Blackhawk (band)

Blackhawk
Blackhawk in concert, 2024. From left to right: Dave Robbins, Henry Paul, and touring bassist Randy Threet
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country
Discography	Blackhawk discography
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Arista Nashville, Columbia, Rust Nashville, Loud & Proud, Mirror Lake
Spinoff of	Outlaws
Members	Henry Paul Dave Robbins Randy Threet[a]
Past members	Van Stephenson Anthony Crawford Jon Coleman Michael Randall
Website	blackhawklive.com

Blackhawk (sometimes stylized as BlackHawk) is an American country music band founded in 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of founding members Henry Paul (lead vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Dave Robbins (keyboards, vocals). They are accompanied by a backing band consisting of Randy Threet (bass guitar, vocals), Jeff Aulich (guitar), Jimmy Dormire (guitar), and Mike Bailey (drums). Paul, a then-former member of Southern rock band Outlaws, founded Blackhawk with Robbins and former solo singer Van Stephenson (vocals, guitar), both of whom had success as songwriters for other acts such as Restless Heart. Stephenson left shortly before his death from melanoma in 2001 and was replaced by Threet, then Anthony Crawford and Michael Randall; however, Threet has remained in the touring band. Robbins left in 2008 and was replaced with Jon Coleman before rejoining in 2010. After Paul re-established Outlaws in 2005, he, along with Robbins, Threet, and members of the backing band, have toured as both Outlaws and Blackhawk simultaneously.

Blackhawk was signed to Arista Nashville in 1993 and released their self-titled debut album in 1994. They also released Strong Enough (1995), Love & Gravity (1997), and The Sky's the Limit (1998), as well as a Greatest Hits package before leaving Arista in 2001. Their last major-label album was 2002's Spirit Dancer on Columbia Records, and all subsequent releases have been independent. Their albums accounted for several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the top-ten hits "Every Once in a While", "I Sure Can Smell the Rain", "Down in Flames", "That's Just About Right", "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No", "Like There Ain't No Yesterday", and "There You Have It" between 1994 and 1999. Blackhawk's music combines influences of Southern rock with country, and is noted for vocal harmony and prominent use of mandolin.

Lead vocalist Henry Paul, prior to the foundation of Blackhawk, was a member of the rock band Outlaws and also recorded several albums as the Henry Paul Band.^[2] He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1987 to pursue songwriting. Soon afterward, he left Outlaws as he wanted to pursue a career in country music instead. Through his connections as a songwriter, he met Van Stephenson and Dave Robbins. Stephenson had previously been a rock singer who had a hit in 1984 with "Modern Day Delilah",^[2][3] and both he and Robbins had found success in the mid-late 1980s as country music songwriters. Among these were several songs for Restless Heart such as "The Bluest Eyes in Texas". Paul had initially wanted to record as a solo artist after leaving Outlaws. Tim DuBois, who co-wrote "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" and was serving as Restless Heart's producer, suggested Paul form a band with Stephenson and Robbins, as they had wanted to do so after being inspired by the success of Restless Heart. In 1992, the three musicians began writing songs together and recording demos.^[4] They initially found the process unsuccessful, but later found a shared interest in vocal harmony and use of acoustic instruments, which would help form their sound. Paul assumed the role of lead vocalist, guitarist, and mandolinist, with Robbins on baritone harmony and Stephenson on tenor harmony; respectively, the latter two also contributed on keyboard and guitar as well.^[4] The musicians chose the name "Blackhawk" from the Stutz Blackhawk, a model of car.^[2][3] DuBois was at the time president of Arista Nashville (the country music division of Arista Records, with whom Paul was signed as a member of Outlaws), and signed Blackhawk to a record deal in 1993.^[2][4]

Arista Nashville released Blackhawk's self-titled debut album in February 1994.^[4] DuBois and Mark Bright served as its producers.^[5] The album was preceded by its lead single "Goodbye Says It All", which peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.^[6] Next was "Every Once in a While", a song co-written by all three members of the band. In early 1994, it peaked at number two on Hot Country Songs,^[6] and number one on the country music charts of Radio & Records.^[6] After this, three more top-ten country hits were released from the album: "I Sure Can Smell the Rain", "Down in Flames", and a cover of Jeff Black's "That's Just About Right".^[6] Another cut included on the album was a cover of Kennedy Rose's "Love Like This".^[7][8] By 1996, Blackhawk was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), honoring shipments of two million copes in the United States.^[9] Additionally, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) nominated Blackhawk for Top New Vocal Group or Duet.^[10] They also received nominations for Vocal Group of the Year in 1995 and 1996 from both the ACM and the Country Music Association (CMA).^[11]

