The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes formed in Atlanta and became one of the major American hard-rock bands of the early 1990s by reviving blues, soul, gospel, and Southern rock language with unruly conviction. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson drove the band from its earliest days, turning Shake Your Money Maker into a breakthrough on the strength of "Jealous Again," "Twice as Hard," "She Talks to Angels," and their version of "Hard to Handle." The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion deepened the band's voice with "Remedy," "Thorn in My Pride," "Sting Me," and a looser, more jam-oriented feel. Later records such as Amorica, Three Snakes and One Charm, By Your Side, Lions, Warpaint, Before the Frost...Until the Freeze, and Happiness Bastards showed a band that could be volatile but musically rooted. The Black Crowes fit hard-rock scope through their guitar-driven weight, touring history with heavy rock acts, and place in mainstream rock culture. Their power lies in feel: swaggering riffs, gospel-schooled vocals, and a refusal to make roots rock sound polite.