Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson always served as the creative center for the Black Crowes. Good thing, because they’re the only members of the current lineup who appear on 2026’s ballot for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Eligible for a quiet decade, the Black Crowes have now been nominated for two straight years. The other band honorees would include early guitarist Jeff Cease (1989-91), classic-era bassist Johnny Colt (1989–1997), two-stint guitarist Marc Ford (1991-97, 2005-06), long-serving drummer Steve Gorman (1989-2002, 2005-15) and the late keyboardist Eddie Harsch 1992-2002, 2005-06).

Gorman is by far the best-known of former Black Crowes members, but his split with the group was also the most acrimonious. It’s unclear if he’d join the Robinson brothers at a future induction ceremony. Following the Black Crowes’ nomination, Chris Robinson would only say that making amends would have to take place “down the road.”

Black Crowes’ Late-Career Resurgence Bolsters Their Resume

The Black Crowes mounted their second reunion in 2019 without Gorman, just as he prepared to release a tell-all autobiography titled Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes – A Memoir. He later sued the Robinsons for unpaid back royalties; the lawsuit was settled without revealing terms. Chris and Rich Robinson moved forward with impressive late-career creative momentum.

READ MORE: Top 10 Black Crowes Songs

The recently released Pound of Feathers marks the second new album in three years from the resurgent Black Crowes, who’ve also issued an EP of cool covers and a live recording celebrating their debut album. The new music only bolsters a sturdy Rock Hall resume that includes almost eight million albums sold in the U.S. alone. Here are five reasons why the second time should be the charm for the Black Crowes:

 

No. 1. The Black Crowes Steered Rock Back to an Earlier, Grimier Era

Nirvana tends to get the lion’s share of the credit for pulling rock back from the brink of hair-band irrelevancy, but the Black Crowes had already laid the groundwork with 1990’s five-times-platinum Shake Your Money Maker. (Guns N’ Roses would like a word, as well.) This was grimy, groove rock in the style of the Rolling Stones, the Faces and Aerosmith, but with its own redneck dive-bar swagger.

In an era when even Heart had capitulated to the power ballad trend with “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You,” the rootsy dope-sick ballad “She Talks to Angels” was a throwback in the very best sense of the word. Over the course of a rangy, organic discography highlighted by 1992’s chart-topping Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, they put the classic back into classic rock.

 

No. 2. The Black Crowes Overcame Long Odds (And Their Own Drama)

Their original incarnation, as the Atlanta-based Mr. Crowe’s Garden, was a jangly knock-off of their childhood heroes, R.E.M. Their early business relationship with Def American’s Rick Rubin quickly soured. (He’d begun by suggesting they change their band name to Kobb Kounty Krowes. Rubin was politely turned down.) Their first album was more commercial than critical success.

Some stores refused to carry 1994’s Amorica because they used a racy image from a 1976 edition of Hustler on the cover. Before their 2019 reunion, incessant fighting between the Robinson brothers led to two earlier breakups. But Amorica became a gold-selling hit that almost cracked the Top 10 anyway. They notched six No. 1 songs on Billboard rock charts. Eight of the Black Crowes’ 11 LPs have reached the Top 20.

 

No. 3. Their Career Was Also a Celebration of Music’s Storied Past

The Black Crowes tie together so many ageless musical threads, from rock and jam bands to glam and R&B. Their choice of cover songs and collaborators underscore the point. The group initially stormed to fame with their greasy update of Otis Redding‘s “Hard to Handle” from Shake Your Money Maker. They explored a number of Led Zeppelin tracks on 2000’s Live at the Greek, recorded with Jimmy Page.

The Black Crowes’ 1972 comeback EP included an intriguing blend of cover songs from that year by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, T. Rex, Rod Stewart, Little Feat and the Temptations. “The cool thing about it to me,” Rich Robinson told Rolling Stone, “is how broad the spectrum of music was – and how it was all on the same radio station.” Same with the Black Crowes.

 

No. 4. The Black Crowes Never Sold Out (But Sometimes Paid the Price)

Chris Robinson went on a tirade aimed at corporate interests in rock during an early opening spot on a ZZ Top tour … sponsored by the Miller Beer corporation. “Miller said, ‘You don’t say that, and if you do, we’ll throw you off the tour,'” Rich Robinson later told Q magazine. “We said, ‘Hey, we don’t have a contract with you. We thought we were going on tour with ZZ. If you wanna throw us off, throw us off.'” They did.

The group left Rick Rubin’s label after 1996’s Top 20 hit Three Snakes and One Charm, but then took three of their next four LPs right back to the Top 20 on their own indie imprint. Echoing his early anti-establishment attitude, Chris Robinson also once said he’d decline Rock Hall induction after describing a visit to the museum as “like going to the mall.” He changed his tune after two nominations in a row.

 

No. 5. In a Rarity, They’ll Give the Rock Hall a Feel-Good Story

In the past, you’d have to expect another disappointing partial Rock & Roll Hall of Fame reunion if the bickering Black Crowes were to be honored. Who can forget Paul McCartney‘s absence when the Beatles were inducted? Roger Waters wasn’t there for Pink Floyd‘s big night. Neither was Jerry Garcia, Mark Knopfler and Levon Helm when the Grateful Dead, Dire Straits and the Band respectively joined the Rock Hall. Van Halen was only represented by original bassist Michael Anthony and second frontman Sammy Hagar.

The Black Crowes had become so famous for perpetually feuding that they actually played a month-long called Tour of Brotherly Love in May and June 2001 with the similarly fractious siblings in Oasis and Spacehog. But after splitting in 2002 and again in 2015 following 10 years back together, the brothers at the heart of the Black Crowes have mended their sometimes contentious relationship. Both Robinsons would surely now appear together at the induction, a sight that could hardly have been imagined before.

 

Listen to Kevin Shirley on the ‘UCR Podcast’