b. Rhea County, Tennessee, January 18, 1938
Nashville Cat
Pig Robbins earned his stripes by creating the rocking piano on George Jones’s “White Lightnin’.” Over the ensuing decades, his integral role on Music Row recording sessions earned him membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Blinded in a knife accident at age three, Robbins took piano lessons at the Tennessee School for the Blind—where he earned his nickname after sneaking onto a fire escape and coming back covered in dirt.
After succeeding Floyd Cramer as Music Row’s most prominent session keyboardist in the 1960s, Robbins created several of the most storied piano parts in country music history. Those include his contributions to such classics as Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors” and Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” Robbins also played on hits by fellow Country Music Hall of Fame members Bobby Bare, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Ernest Tubb, and Tammy Wynette.
After gaining notice for his work on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, Robbins appeared on albums by Joan Baez, the Sir Douglas Quintet, Neil Young, John Denver, and Ween. Robbins also recorded several solo albums and toured as a member of Neil Young’s International Harvesters band in the 1980s.
Robbins played on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, 1966
Robbins played on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, 1966
Listen to Hargus "Pig" Robbins
Selected Songs
Bob Dylan, “Temporary Like Achilles” (Bob Dylan)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Wayne Moss, guitar; Joe South, guitar; Robbie Robertson, guitar; Henry Strzelecki, bass; Kenny Buttrey, drums.
From the album Blonde on Blonde, 1966. Produced by Bob Johnston at Columbia Studios, Nashville.
Leon Russell (as Hank Wilson), “She Thinks I Still Care” (Dickey Lee)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Pete Drake, pedal steel guitar; Weldon Myrick, pedal steel guitar, Pete Wade, guitar; Billy Sanford, guitar; Harold Bradley, bass guitar.
From the album Hank Wilson’s Back Vol. I, 1973. Produced by Leon Russell, Denny Cordell, J.J. Cale, and Audie Ashworth at Bradley’s Barn, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
John Stewart, “You Can’t Look Back” (John Stewart)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Fred Carter Jr., fretted dobro; Norbert Putnam, bass; Kenny Buttrey, drums.
From the album California Bloodlines, 1969. Produced by Nik Venet at RCA Studios, Nashville.
Gordon Lightfoot, “Cotton Jenny” (Gordon Lightfoot)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Red Shea, guitar; Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Richard Haynes, bass.
From the album Summer Side of Life, 1971. Produced by Joe Wissert at Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville.
Arthur Alexander, “Anna (Go to Him)” (Arthur Alexander)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Kenny Buttrey, drums; Charlie McCoy, bass; Jerry Carrigan, drums.
Single, 1962. Produced by Noel Ball, Nashville.
Charlie Rich, “Behind Closed Doors” (Kenny O’Dell)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Pig Robbins, piano; Pete Drake, pedal steel guitar.
From the album Behind Closed Doors, 1973. Produced by Billy Sherrill at Columbia Studios, Nashville.
Meet the Cats
Best known for his harmonica technique—distinguished by speed, clarity, and exceptional phrasing, Charlie McCoy is a multi-instrumentalist who has been recorded on bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, trumpet, and tuba.
Charlie Daniels proved pivotal to many of the Nashville recording sessions of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Because Daniels had a strong blues influence, Johnston felt he would fit with the adventurous singer-songwriters.
Ben Keith was a prominent Nashville pedal steel guitarist and dobro specialist before becoming a producer and instrumentalist for Neil Young.
One of country music’s most admired and influential steel guitarists, Weldon Myrick taught himself to play lap steel and, at age thirteen, landed a job on a radio station near his hometown of Jayton, Texas.
Mac Gayden grew up fascinated by the R&B acts he heard in his hometown of Nashville. That interest helped him develop a style as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter distinctly different from other Nashville studio pros.
Lloyd Green developed an emotional, resonant style of pedal steel guitar playing that gave him a distinct sound apart from other top steel specialists.
At age eighteen, Pete Drake heard steel guitarist Jerry Byrd on the Grand Ole Opry during a trip to Nashville. Duly inspired, Drake purchased a steel guitar in an Atlanta pawnshop. The decision not only changed his life, but impacted the sound of country and rock music.
Pig Robbins earned his stripes by creating the rocking piano on George Jones’s “White Lightnin’.” Over the ensuing decades, his integral role on Music Row recording sessions earned him membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
In his distinctive fiddle style, Buddy Spicher combined a rich tonal quality with bluegrass precision and an adventurous sense of swing. After arriving in Nashville, he quickly gained attention as a dazzling instrumentalist capable of handling country, jazz, pop, and rock.
Inspired by Country Music Hall of Fame members Chet Atkins and Earl Scruggs, Wayne Moss’s iconic guitar riffs helped forge the identifiable sounds of country and rock hits.
Norbert Putnam is a widely admired bassist, record producer, and studio owner. He started his career in his teens recording with soul singer Arthur Alexander at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as part of a renowned rhythm section that included keyboardist David Briggs and drummer Jerry Carrigan.
Grady Martin was a member of a loose collection of legendary studio musicians known as the Nashville A-team. His versatility and creativity as a guitarist also appealed to younger rockers and singer-songwriters who came to Nashville.
David Briggs began playing piano on R&B, pop, and country hits in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in his teens. After a brief stint as a pop singer, Briggs moved to Nashville in 1964 to focus on a career as a studio musician.
Three-time Grammy winner Jerry Reed is most famous for his colorful, catchy story songs steeped in Southern attitude and lore. He was recognized as a groundbreaking guitarist with a guitar technique that gave an extra layer of funky, back-country grease.
The preferred drummer for artists across America—he built a lasting legacy with his work in R&B and rock.
Fred Carter Jr. began his career in northeastern Louisiana playing rock & roll. He backed Dale Hawkins, known for his rock hit “Susie-Q,” and later played with Ronnie Hawkins, Dale’s cousin, in his backing group, the Hawks. Carter left and was replaced by Robbie Robertson before the group evolved into the Band.