American rock veterans The Black Crowes are no more. The shock announcement came from founding guitarist Rich Robinson, who broke the news to, and hearts of, fans earlier today.
“It is with great disappointment and regret that after having the privilege of writing and performing the music of The Black Crowes over the last 24 years, I find myself in the position of saying that the band has broken up”, Robinson said in a statement (via Billboard). “I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished.”
It appears as though bad blood between Rich and his brother, founding vocalist Chris Robinson, is what has ultimately led to the band’s demise. “I love my brother and respect his talent,” the guitarist continues. “But his present demand that I must give up my equal share of the band and that our drummer for 28 years and original partner, Steve Gorman, relinquish 100% of his share, reducing him to a salaried employee, is not something I could agree to.”
The break-up should come as no surprise to fans of the band. Their success has been marred by its founding brothers’ public feuds since the early days. Two such feuds notoriously drove them into extended hiatus, the latest in 2010.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in just October of last year, drummer Gorman had already called time. “The likelihood of us doing anything again is as low as it’s ever been,” he said. “We could obviously all see things differently in a year, but I’ll be surprised if the Black Crowes do something again. Ever.”
In dealing what appears to be the final blow today, Rich Robinson took the time to thank all those who have supported the band and shared in their journey over the past two and a half decades. “I want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of our fans, our friends behind the scenes, and to everyone who was a part of The Black Crowes,” he said.
The Georgia-bred group released their debut LP, Shake Your Money Maker, in 1990, which has since been certified five-times platinum thanks to singles like Hard to Handle and She Talks to Angels.
According to Jambase, their final performance took place on December of 2013 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Their last Australian tour was in 2008.
