Chris Robinsons Says Black Crowes “Don’t Know Sh*t About Music”

In a recent episode of the Broken Record podcast, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson made a bold declaration about his band’s musical prowess or lack thereof: “We don’t know shit about music,” he asserted, adding, “We didn’t learn music… I don’t read music. Rich doesn’t read music.”

For Robinson, technicalities take a backseat to emotion when it comes to creating music. While some musicians delve into the intricacies of music theory, Robinson and his band focus on what feels right, rather than what’s written on the sheet music. Robinson elaborated:

“We know what it feels like and we know what sounds right, and then you keep doing that.
“Of course, through that your vocabulary is bigger. But we maybe are using different words than people who are more knowledgeable about the inner workings and mathematics, the arithmetic of music. It’s something that has escaped us.”

Delving into the band’s songwriting process, Robinson highlighted the special dynamic between himself and his brother, Rich. He described:

“It’s kind of magic when a song happens out of the blue.
“One minute, there’s nothing, one little thing like this, and then I get an idea, and then that changes what Rich is doing.”

He went on to discuss the genesis of one of the band’s most famous songs, “She Talks to Angels,” explaining how Rich’s riff laid the groundwork for Chris to craft the song’s dark, romantic imagery. Despite the passage of time, the emotional resonance of the music remained potent, propelling the song to the top of the charts upon its release in 1991.

Fast forward to the present day, and the Black Crowes are still weaving their magic. Their latest album, Happiness Bastards, dropped in March, marking a new chapter in their storied career. Currently embarking on a headlining tour that spans the summer months, the band is set to join Aerosmith on their farewell tour later in the year.

For Chris Robinson and the Black Crowes, conveying the unadulterated emotion that connects with listeners is more important than musical technicalities or mathematics; this approach has endured throughout time and continues to shape their history as a band.