Robbin Thompson. The singer song-writer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Melborne, Florida where his Dad worked as a ‘missile man” for NASA and in his latter years he lived in Richmond, Virginia. Robbin was a real talent and had so many famous musicians in his network a book could be filled with his resume. Stephen Stills, Bruce Springsteen, Waddy Watchel, Steve Cropper, Timothy B. Schmit, and more. Robbin was awesome on a stage or in a recording studio. He wrote great songs, loved his family, and had many good friends. I was one of them. Robbin was one of those people that I never spent a lot of time with but we developed a relationship that would have us call each other just to see how things were going. To this day I keep a 2013 voicemail he left me on my phone. I can’t bring myself to erase it. I still have all of the radio breaks he did for my show back eighteen years ago. More on that shortly let’s talk vinyl!
It’s Turntable Tuesday because life is too short not to listen to great music! TURN THAT TV OFF! Crank up your local speaker with your favorite music! Get on your computer and order some merchandise from your favorite artist during these times of very limited live music. Tip your favorite band on a live stream or do something to take care of the music community! One day soon live music will return and Turntable Tuesday will continue!
Today I opened a sealed 40 year old vinyl album from the late great Robbin Thompson. This one is called “two b’s please.” It features some of the most popular tracks from Robbin Thompson although he has many great songs in his catalog that came later in his career. Many of the songs on this album are the ones fans still remember to this day. Track one on side A is “Sweet Virginia Breeze.” Robbin wrote this song with his long time collaborator Steve Bassett in 1978. In 2015 “Sweet Virginia Breeze” was unanimously voted by the Virginia legislature as the official popular state song of Virginia along with “Our Great Virginia” as the official song. That is quite an accomplishment for any artist. “Candy Apple Red” and “Brite Eyes” hit the charts well and this is just side A. Side B has some interesting tracks but the one I find noteworthy is “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.” Robbin wrote this one that has the same name as the Tim Robbins novel from 1976. This is a different version than the Rodney Crowell hit but one I that enjoy having on my turntable.
The credits on this album are a long read but you will notice a familiar name in one Timothy B. Schmit. That is the same guy who played with everyone from Poco to Jimmy Buffett, and is one of the Eagles. Timothy and Robbin were close friends and worked together on many of Robbin’s albums. I know from a phone conversation once that they were hanging out on Robbin’s boat “The Song Bird” up on the Chesapeake Bay. You can see a photo of that boat below that Robbin had jokingly taped to the wall behind him on a stage at a gig.
That is all for Turntable Tuesday! I have so many stories from my times with Robbin that I want to share I may stretch out the podcast a bit this week. See ya over there if you want to listen in. Meanwhile crank up some vinyl and join us for Turntable Tuesday!
I have many stories over on my older google blog from some time ago. Some of those stories are at this link: https://downsouthradiohour.blogspot.com/search?q=robbin+thompson
As I finish this article I keep thinking about the last few months of Robbin’s life. He was dealing with a rare form of cancer he had successfully fought for many years. I knew he was traveling up to New York for special treatments and I would call him from time to time to see how he was doing. I remember the weekend in October of 2015 when Robbin passed away and where I was when I heard the news. I was sitting in front of a fireplace at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia having a drink and relaxing before dinner. My old music promoter friend from Virginia Tony Turner texted me and told me the news. This text took my breath and I felt like I had just lost a family member. On that day I did lose a brother. Robbin was a really special person and I am so glad I got to know him. Go explore his vast collection of great music. “Nuff said. Until next time I’ll see you , down the road.
