BRUCE ROBB first earned national attention alongside his brothers in their 1960’s folk rock band, The Robbs. The Robbs were discovered by Dick Clark at his Young World’s Fair at the International Ampitheatre in Chicago, and were immediately brought to California to become the house band on Clark’s hit music television show, Where The Action Is. Over the course of their performing years, The Robbs were recorded on Chess, Argo, RCA, Mercury, Atlantic and ABC/Dunhill record labels, and toured with major acts ranging from Jerry Lee Lewis to The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and even a little-known performance with The Rolling Stones.

Bruce, the youngest of the famous Robb brothers, made the family shift from performing to producing and engineering records when they converted a little barn on their Chatsworth ranch into the first known “home studio” and recorded Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic. Little Richard, Del Shannon, Electric Light Orchestra and the first disco record produced by Bob Crewe soon followed. Actually, the way the brothers describe it, it was not a conscious decision to abandon performing for production. They just suddenly realized that a year had gone by and they were no longer touring – something that had been the major focus of Bruce’s life since he joined their band at the age of thirteen. After over twelve years on the road and thousands of live shows, staying put for a minute was a welcome change. A chance opportunity arrived to purchase MGM Record’s studios on Fairfax Avenue. It was time to relocate from the funky little barn with a tree growing through it, which they had named Cherokee Studios. The Robb’s new recording complex would grow to become at its height of success, one of the largest and most famous independent recording studios in the world with nearly 300 Gold and Platinum albums to its credit.

As one of the owner/operators and award-winning producer/engineers of Cherokee Studios, Bruce Robb continued his musical ride in the control room on the other side of the glass for the next 32 years. Teaming up with legendary guitar player Steve Cropper, the formidable production duo made records for close to twenty years together with some of music’s most luminary talent, including Wilson Picket, Harry Nilsson, Lee Von Helm, Booker T & the MGs and John Mellencamp. While Bruce kept busy with his own productions and engineering for acts like Ricky Lee Jones, Art Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra, the studio with the amazing “vibe” stayed booked 24/7, cranking out Gold and Platinum hit after hit for music legends like Elton John, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rod Stewart and Ringo Starr.

With film and television clients like John Carpenter, David Lynch and Aaron Spelling, Bruce has developed an expertise as a music supervisor-producer. He relies very little on licensed music and almost always avoids placing hit songs that may be distracting. Instead, he applies a rare gift of musically matching the picture’s rhythm and soul with a well-crafted original and uniquely performed soundtrack, recorded specifically to be mixed in 5.1 and 7.1. He believes that the tempo and approach can change, but the “feel” doesn’t. As a result, Bruce’s innate understanding of cadence for music in film is well-regarded by both directors and music supervisors alike.

With his continuously evolving career, Bruce has become proficient in many areas of music, but the gift he deems most valuable is a unique ability to recognize and develop genuine talent, a contributing factor to the studio’s impressive list of first-release Gold records. Working with his brothers/former bandmates as Robb Brothers Productions, Bruce produced hit records with Evan Dando’s The Lemonheads, including It’s A Shame About Ray and Come on Feel. Dando’s hit single “Into My Arms” continues to be used today in feature films and commercials. Bruce’s more recent work with Shelby Lynne turned out a critically acclaimed album that sparked a bidding war that was won by Capital Records.

While Bruce’s career focus shifted to music production, he didn’t abandon his passion for playing and performing. Bruce Robb is recognized as one of the foremost players of the legendary Hammond B3 organ, a unique instrument frequently described as “the glue that holds the music tracks together.” In Bruce’s words, “It is pure soul,” and he continues to lend this sound to a large number of the projects that are recorded at the studio today as well as occasionally performing live. Bruce considers his musicianship a grounding force in his approach to everything he does in the music industry, prompting his frequent expression, “It’s just music.”

Bruce Robb is currently producing new talent at Cherokee Studios and co-founded a new independent record label, Quarter2Three, with a business model that he hopes will offer a bridge to the truly gifted artists that the major labels frequently miss. He is a voting member of NARAS and is available for speaking panels, workshops about the music industry, as well as other publicity inquiries.

Links

Bruce Robb's Official Website

Quarter2Three Records

Cherokee Recording Studios official site

Cherokee Studios Music Group