Chris Robinson

Chris Robinson earned a reputation with the Black Crowes as a shag-coifed throwback to the days when Rod Stewart and Steve Marriott ruled the cock-rock roost. But in the ensuing years, Robinson has become almost as famous for being arm candy to Hollywood heiress Kate Hudson. The singer’s first post-Crowes album, 2002’s New Earth Mud, was lost in the celebrity glare. And though Mud‘s relaxed tempos contrasted starkly with the Crowes’ blustery swagger, songs such as “Sunday Sound” retained Robinson’s soulful vocal abilities while underscoring his lost-in-love happiness. With a new album on the way, Robinson and New Earth Mud have picked up where the Crowes left off as regulars of the jam-band circuit, where their red-eyed grooves fit like a dirty Birkenstock.