Chris Robinson on the stories behind the Black Crowes' biggest songs

Lots of broken-up bands reconvene for a tour, arsenic the Black Crowes did successful 2019, fractional a decennary aft brothers Chris and Rich Robinson dissolved the Southern stone radical they’d formed successful Atlanta successful the mid-1980s. Some adjacent enactment unneurotic agelong capable to marque a caller record, arsenic the Crowes managed to bash with 2024’s well-received “Happiness Bastards.” What’s comparatively uncommon successful euphony is for a reunited set to rapidly travel up a comeback medium with a 2nd one. Yet that’s what the Robinsons did this twelvemonth erstwhile they dropped “A Pound of Feathers,” the Crowes’ 10th workplace LP, down which they’ll interaction down Monday nighttime astatine the Hollywood Bowl. Ahead of the show, Chris Robinson, 59, called from the roadworthy to archer the stories down 5 of the band’s songs.

‘Hard to Handle’ (1990)

The Black Crowes broke retired with a frisky screen of this Otis Redding tune conscionable arsenic hairsbreadth metallic was giving mode to grunge. A deed connected MTV, the opus drove income of the band’s debut, “Shake Your Money Maker,” to income of much than 5 cardinal copies.

There are immoderate songs of Otis’ that I couldn’t bash justice. As a 21-year-old kid starting my vocation — well, we didn’t adjacent cognize we were gonna person careers — but what americium I gonna sing? “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”? “Hard to Handle,” it’s cheeky, it’s lighthearted. And I loved the break: “Pretty small thing, fto maine airy your candle…” So I took it to George Drakoulias, our producer, and I said, “I deliberation we could bash this.” George is the 1 who turned it into “Walk This Way” — helium enactment it successful the aforesaid rhythmic space. Otis’ mentation swings, but we truly couldn’t plaything astatine the time.

So “Hard to Handle” wasn’t thing you were playing unrecorded aboriginal on?
No, we brought it successful for the record. Being from Georgia and Otis being from Georgia, it was important to america that radical knew this is wherever we’re coming from. Two autumns ago, Zelma Redding and her household invited america to their large aged ranch extracurricular Macon, and we had an day successful the large man’s study. They person each his awards and guitars and worldly and the velvet slippers helium had connected erstwhile the level crashed. At definite times successful our career, we’ve been like, “F—, bash we person to play ‘Hard to Handle’ again?’” We’d jam astatine the extremity oregon effort each these things to marque it dependable different. But arsenic the years person gone by, we conscionable play it the mode it’s expected to be.

George’s engineer, Brendan O’Brien, played the guitar solo successful “Hard to Handle.” Why?
We had Jeff Cease, but he’d divided and gone backmost to Nashville. And Rich didn’t play solos backmost then. That changed, but astatine the clip helium was the bushed guitar player. So it was retired of necessity. We needed that meat-and-potatoes solo, and Brendan could rip it. I saw him connected immoderate podcast saying we were successful L.A. and we were gonna telephone Slash. I’m like, “No we weren’t — you did the solo successful Atlanta connected Rich’s Les Paul.”

“Shake Your Money Maker” came retired connected Rick Rubin’s Def American label, and he’s credited arsenic enforcement producer. Did Rick bash thing connected the album?
No.

All righty.
I’m conscionable being honest. George and I lived successful Rick’s location — I was successful the basement — but the astir I saw of him astatine the clip was him leaving to spell get luncheon astatine Canter’s with Glenn Danzig. He did travel to a league erstwhile with Andrew Dice Clay. We were called Mr. Crowe’s Garden astatine the clip — we weren’t yet the Black Crowes. Rick and George were like, “You guys astir apt request to alteration your name,” and Andrew Dice Clay goes, “You should alteration it to Sticky Paste.” I said, “Why don’t you instrumentality to the cigaret implicit your head, and I’ll grip this?”

‘She Talks to Angels’ (1990)

For “Money Maker’s” 4th single, the set released this darkly poetic ballad astir a pistillate struggling with a cause addiction.

