THE BLACK CROWES will release "1972", a collection of cover versions of six songs from that year, exclusively on Amazon Music on May 4. The first single, a version of THE TEMPTATIONS' "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", is out now. The EP also includes THE ROLLING STONES' "Rocks Off", T.REX's "The Slider", Rod Stewart's "You Wear It Well", LITTLE FEAT's "Easy To Slip" and David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream".
THE BLACK CROWES guitarist Rich Robinson told Rolling Stone: "The cool thing about it to me is how broad the spectrum of music was and how it was all on the same radio station." Singer Chris Robinson said that 1972 was a pivotal year when "rock and roll music represented this cosmic American music vibe. These are some of the holy relics of rock and roll," he said.
As for new original music from THE BLACK CROWES, the plan is for the Robinson brothers to hit the studio in January, with Chris telling Rolling Stone that he has finished his portion of "15 or 20" songs.
THE BLACK CROWES recently announced a 2022 North American tour celebrating their classic 1990 debut album, "Shake Your Money Maker". The 34-date trek will kick off on June 9 and run through July 24 before picking up again on August 13 and concluding on August 27.
The 2021 leg of THE BLACK CROWES' "Shake Your Money Maker" tour ended last September at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York.
Joining Chris and Rich in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are longtime bassist Sven Pipien, who played with the band live from 1997 up until the band's hiatus in 2015, along with Brian Griffin on drums, Joel Robinow on keyboards and Isaiah Mitchell on guitar, plus backup singers Mackenzie Adams and Leslie Grant.
Rich told Cleveland.com that he and his brother wanted to re-start THE BLACK CROWES with a clean slate. "There was a strong agenda in the band [previously] to keep Chris and I apart and keep Chris and I fighting," he said. "We just didn't want to have to deal with any of that negative [stuff], so it had to be this way in order for it to be what we want."
"Shake Your Money Maker" was re-released in multi-formats sets in February 2021 through UMe/American Recordings. The album, fueled by singles "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard", "She Talks To Angels" and a cover of fellow Georgian Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", has sold over five million copies.
Last month, former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman filed a lawsuit against the paid over unpaid royalties. In his complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Chris and Rich and The Black Crowes Partnership, Gorman claimed faulty accounting resulted in him missing out on royalties from THE BLACK CROWES' classic albums.
