Rich Robinson: ‘Success brought strife to the Black Crowes’

To the microphones of the podcast Bob Lefsetzthe guitarist of Black Crowes Rich Robinsonspoke, among other topics, about the toxic family dynamics that kept the band divided for years, explaining that success created destructive trajectories within the group and some conditions had to change before he and his brother Chris would consider the possibility of a reunion.

This is what the youngest of the Robinson brothers revealed: “There’s a family dynamic that surrounds every band. And our family dynamic within the band was fucking toxic. It was toxic from the moment we started having success. That’s when the fights and all this shit started.”

The guitarist revealed how other band members actively worked to keep the Robinson brothers apart, instead of supporting their collaboration. “Our old drummer said a couple of times, ‘The thing that scares us the most in the band is when you and Chris get along.’ So there was a lot of pressure to keep Chris and me apart, instead of seeing the fact that if Chris and I get along it’s a good thing for everyone.”

Chris Robinson he pointed out that the band had had several opportunities to reunite much earlier. It was decided not to do so until they could ensure a healthier dynamic. “What most people don’t realize is that we were offered tours every year during the time we were breaking up. We could have gone on tour at any time. But at the time, Chris and I were busy with solo projects. I think it was eight or nine years after we broke up. We decided that this was something that was important to us. And the way we were going to do it had to be different. We said, ‘I don’t want to do this if we’re going to go back to the same bullshit. If we’re going to fight, if there will be pettiness and people trying to divide us, I absolutely won’t do that.’ And Chris said the same thing.”

The history of Black Crowes has always been rather tumultuous precisely because of the always tense relationships between the Robinson brothers. The last reunion dates back to 2020 and, so far, has produced two albums: “Happiness bastards” (read the review here) published in 2024 and “A pound of feathers”released a couple of weeks ago.