From the MMaRchives: The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are returning to the road this spring, with the grand finale of their tour happening in Philadelphia at the Met on Tuesday May 7th. Tickets go on sale this Friday (1/26) and Pierre Robert is giving them out on his show this week before you can buy them. Ask Alexa to “Open MMR” from 10am to 3pm for your chance to get into this show, which will surely sell out.
We’ve been playing the Black Crowes’ music for decades, and on May 27th, 1999, brothers Rich and Chris Robinson paid a visit to the WMMR studios before playing the Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Centre (now known as the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden). The session sounded great, as you’ll hear in the audio below, but the relationship between the two brothers was less than harmonious at the time. Pierre tells the story behind this track from the MMaRchives.
Note: This clip originally aired on March 13th, 2018.
Pierre says: “Chris was a little more domineering of two brothers. Brother bands can be tough… it’s just a challenge to be in a band with your sibling, as the Kinks could tell you! This is the backstory: the record guy told me that they argued all the way over, came up and did the interview as if nothing happened, got back in the limo to go back to Camden to the Center, and argued all the way back! It’s not easy to be in a brother band sometimes, but they did do a lovely version of ‘She Talks To Angels’.”
Listen to the stripped down version of the 1990 track in the player above. They also performed “Good Friday” on the air that day.
Eventually, the brothers Robinson moved past the tension, and their musical bond is as strong as ever. After a successful run for the anniversary of their seminal album Shake Your Moneymaker, they’re not only going back on tour this year – they’ll have a new LP to play for us. The Black Crowes’ new album Happiness Bastards will be out on March 15th. You can hear the song “Wanting and Waiting” on WMMR, or stream it below.