The Robins
| The Robins | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
The Robbins A-Sharp Trio The Four Bluebirds |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | R&B |
| Years active | 1945–1960 |
| Labels |
Spark Whippet RCA |
| Associated acts |
Johnny Otis The Coasters |
| Past members |
Bobby Nunn (deceased) "Ty" Terrell Leonard Billy Richard Roy Richard Grady Chapman Carl Gardner H.B. Barnum Bobby Sheen "Little" Billy Richards, Jr. |
The Robins were a successful and influential African American R&B group of the late 1940s and 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal bands who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound.
Music Producers/Songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller took two members of the Robins to form the Coasters.[1]
Original members
- Bobby Nunn (20 September 1925, Birmingham, Alabama - 5 November 1986, Los Angeles, California, lead and bassist)
- Terrell "Ty" Leonard (vocals)
- Billy Richard (vocals)
- Roy Richard (vocals)
Singles
- My Baby Done Told Me/Courtroom Blues (by Johnny Otis) (Excelsior #540) (1948) (as The Four Bluebirds)
- Around About Midnight/You Sure Look Good To Me (Score #4010) (1949) (as The Robbins)
- Don’t Like The Way You’re Doing/Come Back Baby (Aladdin #3031) (1949) (as The Robbins)
- If I Didn’t Love You So/If It’s So Baby (Savoy #726) (12/1949)
- Double Crossin' Blues/Ain’t Nothin' Shakin' (by Leon Sims) (Savoy #731) (1/1950) (Little Esther) (backup vocals)
- Double Crossin' Blues/Back Alley Blues (by Beale Street Boys) (Savoy #731) (1950) (Little Esther) (backup vocals)
- Turkey Hop Part One/Turkey Hop Part Two (Savoy #732) (2/1950)
- Our Romance Is Gone/There Ain’t No Use Beggin (Savoy #738) (4/1950)
- I’m Living O. K./There’s Rain In My Eyes (Savoy #752) (6/1950)
- I’m Through/You’re Fine But Not My Kind (Savoy #762) (8/1950)
- Cry Baby/I'm Not Falling In Love With You (by Johnny Otis) (Regent #1016) (1950) (Mel Walker & the Bluenotes)
- Race Of Man/Bayou Baby Blues (with Maggie Hathaway) (Recorded In Hollywood #112) (1950)
- A Falling Star/When Gabriel Blows His Horn (Recorded In Hollywood 121) (1950) (Maggie Hathaway & The Robins)
- I Found Me A Sugar Daddy/Gonna Have A Merry Christmas (RPM #313) (12/1950) (with Mickey Champion) (as The Nic Nacs)
- Rockin/That’s What The Good Book Says (Modern #20-807) (3/1951) (as The Robbins)
- I Found Me A Sugar Daddy/You Didn’t Want My Love (RPM #316) (1951) (as The Nic Nacs)
- Schoolgirl Blues/Early Morning Blues (Recorded In Hollywood #150) (1951) (side A with Maggie Hathaway)
- I Found Me A Sugar Daddy/Gonna Have A Merry Christmas (RPM #342) (1951) (as The Nic Nacs)
- Saturday Night Daddy/Mainliner (Federal #12100) (7/1952) (Little Esther) (backup vocals)
- A Fool Such As I/My Heart’s The Biggest Fool (RCA Victor #5175) (1952)
- Oh Why/All Night Baby (RCA Victor #5271) (1952)
- How Would You Know?/Let’s Go To The Dance (RCA Victor #5434) (1953)
- My Baby Done Told Me/I’ll Do It (RCA Victor #5486) (1953)
- Ten Days In Jail/Empty Bottles (RCA Victor #5489) (1953)
- Get It Off Your Mind/Don’t Stop Now (RCA Victor #5564) (11/1953)
- I Made A Vow/Double Crossin' Baby (Crown #106) (12/1953)
- Sacroiliac Swing/The World Is Changing (Crown #108) (1954) (as The Drifters)
- Key To My Heart/All I Do Is Rock (Crown #120) (2/1954) (as The Robbins)
- Riot In Cell Block #9/Wrap It Up (Spark #103) (5/1954)
- Loop De Loop Mambo/Framed (Spark #107) (1954)
- If Teardrops Were Kisses/Whadaya Want? (Spark #110) (1954)
- One Kiss/I Love Paris (Spark #113) (1955)
- I Must Be Dreamin'/The Hatchet Man (Spark #116) (1955)
- Smokey Joe's Cafe[1]/Just Like A Fool (Spark #122) (10/1955)
- Smokey Joe's Cafe/Just Like A Fool (Atco #6059) (12/1955)
- Cherry Lips/Out Of The Picture (Whippet #200) (7/1956)
- Hurt Me/Merry Go Rock (Whippet #201) (1956)
- Since I First Met You/That Old Black Magic (Whippet #203) (1957)
- A Fool In Love/All Of a Sudden My Heart Sings (Whippet #206) (1957)
- Every Night/Where’s The Fire? (Whippet #208) (1957)
- In My Dreams/Keep Your Mind On Me (Whippet #211) (1958)
- Snowball/You Wanted Fun (Whippet #212) (1958)
- A Quarter To Twelve/Pretty Little Dolly (Knight #2001) (1958)
- A Little Bird Told Me/It’s Never Too Late (Knight #2008) (1959)
- Just Like That/Whole Lot Of Imagination (Arvee #5001) (1959)
- Live Wire Susie/Oh No (Arvee #5013) (1960)
- Ding Dong (A.K.A. Saw Wood Mountain)/Sweet Thing (Eldo #109) (1960) (as The Ding Dongs)
- The White Cliffs Of Dover/How Many More Times (Lavender #001) (1961)
- White Cliffs Of Dover/Image Of A Girl (Gloria Gold #3101) (B-side by The Safaris)
- Magic Of A Dream/Mary Lou Loves To Hootchy Kootchy Koo (Lavender #002) (1961)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Leiber & Stoller interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)