Soul and R&B vocalist Rockie Robbins was born Edward Robbins, Jr. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became interested in music at an early age thanks to easy access to his uncle’s record shop. By the age of 11, he had already collected over 10,000 singles and had set his sights on a career as a singer. He signed with A&M Records in 1979 and began recording his debut album. When the sessions were complete, the tapes were sent to the record company and were accidentally erased in transit. At that point, Rockie Robbins had to re-record the entire album from scratch. The self-titled debut album was finally released in 1979 and included the single “Be Ever Wonderful”, which reached Number 67 on the Billboard R&B chart. The album was not a huge commercial success, but A&M Records had faith in Rockie Robbins, so they sent him back into the studio to work on his second album. Released in 1980, You and Me was the vocalist’s sophomore release. The album was more successful than his debut album, reaching Number 71 on the R&B Albums chart. After the release of his commercially disappointing 1981 album I Believe in Love, he recorded a fourth album for A&M, which remains unreleased. Rockie Robbins left A&M and eventually signed a new deal with MCA Records in 1984, immediately landing his song “Emergency” on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. His first album for the label was the 1985 self-titled release, which featured the charting single “We Belong Together”. Rockie Robbins left MCA Records, releasing a few singles in the early 1990s before disappearing from the music scene for several years. In England, there was a resurgence of interest in his music, inspiring him to release another album – 2019’s Good Life – and tour the UK.
