Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise (RBBS) was an American band from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The group was a collaboration between Robert Bradley and three other rock musicians.

History

The band was formed in 1994 when former members of the band Second Self met Bradley, a blind street performer. Bradley was born in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, and gained musical experience by singing as a child at The Alabama School for the Blind. He had been in Detroit for several years by 1994, occasionally playing music on the streets, and playing on Saturdays in Detroit's Eastern Market, when guitarist Michael Nehra, his brother and bassist Andrew Nehra, and drummer Jeff Fowlkes overheard Bradley through an open window while rehearsing for a new project. After listening to Bradley sing for an hour, they invited him up to Nehra's studio, The White Room, to record several acoustic songs, and then asked him to become their vocalist. On September 17, 1996, RBBS released their 11-track debut. The result was marked as "an effective collaboration between a blind blues musician and a sympathetic Detroit rock trio." The album was produced by Michael and Andrew Nehra, and engineered and mixed by Michael Nehra. It was followed by a live EP in 1999 and a follow-up studio album, ''Time to Discover'', in 2000. This album featured guest vocals by

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

. Allmusic reviewer Mark Morgenstein praised ''Time to Discover'' as "the first modern blues classic of the new millennium." The album was produced by both Michael and Andrew Nehra, and engineered and mixed by Michael Nehra. Their next album, 2002's ''New Ground'', was noted as "earnest... exuding a hard-won optimism and working-man's head-down forbearance." It peaked at #38 on ''Billboard'''s Top Independent Albums chart. It was quickly followed by ''Still Lovin' You'' in 2003, also released on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

and produced, engineered, and mixed by

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band the Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, Toto, Michael J ...

co-founder

Bruce Robb Bruce Robb is an American musician, record producer, engineer, and music supervisor. He is most recognized for his time as a member of the Robbs during the 1960s, then as a founder of Cherokee Studios in the 1970s; followed by decades of produc ...

. The group's next release was ''What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington'' (2006), a two-disc live album documenting the singer's once-annual New Year's stops at the Bluebird nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana. Produced by filmmaker/photographer/journalist Wes Orshoski, it features 22 songs, including four acoustic tracks recorded at soundcheck, an acoustic version of "Once Upon a Time," then-new songs "New Orleans" and "What About the Man," and an a cappella rendition of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". Five years after their previous studio record, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise released ''Out of the Wilderness'' in 2008. The songs "Love You in the Daytime," "Cryin’ My Eyes Out," and "Everybody Wanna Party" are featured in the motion picture ''Love N’ Dancing'', starring

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. Her first role in film was in Martin Kunert's anthology horror film '' Campfire Tales'', followed by a minor part in '' Starship Troopers,'' directed by Paul Verhoeven. In 1998, Sma ...

and

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film ''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'' (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association, ...

. Bruce Robb returned as producer, engineer, and mixer.

Post-breakup

After the release of ''Out of the Wilderness'', Robert Bradley moved back to Alabama, where he quit performing professionally, though he still sang and played in church services. He ran a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

supply business until a back injury made the work too difficult to continue.Robert Bradley’s music is "born again" after return to Detroit
''The News Herald'', November 14, 2017. In 2016, he returned to Detroit and started

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

again, which helped him reinvigorate his songwriting; as a result, he released a solo album, ''Down in the Bend'', on Funky D Records in 2017. Jeff Fowlkes joined Too Slim and the Taildraggers in the mid-2010s. Mike and Andrew Nehra had founded audio equipment company Vintage King Engineering in 1993, and both continued their involvement with the company into the 2010s.Audio expert Vintage King hosts 20th anniversary party
''The Oakland Press'', July 30, 2013.

Discography

;Albums * ''Blackwater Surprise'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1996) * ''Authorized Bootleg: Live'' (

, 1997) - limited edition CD featuring four live tracks * ''Live'' (RCA, 1999) * ''Time to Discover'' (

, 2000) * ''New Ground'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

, 2002) * ''Still Lovin' You'' (

, 2003) * ''What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington'' (Kufala, 2006) * ''Out of the Wilderness'' (2008) ;Compilation appearances * ''Believing in Detroit: A Tribute to Vladdy and Sergei'' (JFW, 1998) - a limited-edition compilation, original recording, featuring "Shake It Off" * ''KBCO Studio C Volume 12 Compilation Live In KBCO'' (KBCO, 2000) - recorded at a Boulder, Colorado radio studio, featuring "Baby", recorded live * ''KFOG Live from the Archives 8'' (KFOG, 2001) - live, limited-edition compilation, featuring "Baby", recorded live in studio * ''Wish You a Merry Christmas'' (2001) - limited collector's edition, rare three-track CD single * ''Monitor This February/March 2002'' (2002) - compilation featuring "Train" * ''It'll Come to You - The Songs of John Hiatt'' (

, 2003) - compilation featuring "It'll Come to You" * ''Relix Magazine Music Sampler July 2006'' (Relix, 2006) - an import compilation featuring "Once Upon a Time" * ''Lackawanna Blues Soundtrack'' (HBO Films/

, 2004) - produced by Bruce Robb, featuring Robert Bradley's "Dark Road," "Something Inside Me," and "Down on Me", a duet with Macy Gray

References

External links

* Allmusic's profile of RBBS {{Authority control Rock music groups from Michigan Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups from Detroit 1994 establishments in Michigan