Bruce Robb (producer)
| The Robbs | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Pop, rock |
| Labels | Mercury Records |
| Past members | Bruce Robb, Dee Robb, Joe Robb, Craig Robb |
The Robbs were an American 1960s pop and rock band from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. They are best known for being the house band on Dick Clark's mid-1960s show Where The Action Is. They are also known for placing the most singles on Billboard magazine's "Bubbling Under" chart (five as The Robbs, plus a final single as Cherokee) without ever once crossing over into the Billboard Hot 100.
The Robbs were centered around a band of brothers, all of whom adopted pseudonyms. The brothers were David Donaldson ("Dee Robb" - lead vocals and guitar), Robert Donaldson ("Bruce Robb" - guitar and vocals), and George Donaldson ("Joe Robb" - keyboards). The fourth member was unrelated family friend Craig Krampf ("Craig Robb" - drums). The band was founded in the early 1960s without Krampf, and recorded as Dee Robb, Robby & The Robbins, and Dee Robb & the Robins before settling on The Robbs and hiring Krampf in 1965.
Musically, the Robbs were noted for their use of harmony vocals, and instrumentation that was inspired by folk-rock, bubblegum music, and jangle pop.
Spotted by Dick Clark, the band was signed to Mercury Records in 1966, and moved to California to appear as regular performers on Where the Action Is during late 1966 and early 1967, replacing Paul Revere and the Raiders.
The band recorded with some regional success between 1966 and 1970, at first for Mercury and subsequently for a variety of record labels. Almost all of their singles charted on radio stations in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As well, their 1966 single "Race With The Wind" was a substantial hit in Chicago, and several other singles were breakout successes in smaller markets such as Honolulu, Hawaii and Columbus, Ohio. An early single was co-written and produced by the team of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who had earlier written a hit single for the (then) strictly studio-concocted band The Grass Roots. Sloan and Barri reportedly offered The Robbs a chance to step in and actually become The Grass Roots for both touring purposes and for future singles, but the group turned the offer down.
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