Dennis Anthony Robbins
(born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band
Rockets
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums and several singles of his own, in addition to writing hit singles for
Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...
,
Shenandoah and
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
.
Biography
Robbins was born in
Hazelwood, North Carolina
Hazelwood is a former incorporated town in Haywood County, North Carolina, that is currently a neighborhood of the town of Waynesville.
History
In 1893, businessman W. H. Cole moved to Haywood County, North Carolina to establish a sawmill on u ...
on August 23, 1949. He learned to play guitar while in his teens, taking his influences from both
rock & roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
and
bluegrass. After a brief stint in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he found work in several bands before joining a group known as
Rockets
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
.
After retiring from Rockets, Robbins moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, where he was signed to
MCA in 1986, recording his debut album ''The First of Me'' that year.
Later the same year, he founded the supergroup
Billy Hill with songwriters
Bob DiPiero
Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 single for Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy ...
and
John Scott Sherrill
John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his m ...
. This group recorded one album on
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
and charted three singles before disbanding in 1990.
The three members of Billy Hill also co-wrote "
The Church on Cumberland Road
"The Church on Cumberland Road" is a song written by Bob DiPiero, John Scott Sherrill and Dennis Robbins, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah. It was released in January 1989 as the second single from their album '' The Road ...
", a Number One single for
Shenandoah in early 1989, and
Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...
's "
(Do You Love Me) Just Say Yes."
Solo career & Billy Hill
After retiring from Rockets, Robbins moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, where he was signed to
MCA in 1986, recording his debut album ''The First of Me'' that year.
Later, as success was starting to lack on him, he founded the supergroup
Billy Hill with songwriters
Bob DiPiero
Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 single for Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy ...
and
John Scott Sherrill
John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his m ...
. This group recorded one album on
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
and charted three singles before disbanding in 1990.
The three members of Billy Hill also co-wrote "
The Church on Cumberland Road
"The Church on Cumberland Road" is a song written by Bob DiPiero, John Scott Sherrill and Dennis Robbins, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah. It was released in January 1989 as the second single from their album '' The Road ...
", a Number One single for
Shenandoah in early 1989, and
Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...
's "
(Do You Love Me) Just Say Yes."
Giant Records
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
, a subsidiary label of Warner, opened a country music branch in 1990, and Robbins was the first act signed to this newly formed division.
Also that year, he contributed to another Number One single, when
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
topped the country music charts with "
Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House
"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" is a song co-written by Warren Haynes, Dennis Robbins and Bobby Boyd. It was originally recorded by Robbins himself in 1987 for MCA Records and charted at number 71 on the '' Billboard'' country charts. The ...
" (which Robbins himself had charted with three years previous).
Robbins' second album overall, ''Man With a Plan'', was issued in 1992. Included on it was the single "Home Sweet Home", his only solo Top 40 hit on the country charts. Also found on this album was his own rendition of "I Am Just a Rebel" (which was later cut by both
Confederate Railroad
Confederate Railroad (originally known as "Confederate RR") is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia, by Danny Shirley (lead vocals), Michael Lamb (lead guitar), Mark Dufresne (drums), Chris McDaniel (keyboards), Warr ...
and
Joy Lynn White
Joy Lynn White (born October 2, 1961) (also known as Joy White) is an American country music singer-songwriter. White was born in Bentonville, Arkansas but raised in Mishawaka, Indiana. ), as well as the track "Paris, Tennessee", which was later cut by both
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
and
Tracy Lawrence
Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in ...
. In 1993, he was named one of the New Faces of Country Music by the Country Radio Seminar.
A second album for Giant, ''Born Ready'', was issued in 1994, producing one more chart single "Mona Lisa On Cruise Control" (#68). He has not recorded any more albums ever since.
Songwriting
A few other of Robbins' penned material were later cut by other artists, such as: "Finally Friday" was recorded by
Earl Thomas Conley
Earl Thomas Conley (October 17, 1941 – April 10, 2019)Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Earl Thomas Conley". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 108. was an American country music singer-songwriter. Between ...
on his 1988 album ''The Heart of It All'' and also by
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
on his 1992 album ''
Walls Can Fall
''Walls Can Fall'' is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1992 (see 1992 in country music) on the MCA Nashville Records. It peaked at number 24 on the '' Billboard'' Country Albums chart and number ...
''. "No Chance To Dance" was first cut by
Johnny Rodriguez
Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish.
In the 1970s an ...
in 1988 for his album ''Gracias'' and his version was released as a single in early 1989, but it peaked at No. 72 on the Billboard country singles chart. Then, Robbins later cut the song along with the co-writers of the song (Bob DiPiero and John Scott Sherrill) when they formed Billy Hill and it was released as a single in 1990, but their version didn't reach the charts. And then Highway 101 recorded the song in 1993 for their album ''
The New Frontier'', but their version wasn't released as a single. "Too Much Month at the End of the Money" was originally cut by Robbins when he formed the band Billy Hill, it peaked at No. 25 on Billboard in 1989 and it was later cut by
Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
on his 2003 album
Country Music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
, and he too would release it as a single where it would at No. 54.
The Church on Cumberland Road
"The Church on Cumberland Road" is a song written by Bob DiPiero, John Scott Sherrill and Dennis Robbins, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah. It was released in January 1989 as the second single from their album '' The Road ...
was first recorded by Robbins in 1987, which served as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to his MCA single
Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House
"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" is a song co-written by Warren Haynes, Dennis Robbins and Bobby Boyd. It was originally recorded by Robbins himself in 1987 for MCA Records and charted at number 71 on the '' Billboard'' country charts. The ...
, which would later become a No. 1 hit for
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
, Cumberland Road would later become a No. 1 hit for the band
Shenandoah in 1989.
Discography
Albums
*''The First of Me'' (1986) (MCA)
*''Man With a Plan'' (1992) (Giant)
*''Born Ready'' (1994) (Giant)
Singles
Music videos
Chart Singles written by Dennis Robbins
The following is a list of Dennis Robbins compositions that were chart hits.
References
External links
Dennis Robbinson
Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Dennis
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American country singer-songwriters
Living people
Singer-songwriters from North Carolina
Slide guitarists
Giant Records (Warner) artists
Guitarists from North Carolina
The Rockets (band) members
Country musicians from North Carolina
American male singer-songwriters
1949 births