Internal issues clip The Black Crowes’ wings
NEW YORK — The bluesrock band The Black Crowes are fading to black.
Founding member Rich Robinson announced Thursday the group is disbanding after 24 years.
In a statement, he alluded to internal issues between his brother and the band.
“I love my brother and respect his talent, but his present demand that I must give up my equal share of the band and that our drummer for 28 years and original partner, Steve Gorman, relinquish 100 per cent of his share, reducing him to a salaried employee, is not something I could agree to,” Robinson said in the statement.
Robinson, the band’s guitarist and songwriter, founded the group with his brother and lead singer, Chris Robinson.
An email seeking comment from Chris Robinson wasn’t immediately returned. He also fronts the band Chris Robinson Brotherhood.
The Black Crowes released its debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, in 1990. It went on to sell five million albums and featured the hits She Talks to Angels and Hard to Handle. The band also had success with the followup albums The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion and Amorica, but started to fade in the late ’90s.
Besides the Robinsons and Gorman, the Black Crowes included bassist Sven Pipien, keyboardist Adam MacDougall and guitarist Jackie Greene.
“I hold my time with the Black Crowes with the utmost respect and sincerest appreciation. It is a huge swath of my life’s body of work,” Rich Robinson said in the statement.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished and deeply moved by the relationships people created and maintained with my music. That alone is the greatest honour of being a musician.”
The Black Crowes’ last studio album was 2008’s Warpaint.