Were you tense to uncover a softer side?
The lone trepidation would’ve been due to the fact that this was the power-ballad epoch of each the hair-metal bands.

Poison with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and truthful on.
Every set had one. There were hair-metal bands that only had powerfulness ballads — Firehouse oregon immoderate set with 17th period French aristocrat hair.

Everything but the lace cravat.
Everything but sincere songwriting. Look, they’re radical excessively — I get it. But we wrote a ballad retired of the sincerity of however we were feeling, you know? We were reaching for “Wild Horses” oregon “Dark End of the Street” oregon “Astral Weeks.” The powerfulness ballad was a instrumentality for stone bands, but we didn’t usage it arsenic that. We utilized it arsenic axenic expression.

Tell maine astir the communicative the opus tells.
My involvement successful penning and lit revolved astir darker themes, whether it was the Beats oregon Paul Bowles oregon whatever. There’s drugs and madness and symptom but besides glory and redemption and the existent heartbeat of life. So the opus is simply a bittersweet communicative but it’s romantic. There’s nary motivation gotcha — nary resentment toward the quality oregon the predicament they find themselves in.

How’d you travel by that approach?
Reading. My mother, who conscionable passed distant a fewer weeks ago, she gave maine a large gift: I’m dyslexic, and my ma successful the aboriginal ’70s successful the Deep South, she knew thing was up with me. I went to schoolhouse 3 times a week aft schoolhouse for years to larn however to read. And erstwhile that clicked, that was everything. My beingness now, it’s horribly boring. Rick Rubin with Danzig astatine Canter’s sounds breathtaking compared to Chris Robinson and the utilized bookstores of my life.

“Angels” is afloat of vivid details: the fastener of hair successful the woman’s pocket, for instance. Who were the songwriters that taught you however to make an image?
It each starts with Bob: “Jewels and binoculars bent from the caput of the mule” — like, what?! But I’m a comic Dylan instrumentality due to the fact that I similar the weird lyrics helium does, similar “Clothes Line Saga” from “The Basement Tapes.” Alex Chilton was truly big. The archetypal Big Star grounds I could get my hands connected successful the aboriginal ’80s was “3rd.” As a substance of fact, the archetypal amusement we ever did, Rich and I played “Nightime” from that record.

On the spot of “Moneymaker,” the Crowes were nominated for champion caller creator astatine the Grammys successful 1991. You didn’t triumph —
A taxable that continues today.

You retrieve who did?
It was Mariah Carey, I think.

Correct.
Good for her. Rich and I flew successful from immoderate circuit day for 1 night, and I retrieve MC Hammer winning and doing thing with Pepsi. I met MC Hammer a mates years ago. Amazingly chill guy.

What enactment you and Hammer successful the aforesaid room?
I’m not allowed to speech astir that.

Sure.
No, I’m superior — I can’t speech astir it.

‘Remedy’ (1992)

The Crowes’ sophomore album, “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,” was led by this swaggering soul-rock jam, which Robinson opened with a memorable couplet: “Baby, baby, wherefore can’t you beryllium still? / Who killed that vertebrate retired connected your windowsill?”

I was successful Philly a fewer weeks ago, successful Rittenhouse Square, and I said to my friend, “That’s the edifice that I opened my model 1 grey time connected tour, and determination was a dormant bird.” The country was connected the 15th level oregon something, and I conjecture the vertebrate had flown into the glass. I was successful a bid of aboriginal failed stone and rotation relationships, truthful my imaginativeness was: Who killed that bird? Oh, she did it. The remainder of it’s made up, but I had to spot the dormant vertebrate that greeting to footwear disconnected the thought.

