b. 1 September 1964, Bandera, Texas, USA. Singer-songwriter Robison grew up on his family’s ranch in the tiny Texan town of Bandera. He began playing in bands as a teenager, initially starting out on the drums before graduating to guitar. After studying at Southwest Texas University, Robison relocated to Austin where he played with a number of local bar bands, including the traditional country outfit Chapparal, cow-punkers Two Hoots And A Holler, and the Millionaire Playboys. The artist branched out into a solo career in the mid-90s, teaming up with renowned Texan producer Lloyd Maines for his 1995 debut Bandera. This roughly recorded independent release ably captured the flavour of Robison’s live shows, a raucous mix of country, rock and Tex-Mex, and a number of the tracks would subsequently appear in reworked versions on later albums. Although only a local pressing, the album brought Robison’s name to the attention of several major labels, leading to a recording contract with the Sony imprint Lucky Dog. His excellent debut for the label, 1998’s Life Of The Party, was a big hit in Texas and helped introduce Robison’s music to a national audience. The following May, the singer married Emily Erwin of the Dixie Chicks. The in-concert set Unleashed Live featured Lucky Dog labelmates Jack Ingram and Bruce Robison (Charlie’s brother, and a regular songwriting collaborator), and was recorded at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels.
Robison’s second studio release for Lucky Dog, 2001’s Step Right Up, featured a duet with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks on the poignant ‘The Wedding Song’. Producer Blake Chancey coaxed a more radio-friendly approach out of the singer, although shades of the old Robison shone through on tracks such as ‘It Comes To Me Naturally’ and a reworked version of ‘Life Of The Party’. In spring 2003, Robison appeared as a judge on the reality television show Nashville Star. A solo live album drawn from two sets at Gruene Hall featured a striking extended version of the Step Right Up track ‘Tonight’, incorporating segments of AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’. The album was also Robison’s final release for Sony with his next studio recording appearing on the independent Dualtone imprint. Good Times stripped away some of the polish of his Lucky Dog releases while retaining the singer’s trademark swagger and verve.
