Rob Crosby

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Rob Crosby
Birth nameRobert Crosby Hoar[1][2][3]
Born (1954-04-25) April 25, 1954 (age 69)
OriginSumter, South Carolina, United States
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1979–present
LabelsGuru
Southern Tracks
Arista Nashville
River North
CSC
Websiterobcrosby.com

Robert Crosby Hoar (born April 25, 1954), known professionally as Rob Crosby, is an American country music artist. Between 1990 and 1996, Rob charted eight singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. He has also recorded six studio albums, with his most recent, Catfish Day, being released in 2007. He also co-wrote Eric Paslay's 2014 single "Friday Night", The Common Linnets' 2014 single "Calm After the Storm", Martina McBride's 2003 single "Concrete Angel", Andy Griggs' 2000 single "She's More" and Lee Greenwood's 1990 single "Holdin' a Good Hand" and has written songs for Luke Combs, Lady Antebellum, Carl Perkins, Paul Simon, Brooks & Dunn, Restless Heart, Blackhawk, Darryl Worley, Boy Howdy, Ty Herndon, Don Williams, Ilse DeLange, Trace Adkins, Lee Brice and more.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Robert Crosby Hoar was born and raised in Sumter, South Carolina, graduating in the Sumter High School class of 1972. He wrote his first song when he was 9 years old,[2] and by the time he started the fifth grade, he had his own band, The Radiations.[2] During High School and college, he performed in South Carolina, and eventually across the Southeast.[4] In 1984, Crosby moved to Nashville with his family and began playing in local clubs.[2]

Songwriter[edit]

In 1984, an Atlanta businessman offered Crosby $700 a month for a cut in his future songwriting royalties.[5] After getting a job as a staff writer, country music group Chance took his song "She Told Me Yes" to the top 30 in 1985.[2] Since then, many songs written by Crosby have reached the Billboard top 10, including "Friday Night" by Eric Paslay, "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride, "She's More" by Andy Griggs and "Holdin' a Good Hand" by Lee Greenwood.[3][6] Crosby's songs have been recorded by Blackhawk, Brooks & Dunn, Ty Herndon, Paul Overstreet, Carl Perkins, Restless Heart, Ricochet, Paul Simon, The Wilkinsons and Darryl Worley, among others.[7][8]

Music career[edit]

In the 1970's and 80's, Rob recorded music for independent labels: Guru Records and Southern Tracks Records. After a performance at a songwriter's night, Crosby was signed to Arista Nashville.[2] The label released his debut album, Solid Ground, in 1991. The first three singles, "Love Will Bring Her Around," "She's a Natural" and "Still Burnin' for You," all reached the top 20 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. But after two commercially unsuccessful albums, Crosby was dropped from Arista in 1993. In 1995, he signed with River North and released his third album, Starting Now. Both singles released from the project peaked outside of the top 60 on Billboard. The same year, he was offered a chance to join the country music band Burnin' Daylight (which featured former members of Southern Pacific and Exile); however, he decided to focus on his solo career instead.[5]

Crosby returned in 2003 on CSC Records with One Light in the Dark, a collection of original songs.[7] He has released two albums since, 2003's Time Is a Gypsy and 2007's Catfish Day.[9]

In 2014 Rob joined dutch band 'The Common Linnets', together with his son Matthew. The band consisted of popular dutch singer/songwriters Ilse DeLange and Waylon. They released two successful albums. Ilse and Waylon contended in 2014's Euro Song Contest and ended 2nd with a song Rob co-wrote "Calm After The Storm".

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Title Album details Peak positions
US Country
[10]
Rob Crosby[11]
  • Release date: 1979
  • Label: Guru Records
Solid Ground[12] 74
Another Time and Place
  • Release date: July 28, 1992
  • Label: Arista Nashville
Starting Now
One Light in the Dark
  • Release date: 2003
  • Label: CSC
Time Is a Gypsy
  • Release date: 2003
  • Label: CSC
Catfish Day
  • Release date: 2007
  • Label: CSC
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles[edit]

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country CAN Country
1987 "Heart On The Run"[13]
1988 "This Is The Night"[14]
1990 "Love Will Bring Her Around" 12 10 Solid Ground
1991 "She's a Natural" 15 10
"Still Burnin' for You" 20 25
1992 "Working Woman" 28 29
"She Wrote the Book" 53 73 Another Time and Place
"In the Blood" 48 53
1995 "The Trouble with Love" 64 Starting Now
1996 "Lady's Man"[15] 64
"Fallin' In and Crawlin' Out"[16]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos[edit]

Year Video Director
1990 "Love Will Bring Her Around" Jim May
1991 "She's a Natural" Sylvie Jacquemin
1992 "She Wrote the Book" Chris Rogers
"In the Blood" Michael Merriman
1995 "The Trouble with Love" Chris Rogers

Chart Singles written by Rob Crosby[edit]

The following is a list of Rob Crosby compositions that were chart hits.

Year Single Title Recording Artist Chart Positions
Billboard Country Billboard Hot 100 RPM Country
1985 She Told Me Yes
Chance 30
1990 Holdin' a Good Hand
co-written with Johnny Few
Lee Greenwood 2 2
1994 She Should’ve Been Mine
co-written with Kent Blazy and Jim Dowell
Western Flyer 62
1999 She's More
co-written with Liz Hengber
Andy Griggs 2 37 2
2002 Concrete Angel
co-written with Stephanie Bentley
Martina McBride 5 47
2006 Do We Still
co-written with Rockie Lynne and Will Rambeaux
Rockie Lynne 46
2009 Til the Last Shot's Fired
co-written with Doug Johnson
Trace Adkins 50 105
2013 Friday Night
co-written with Eric Paslay and Rose Falcon
Eric Paslay 2 47

References[edit]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Rob Crosby Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Brunson, Dennis (March 12, 1994). "He's a Natural". The Item. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "robcrosby.com – Home". Robcrosby.com.
  5. ^ a b "Rob Crosby Biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Rob Crosby". Robcrosby.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "CD Baby Music Store". Store.cdbaby.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Suggerimenti per i casinò online – Come scegliere e giocare al casinò online". Nashvillehype.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Music". Robcrosby.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. July 13, 1991. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  11. ^ "Rob Crosby – Rob Crosby (1979, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. January 8, 1991.
  13. ^ "Heart On The Run – Rob Crosby (1987, Single)". Discogs.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "This Is The Night – Rob Crosby (1988, Single)". Discogs.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  15. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. December 9, 1995.
  16. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. June 8, 1996.

External links[edit]