Blackhawk was met with mixed critical reception. An uncredited review in Billboard was favorable toward Paul's lead vocals and the band's Southern rock influences, but thought tracks such as "Goodbye Says It All" were "down the middle".^[5] An uncredited review in The Modesto Bee said, "pleasantly layered harmonies and easy listening arrangements abound, but there's little originality."^[12] Michael Hight of New Country magazine rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, comparing the band's harmonies to Bread and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and noting the use of mandolin in the arrangements. Hight was more mixed toward the lyrics and thought the album had a "radio-oriented" sound.^[13] Greg Burliuk of The Kingston Whig-Standard was more favorable, highlighting the band's vocal harmony and saying that they "attack each song vigorously".^[14] Blackhawk promoted the album through their first tour, where they served as an opening act for Tim McGraw.^[15] For concert purposes, they established a touring band initially composed of Dale Oliver (lead guitar), Tere Bertke (bass guitar), and Bobby Huff (drums).^[16]

Blackhawk's second studio album was 1996's Strong Enough.^[4] In the process of selecting songs, Bright chose 30 songs out of over 900 which had been submitted to him, and presented them to Blackhawk while they were touring.^[17] Among the contributing writers were Mutt Lange, Henry Gross, and Dennis Linde.^[18] It debuted at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart upon release, making it the highest-debuting album by a group or band on the country music charts since Alabama's The Closer You Get... in 1983.^[15] Arista Nashville promoted the album through commercials on CMT.^[15] The album's lead single, Lange's "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No", also peaked at number two on Hot Country Songs upon release.^[6] Next was "Like There Ain't No Yesterday", which went to number three on the same chart.^[6] Both songs also peaked at number one on the Canadian country music charts, then published by RPM.^[19][20] The album's next two singles were "Almost a Memory Now" and "Big Guitar", both top 20 hits on Hot Country Songs.^[6] Stephenson and Robbins co-wrote "Almost a Memory Now", while Paul collaborated with Gross on "Big Guitar".^[18][6] However, the final single, "King of the World" (also a Jeff Black cover), failed to reach top 40.^[6] Strong Enough was certified gold by the RIAA, honoring U.S. shipments of 500,000 copies.^[9] Of this album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in AllMusic that it "finds the group consolidating their strengths as songwriters and performers. Throughout the album, the group turns in first-rate songs and tight performances, distinguished by their strong harmonies."^[21] An uncredited Billboard review praised the energy of Paul's vocal delivery, as well as the variety of songwriters.^[18]

In 1997, Arista released Blackhawk's third album, Love & Gravity.^[2] The band chose to focus more on songs written by themselves than on previous albums, and wrote several tracks while on the road. One of these, "If That Was a Lie", was the first song in their career to feature Stephenson singing lead vocals instead of Paul. Songs that they wrote which did not make it onto the album were given to other artists, with one such song being recorded by the Buffalo Club.^[22] Also included were covers of Heart's "Will You Be There (In the Morning)" (also written by Lange) and Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy".^[23][22] Nashville-based producer Mike Clute assisted Bright in production, doing so on digital audio workstations made by Fairlight, and making Love & Gravity one of the first country albums to be recorded entirely on digital equipment.^[24] Mike Dungan, senior vice president of Arista Nashville at the time, created a website for the band and arranged for a multi-artist pool party at a Nashville apartment complex to help promote the album.^[22] The band also performed a concert for 5,000 shoppers at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and signed more than 1,000 copies of the album at the mall's Sam Goody store.^[25] Despite the promotions, the album accounted for only two unsuccessful singles, "Hole in My Heart" (written by Robbins, Stephenson, and Desmond Child) and "Postmarked Birmingham" (co-written by Phil Vassar), which both peaked in the 30s on Hot Country Songs.^[6] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Thom Owens wrote that "several of the songs are simply unmemorable [but] its best moments demonstrate that Blackhawk is more talented and diverse than their previous two albums would suggest."^[26] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time thought the Heart and Andrew Gold covers, as well as the string section on "Postmarked Birmingham", suggested a more pop influence than the band's first two albums.^[23] Billboard writer Deborah Evans Price later attributed the failure of Love & Gravity to the band "stretching out" with songs that proved unpopular with radio.^[27]

