, however, the group got back together for a show at San Franciscos Fillmore, a concert that was released in both CD and DVD form in 2006 as Freak N Roll... Into the Fog. That same year, The Lost Crowes, which contained two previously unreleased albums, 1993s Tall, parts of which were seen in Amorica and other places, and the 1997 never-before-heard Band, came out.