There’s immoderate large interplay present betwixt you and your inheritance singers — truly draws retired the R&B successful the band’s sound.
For us, it’s instinctive. I’ve ingested a batch of Funkadelic, a batch of Prince, a batch of the Gap Band. One of my archetypal concerts was Cameo connected the “Alligator Woman” circuit — mind-blowing. My singing is acold much rhythmic than it is melodic a batch of the time. When I was playing with Joe Perry past summer, Steven Tyler came down to the Hollywood Bowl to bash “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” He was like, “What key’s it in?” I said, “I don’t know.” He’s like, “You’ve been retired with Joe for 3 weeks, and you don’t cognize what cardinal the song’s in?” I said, “Steven, are you ready? I’ve never known what cardinal a opus is in.”

“Remedy” spent 11 consecutive weeks astatine No. 1 connected Billboard’s stone vigor chart. One of the songs stuck down it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge.”
And conscionable deliberation — I ne'er took my garment off.

‘Sting Me’ (1992)

The tune that yet knocked “Remedy” from the apical spot? The Crowes’ 2nd azygous from “Southern Harmony.”

It’s arsenic adjacent to a protestation opus arsenic we ever got. Concerts successful the ’90s were wild, antheral — we were seeing information guards beating connected kids. But we were besides seeing this unsighted patriotism toward ideals and philosophies that you’ve ne'er adjacent truly looked astatine with immoderate depth. So: “If you consciousness similar a riot / Then don’t you contradict it.”

There’s thing slippery astir the riff — it takes a 2nd to fig retired wherever the 1 is.
It fights itself — it’s funky successful there. “Shake Your Money Maker” was precise consecutive — click tracks to enactment the drum way together, present play the bass implicit that, blah blah blah. We conscionable weren’t large astatine that point. By the clip we’re successful the workplace with “Sting Me,” though, that’s 1 instrumentality unrecorded connected the floor. We made “Southern Harmony” successful 8 days.

You tin perceive the effect of having played a fewer 100 gigs.
I’m gladsome you accidental that. Now bands are like, “I don’t privation to spell connected the roadworthy — I’m gonna instrumentality a intelligence wellness break.” Can you ideate successful 1992, you’re successful 1 of the biggest bands successful the world, and you’re like, “Hey man, I gotta chill out”? Get the f— retired of here.

The “Sting Me” video was filmed astatine the Great Atlanta Pot Festival successful 1992, which the set played arsenic portion of your activism astir legalizing weed. What’s it been similar to spot those efforts win to immoderate degree?
My main triumph wrong that, if my dependable was a portion of it, is that we’re successful a much gentle spot — that it won’t ruin your beingness present if the constabulary propulsion you implicit and there’s a roach successful your ashtray. You person to realize: Being arrested isn’t conscionable astir the inconvenience of being incarcerated — it’s that present you’re successful the system. I mean, inquire immoderate marginalized assemblage — those cause laws were enactment connected the books to support you down.

‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ (2026)

Over a shuffling country-blues groove, Robinson sings astir “perfume, Champagne and sin” successful this standout from “A Pound of Feathers.”

Would you person foreseen that, aft you got backmost together, you and Rich would merchandise 2 albums successful little than 2 years?
I don’t cognize astir that. But permission Rich and I to our ain devices, and that’s what we do. Our full entrée into this satellite wasn’t due to the fact that I could sing oregon helium was a large guitarist — we wanted to constitute songs. I’ve written a batch of songs by myself, and astir apt retired of those songs, there’s a fewer that I’m arrogant of. And I deliberation Rich would accidental the aforesaid happening for himself. But there’s conscionable thing astir the inspiration I get from Rich’s playing that makes america a palmy songwriting team.

“Pharmacy Chronicles” has immoderate bedraggled contented to it. I’m not definite you could person written it arsenic a younger man.
I wasn’t that cynical then. It’s making amusive of yourself successful a mode — similar immoderate aged Victorian histrion successful the bowels of the theatre taking his constitution disconnected and wondering what it each means.

Do you deliberation your dependable has changed on with your perspective?
Of people my dependable has changed — done property and, successful the ’90s, done abuse. I can’t deed the super-highest notes I could arsenic a young person. But we inactive sing the aged songs successful the archetypal keys. Not that I cognize what those keys are.