Black Stone Cherry

Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry performing in Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
Background information
Origin	Edmonton, Kentucky, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, southern rock
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Roadrunner
Website	www.blackstonecherry.com
Members
Chris Robertson Ben Wells Jon Lawhon John Fred Young

Black Stone Cherry is an American rock band formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They are signed to Roadrunner Records. The band consists of Chris Robertson (lead vocals, guitar), Ben Wells (guitar, backing vocals), Jon Lawhon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and John Fred Young (drums, backing vocals). Black Stone Cherry has released three studio albums and three EPs, and has charted seven singles on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.

History

2001–2008: Early years and self-titled album

The band Black Stone Cherry originated from Edmonton, Kentucky. Chris Robertson and John Fred Young, son of The Kentucky Headhunters's rhythm guitarist Richard Young, started to play music together early in their teens and Wells and Lawhon soon followed. Black Stone Cherry officially formed on June 4, 2001. They then took over the practice house that had been used by The Kentucky Headhunters since 1968 and began to record tracks. After the band finished recording, they returned to Edmonton for a homecoming gig in the gym of the local middle school, which was attended by 1500 people. After the band’s self-titled debut album was released, Robertson's former school principal invited the band back to Edmonton to celebrate with a concert. As the band entered the town, the streets were filled with people holding "welcome home" signs.

In July 2007, they released a second recording, an EP containing the song "Rain Wizard" along with two previously unreleased tracks.

The first live album by Black Stone Cherry was released on October 31, 2007 immediately following the concert at the Astoria in London. They joined Def Leppard and Whitesnake in the summer of 2008 for European dates.

2008–2009: Folklore and Superstition

On August 19, 2008 Black Stone Cherry released their second album, entitled Folklore and Superstition. Four singles from the album, "Blind Man," "Please Come In," "Things My Father Said," and "Soulcreek" have been released.

In May 2009, they supported Nickelback on their Dark Horse tour.

2010–present: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Black Stone Cherry has confirmed through their Facebook page that they are working on a new studio album and has continuously posted pictures and videos of them working. A post on December 20, 2010 confirmed they had finished the drums and guitars on 5 tracks.^[1] A free download of a new song titled "Blame It on the Boom Boom" is also available.^[2]

On March 9, via Facebook, the band announced the title of the upcoming album to be Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea due to be released on May 31. The first single is titled "White Trash Millionaire" and was released at the end of March.

On January 18, 2011, the band confirmed through Facebook that they are done recording their new album and are "packin' our bags..gettin' ready for the Simple Man Cruise!!".^[1]

On May 27, 2011, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was released on the bittorrent tracker, Demonoid. The early release on the tracker was due to an employee error at an unspecified Walmart.^[3] It is yet to be known if other store shelved the CD before the official May 31 release date.

Blame It On The Boom Boom is also featured in the trailer for this TV series on CBS Person of Interest.

Musical style

Black Stone Cherry's music is often associated with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. While there are clear influences in Black Stone Cherry’s music, they have created their own style to a great extent. The musical tone and composition of Black Stone Cherry is very comparable to that of The Black Crowes.

The song writing of Black Stone Cherry is often praised for great storytelling and delivering a strong message. For example, the song "Lonely Train" is about the effect on families when a relative goes to fight in a war. The song "Rain Wizard" is about a local legend of mysterious wisemen who could bring the rain in times of drought. "Backwoods Gold" is about a local man who ran moonshine out of the hardware store in the middle of Edmonton.

Band members

• Chris Robertson - lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar
• Ben Wells - lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Jon Lawhon - bass guitar, backing vocals
• John Fred Young - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions									Certifications
		US	AUT [4]	CHE [5]	FRA [6]	GER [7]	IRL [8]	SWE [9]	UK [10]	UK Rock
2006	Black Stone Cherry Release: June 18, 2006 Label: Roadrunner Format: CD, LP, DI	90	—	—	—	—	—	—	188	34
2008	Folklore and Superstition Released: August 19, 2008 Label: Roadrunner Format: CD, LP, DD	28	—	89	167	54	68	45	23	1
2011	Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Released: May 31, 2011 Label: Roadrunner Format: CD, LP, DD	29	31	31	—	22	—	43	13	1

Live albums

• Live at the Astoria, London (31.10.07) (2007); (Limited to 1000 copies)

EPs

• Hell & High Water EP (2006) - Digital-only EP released November 11, 2006

1. "Hell & High Water"
2. "Big City Lights"
3. "We Are the Kings"

• Rain Wizard EP (2007) - Digital-only EP released July 10, 2007

1. "Rain Wizard"
2. "Drinkin' Champagne"
3. "Stop Runnin'"

• The Kerrang! Radio Sessions EP (Acoustic) (2008) - Digital-only EP released January 29, 2008

1. "Lonely Train" (Acoustic)
2. "Hell & High Water" (Acoustic)
3. "Maybe Someday" (Acoustic)

Compilations

1. "Roadrunner Records: Annual Assault" (2008)
2. "Roadrunner Records: Between a Rock and a Hard Place" (2008)
3. "Roadrunner Records: Hard Rock Christmas (2010)

Singles

Year	Title	US Main	Album
2006	"Lonely Train"	14	Black Stone Cherry
	"Hell & High Water"	30
2007	"Rain Wizard"	29
	"Big City Lights"	—	Hell & High Water EP
2008	"Blind Man"	19	Folklore and Superstition
	"Please Come In"	24
2009	"Things My Father Said"	—
	"Soulcreek"	—
2011	"White Trash Millionaire"	11	Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
	"Blame It on the Boom Boom"	24

Music videos

Year	Title	Director(s)
2006	"Lonely Train"	Hobos with Guns
	"Hell & High Water"	JB Carlin
2008	"Blind Man"	David Sutton
	"Please Come In"	Adam Grabarnick
2009	"Things My Father Said"	Andrew Bennett
	"Soulcreek"	Joe McKinney
2011	"White Trash Millionaire"	David Sutton
	"Blame It on the Boom Boom"
	"In My Blood"	Andrew Bennett

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Stone-Cherry/8509615068#!/pages/Black-Stone-Cherry/8509615068?v=wall
2. ^ http://evanwilliams.blackstonecherry.com
3. ^ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/LiLmEgZ/BlackStoneCherry2011Album.jpg
4. ^ Austrian Album Charts Search for Black Stone Cherry Hung Medien. Retrieved on June 09, 2011
5. ^ Swiss Album Charts Search for Black Stone Cherry hitparade.ch. Retrieved on July 16, 2010
6. ^ France Album Charts Search for Black Stone Cherry Lescharts.com. Retrieved on July 16, 2010
7. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Black Stone Cherry / Longplay" (in German). PhonoNet. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Black+Stone+Cherry/?type=longplay. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
8. ^ Ireland Album Charts Search for Black Stone Cherry Acharts.us. Retrieved on July 16, 2010
9. ^ Sweden album Charts Search for Black Stone Cherry Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on July 16, 2010
10. ^ UK Chart Log Search for "B" Zobbel. Retrieved on July 16, 2010

External links

• Black Stone Cherry's Official Website
• Black Stone Cherry at Roadrunner Records
• Black Stone Cherry at MySpace
• Black Stone Cherry Live Review @ Brixton Academy on The Daily Music Guide
• Interview with GiggingNI.com!
• Interview from Rock on the Range