Robert Gordon (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Robert Gordon | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Robert Ira Gordon | |
| Born | March 29th, 1947 | |
| Genre(s) | Rock 'n' Roll | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Years active | 1962-present | |
| Label(s) | RCA and others | |
| Associated acts |
Link Wray, Danny Gatton, Chris Spedding | |
| Website | [[1]] | |
Robert Gordon (born March 29, 1947) is an American rockabilly singer.
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[edit] Early days
Robert Gordon grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of the nation's capitol of Washington, DC. At the age of nine (1956) he was greatly affected by the hit Elvis Presley song Heartbreak Hotel playing on the radio, and decided to pursue a Rock & Roll career at that young age[1]. His influences included Gene Vincent, Jack Scott, Billy Lee Riley, Eddie Cochran and other notable rock 'n roll artists of the period. He made his recording debut at age 17 (1964) with a group called the Confidentials. The Confidentials, with Robert (called Bob at the time) as lead singer recorded,amongst others: Summertime, Money,and There is something on your mind. These rare tracks were first released in 2004 on 40th Anniversary Celebration (a special promo CD released by Dutch author/collector Arjan Deelen).
When asked how he related to the sixties, Robert replied "I didn't." He didn't care much for the British Invasion but he identified with soul singers such as James Brown and Otis Redding whom he saw, among other great R&B acts, performing at Washington DC's famous Howard Theatre. During the turbulent times of the late sixties, with the rioting and anti-war protests of the period, Robert served in the National Guard in DC. "I didn't want to be sent to Vietnam," he recalls[1].
[edit] Punk rock
Robert Gordon, referred to by friends and fans as R.G. [1], moved to New York City in 1970 and a few years later entered New York's thriving Punk Rock scene by joining a band called the Tuff Darts. Popular groups such as Blondie, The Ramones and Talking Heads would emerge from this scene. In 1976 the Tuff Darts recorded All for the love of Rock & Roll, Head over heels and Slash for a compilation album called Live at CBGB's, which included a number of other local NYC bands. That year,Robert appeared in a Punk/New Wave style film entitled Unmade Beds by underground film-maker Amos Poe. Blondie's Deborah Harry also appeared in the film.
[edit] Rockabilly revival
Record producer Richard Gottehrer discovered Robert during a rehearsal one afternoon with the Tuff Darts and soon afterward the two were talking about making a Rock & Roll record. Gottehrer was impressed with RG's baritone voice and rendition of Elvis Presley's One night[1]. After some conversation, Robert suggested working with guitar legend Link Wray. Wray was contacted and agreed to work with Robert and Richard. "Robert to me sounds alot like the early Elvis, back when he was at Sun Records," Wray would comment[1]. Robert Gordon with Link Wray on Private Stock Records was the result of this collaboration. The critics generally loved it and sales were good. Elvis Presley's tragic death coincided with the release of the single Red Hot from the album. The single received much radio airplay and for the first time in a long time (almost twenty years) rockabilly was on the radio again.
Robert made another album in 1978 with Link Wray on Private Stock called Fresh Fish Special. The Jordonaires, background vocalists for Elvis Presley, would contribute to this record. This album included a song written by Bruce Springsteen specifically for Robert entitled Fire. Springsteen also played piano on the tune. Unfortunately for Robert, the Pointer Sisters quickly covered the song which went to #2 on the charts and Robert's recording was overshadowed[1]. Just as the new album was gaining momentum, Private Stock went bankrupt[1]. These events greatly disappointed him.
[edit] RCA
In late '78, RCA records signed Gordon to a contract which he described as "a dream come true" to be on "Elvis' label"[1]. In February of 1979 Rock Billy Boogie was released, this time without Wray (the two had argued and broken up after touring for the last album). It would be Chris Spedding on lead guitar. The title track Rock Billy Boogie, Walk On By, It's Only Make Believe and The Catman got much radio airplay and the album broke into the top 100 charts. The next album Bad Boy released in 1980 had poor sales and Gordon split with lead guitar player Spedding. The next and last album for RCA was 1981's Are You Gonna Be The One. It is Gordon's best selling album to date, with more than 200,000 copies sold[1]. Danny Gatton played lead guitar on this record and Marshall Crenshaw penned the single Someday Someway which went to #76 on the charts.
[edit] Biker movie
In 1982 Gordon co-starred with Willem Dafoe in a fifties styled biker flick (inspired by Marlon Brando's The Wild One) called The Loveless. This was Dafoe's first feature starring role. Gordon composed most of the soundtrack including: Too young, I'm dreaming of you, Wastin' my time, Goodbye baby, and Calypso 17. Critics mostly raved about the soundtrack but disliked the film. The Loveless did poorly at the box office but is now considered a cult favorite.
[edit] MTV
RCA dropped Gordon after an argument over the budget for the next proposed album and he found himself without a label. Around this time of the early 1980's the MTV cable network began. MTV became very popular and a band much inspired by Robert Gordon, The Stray Cats, with numerous music videos, became very popular along with it, selling millions of records. During the mid- to late 80s, Robert Gordon alienated a lot of fans with his unpredictable behaviour and his change of style. He added various rocksongs to his setlist, grew a long ponytail, and dismissed his earlier rockabilly albums in interviews. Chris Spedding's guitarstyle had also changed considerably since '79, and many observers felt that his playing was quite unsympathetic and often had little or nothing to do with the song that they were playing. In a review in 'Now Dig This', Spedding's new guitar-stylings were cited as the main reason as to why the 1989 album 'Live at the Lone Star' is such a dismal release.
[edit] The Real Deal
There have been many re-issues of Gordon's recordings, and he has made many other albums on minor labels ever since. He continues to tour and make recordings to this day. Jerry Lee Lewis said of him "Robert Gordon is the real deal."[2]
[edit] Videos
- http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xar6t_robert-gordon-move-it
- http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjja0_robert-gordon-red-hot
Note: rare audio recordings can be found on the official website, www.robertgordon.dk