In 1998, Blackhawk covered the Christmas hymn "We Three Kings" on Arista Nashville's compilation Star of Wonder: A Country Christmas Collection, which featured all artists on the label at the time performing various Christmas songs. Blackhawk's rendition charted in 1998 from seasonal airplay.^[6] Also released that same year was their fourth Arista album, The Sky's the Limit.^[2] Of this album, Paul said that he wanted the band to undo the experimental tracks of Love & Gravity and record an album more consistent in tone to their first two, an opinion also shared by executives at Arista Nashville.^[27] Among the tracks included on this project was "Always Have, Always Will", their first cut with Robbins on lead vocals.^[27] Arista Nashville promoted the album by holding radio contests for listeners to win advance copies of the album in markets where they had determined Blackhawk's music was still popular with listeners.^[27] Lead single "There You Have It" charted in the top five of Hot Country Songs in early 1999, also accounting for the band's only Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 41. The only other single from the album was "Your Own Little Corner of My Heart".^[6] Wahlert reviewed this project favorably, praising the "high-energy" sound and the lyrics of the track "Who Am I Now" in particular.^[28] Owens stated of this album that "they have more confidence, not only in their performances but in the way they merge their pop songwriting instincts with more authentic country instrumentation."^[29]

This was followed in 2000 by Greatest Hits. In addition to most of their singles to this point, the album included "Always Have, Always Will" and three new tracks. Among these were "Ships of Heaven", written by Stephenson, and the album's only single, "I Need You All the Time".^[6][30] During release of this project, Stephenson quit the group due to complications of melanoma, of which he would die in April 2001.^[2] Following Stephenson's departure, Randy Threet (who had taken over as bassist in their road band) began to fill in on tenor harmony. Also in their touring band at this point were guitarist Chris Anderson and drummer Mike Radowski.^[31]

Due to a change in ownership at Arista Nashville, the band was dropped from that label and signed soon afterwards to Columbia Records's Nashville branch.^[32] Their only Columbia album, Spirit Dancer, accounted for the low-charting singles "Days of America" and "One Night in New Orleans".^[6] William Ruhlmann thought the album was more "personal" than previous efforts, and also thought the lyrics were inspired by Stephenson's death. His review also highlighted "Days of America" and "Brothers of the Southland" for their lyrics.^[33] Another track from Spirit Dancer, "Gloryland", was later covered by Keni Thomas in 2005 with backing vocals from Blackhawk.^[6] In 2003, guitarist Anthony Crawford took over as Blackhawk's tenor vocalist. Prior to joining Blackhawk, he had toured as a guitarist for Steve Winwood and Neil Young.^[34]

In 2005, Paul chose to re-establish Outlaws after reuniting with guitarist Hughie Thomasson. The re-established lineup of Outlaws initially included Robbins and Anderson, alongside drummer Monte Yoho and, following Thomasson's death in 2007, guitarist Billy Crain. Yoho and Crain joined Blackhawk on tour as well.^[35] Paul toured with Outlaws while maintaining his membership in Blackhawk.^[36] Additionally, Paul and Robbins founded the Van Stephenson Fund in 2006 to raise money for cancer research.^[37]

Also in 2006 Blackhawk signed with Rust Nashville. Their first release for the label was a single titled "Better at Hello", intended to lead off their first Rust album For the Sake of the Song.^[38] Also released on Rust was a second single, "Who's Gonna Rock Ya".^[2] Shortly afterward, the band joined Restless Heart and Little Texas on the "Triple Threat" tour, which ran through 2007.^[39] Crawford exited Blackhawk in 2006 due to creative differences, and was briefly replaced by Michael Randall.^[2] Additionally, Rust Nashville closed in early 2007, leaving For the Sake of the Song unreleased.^[40] Threet, who had stayed in the touring band, reverted to tenor vocalist after Randall left.^[41] Robbins quit Blackhawk in 2008, citing a desire to focus more on his songwriting.^[42] He was replaced by Jon Coleman, who had also performed with Outlaws. At this point, Paul, Threet, and Coleman were backed by guitarists Chris Anderson and Billy Crain and drummer Monte Yoho.^[43] With this lineup in place, the band released a live album, Greatest Hits Live, on Airline Records in 2008.^[2] By 2009, they were doing 80 to 100 shows a year.^[44]

Coleman left and Robbins rejoined in 2010. By this point, Blackhawk began crediting only Paul and Robbins as members of the group proper, although Threet remained in the backing band.^[2] In 2011, they independently released the album Down from the Mountain.^[2] Paul and Robbins continued to tour as members of both Blackhawk and Outlaws at this point.^[45] In 2014, Paul and Robbins released the album Brothers of the Southland. The title track was co-written by Jim Peterik, and was previously recorded by the band on Spirit Dancer in 2002. Also included were re-recordings of demos the band had previously done before singing with Arista Nashville in the 1990s. Yoho and Anderson also contributed to the album, as did Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Paul Riddle of the Marshall Tucker Band. Brian Mansfield of USA Today described the album as a "tribute" to Southern rock artists who had died, and thought the album would appeal to fans of Blackhawk's earlier work.^[46]

