Rockie Robbins is an American
soul singer from
Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
Biography
Robbins was born Edward W. Robbins Jr. He signed for A&M Records in 1979 and cut his first album, which was arranged and produced by veteran Chicago producers,
Richard Evans and
Johnny Pate. The master
tape
Tape or Tapes may refer to:
Material
A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation):
Adhesive tapes
* Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive
*Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...
s for this record were erased in transit to the record company and the album had to be re-recorded.
[ Biography Allmusic.com] Robbins' self-titled debut did not sell particularly well, but the label retained him for a second album, which was produced by former Philadelphia top arranger and producer,
Bobby Martin Bobby Martin may refer to:
*Bobby Martin (American football) (1987–2020), American football player
*Bobby Martin (musician) (1903–2001), jazz trumpeter
*Bobby Martin, bass player for Canadian country group the James Barker Band
*Bobby Martin (p ...
, in Los Angeles. This resulted in the singer's biggest hit, "You and Me", which reached the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B Top 10, staying on that chart for over five months.
A third album, produced by Skip Scarborough and Jerry Peters, saw Robbins score two R&B hits including "I Believe in Love" (#30), in 1981. A fourth A&M album was recorded in 1983 but remains unreleased. After a break, Robbins signed to
MCA Records who, in 1984, included his song "Emergency" in the
Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the Hollywood blockbuster ''
Beverly Hills Cop''. They also released Robbins' second self-titled album in 1985, but without success. Robbins later released three singles, "Serious" (Respect Records/Profile Records; 1989), "Are You Ready" (Debut; 1991) and "Be My Lady" (High On Rhythm; 1992).
In 2018 Robbins signed with Expansion Records to work with long-serving producer Ricky Peterson. The single "Good Life/Let’s Groove", remixed in the UK by Boogie Back Productions, entered the UK Soul Chart at No. 1 in February 2019. ''Good Life'', the album, was released in March 2019 to coincide with his live show in London at the Jazz Café on 10 March.
Discography
;Albums
*''Rockie Robbins'' (
A&M Records, 1979) US #204
*''You and Me'' (A&M, 1980) US #71, US R&B #19
*''I Believe in Love'' (A&M, 1981) US #147, US R&B #47
*''Unreleased album'' (A&M, 1983)
*''Rockie Robbins'' (
MCA Records, 1985) US R&B #60
;Charting singles
*"Be Ever Wonderful" (1979) US R&B #67
Billboard Singles
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...
Allmusic.com, ''passim''.
*"You and Me" (1980) US #80, US R&B #9
*"Hang Tough" (1980) US R&B #70
*"Time to Think" (1981) US R&B #32
*"After Loving You" (1981) US R&B #59
*"I Believe in Love" (1982) US R&B #30
*"We Belong Together" (1985) US R&B #45
*"Good Life/Let's Groove" (2019) UK Soul Chart #1
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Rockie
Musicians from Minnesota
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)