The Black Crowes consists of Chris Robinson (vocalist), Jeff Cease (guitarist), Johnny Colt (bassist), Rich Robinson (guitarist).
The Black Crowes are a blues-oriented hard rock jam band that have sold over 15 million albums and were hailed by Melody Maker as "The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World." The band has toured with acts such as Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Jimmy Page, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Oasis and Lenny Kravitz. The Crowes are listed at #92 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
The first incarnation of the band began as Mr. Crowes Garden in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. Although the Crowes have had many members over the years, the driving force behind the band has always been the brothers Chris & Rich Robinson. In 1989, the rockers, who have been heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Faces and Southern rock, made a demo cassette tape that got them signed with American Recordings.
The Crowes released their first studio album Shake Your Money Maker, in 1990. On the strength of singles "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," "Jealous Again," "Twice As Hard" and "Seeing Things," the debut sold over 5 million copies and was certified 5x platinum in 1995. "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels" both broke the top 30 on the pop charts in 1990, and the crossover appeal of the songs helped catapult The Black Crowes to stardom. It is widely acknowledged that engineer Brendan O'Brien was the creative force behind their first album, and that the band struggled to live up to his vision.
After replacing guitarist Jeff Cease with Marc Ford, the Crowes released their second album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in 1992. (This album title is a tribute to the shape note anthology of the same name that has been sung annually at The Big Singing in Benton, Kentucky since 1884.) The effort spawned the singles "Remedy," "Thorn In My Pride," "Sting Me," "Sometimes Salvation" and "Hotel Illness," and in 1995 the disc was certified double platinum (sales of over 2 million records). Eddie Harsch, who played on the album, became a permanent member of the group beginning on the "High As the Moon" tour.