Paul and Robbins announced in late 2016 that they would begin working on their first Christmas album.^[47] The album, The Spirit of Christmas, was released in 2019.^[48] This was followed in 2020 by a live album titled Just About Right: Live from Atlanta, recorded at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, in 2017.^[1] Next in 2022 was the studio album Blue Highway, consisting of songs they had written with Stephenson in the 1990s. All twelve songs were original demo recordings with new instrumentation added.^[37] As of 2024, Blackhawk remains active as a touring act. Their touring band consists of guitarists Jeff Aulich and Jimmy Dormire (previously of Confederate Railroad), bassist and tenor vocalist Randy Threet, and drummer Mike Bailey. All members of Blackhawk and their touring band also tour as Outlaws.^[49]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the founding members's experience as songwriters and membership in a Southern rock band were influential in their sound, stating, "As a band, Blackhawk merged this sense of songcraft and outlaw swagger in an arena-sized melodic sound that suited the rockin' country of the '90s."^[2] The publishers of Country Music: The Encyclopedia also found Southern rock influence in Blackhawk's sound, while also finding the vocal harmony of the original lineup similar to Restless Heart. They furthered the comparison to Restless Heart due in part to DuBois's involvement in founding the band, as well as Stephenson's and Robbins's success in writing songs for that band prior to the foundation of Blackhawk.^[4] Wahlert described the band's sound as combining electric guitar, mandolin, and vocal harmonies.^[28][50] Hight thought the use of vocal harmony and prominent mandolin made the band comparable to Diamond Rio, who were also on Arista Nashville at the time.^[13] Shirley Jenkins, in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article reprinted in the Anchorage Daily News, also compared the band's sound to Restless Heart and Outlaws, stating that they had "close harmonies with traditional acoustic instruments and an electric guitar edge."^[51] The Los Angeles Times writer Buddy Seigal described the sound of Blackhawk's debut album as having "tight three-part harmonies [and] jangling guitars and mandolins".^[52]

In the same article, Paul thought the band would appeal to fans of country rock and Southern rock artists such as the Marshall Tucker Band.^[52] Paul has cited Poco, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, and Johnny Cash as his influences.^[4] Stephenson said he was influenced by rock music of the 1960s and 1970s, and his decision to be in a three-piece group was due to him having previously performed in similar groups while in college.^[51] Billboard, in a review of their debut album, characterized Paul's lead vocal as "road-hardened".^[5] Wahlert called his voice "distinctive [and] rough",^[28] while Ron Young of MusicRow considered his voice "pinched" and reminiscent of Huey Lewis.^[53] Nick Krewen of the Waterloo Region Record said that Paul's "nasal intonation gives Blackhawk their distinct sound."^[54]

Of their lyrical content, Hight called "I Sure Can Smell the Rain" an "enjoyable character sketch".^[13] Dennis Miller of the Star-Gazette described the songs on their debut as "literate", highlighting "I Sure Can Smell the Rain" and "That's Just About Right". He called the latter song "inspirational", and thought the album track "Between Ragged and Wrong" had a theme of individualism.^[55] Similarly, an uncredited review of "That's Just About Right" in Billboard described the song as having a "thought-provoking lyric and hook-filled melody".^[56] Despite all three founding members of Blackhawk being songwriters, Stephenson stated that they chose to include material written by others as well, so that they could "let other people do what they do best."^[51]

Current

• Henry Paul - lead vocals, guitar, mandolin (1993–present)
• Dave Robbins - keyboards, baritone vocals (1993–2008, 2010–present)

Former

• Jon Coleman - keyboards, vocals (2008–10)
• Anthony Crawford - tenor vocals, guitar (2003–06)
• Michael Randall - tenor vocals, guitar (2006–07)
• Van Stephenson - tenor vocals, guitar (1993–2001)

Touring

• Jeff Aulich - guitar
• Mike Bailey - drums
• Jimmy Dormire - guitar
• Randy Threet - bass guitar, tenor vocals

Former touring

• Chris Anderson - guitar
• Tere Bertke - bass guitar
• Billy Crain - guitar
• Bobby Huff - drums
• Dale Oliver - guitar
• Mike Radowski - drums
• Monte Yoho - drums

• Blackhawk (1994)
• Strong Enough (1995)
• Love & Gravity (1997)
• The Sky's the Limit (1998)
• Spirit Dancer (2002)
• Down from the Mountain (2011)
• Brothers of the Southland (2014)
• The Spirit of Christmas (2019)
• Blue Highway (2022)

Footnotes

• Official website