The Black Crowes Rock The Howard Stern Show

03-29-2024

(SiriusXM) The Black Crowes appeared on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show earlier this week, live from the new SiriusXM Nashville studios to promote their new album "Happiness Bastards."

The band who performed live, spoke with Howard Stern about everything from their earliest influences to their friendships with late legends Don Rickles, Richard Lewis, and David Crosby, and also discussed the details of their new tour.

The Black Crowes Explain Why They Broke Up: "Chris and I were stuck in this submarine for 24 years - and that's what being in a band is like," Rich Robinson told Howard. "And then you get away, and you can have more of a 10,000-foot view of what just happened."

Chris offered a similar sentiment. "It was like a kettle someone left on in a kitchen ... and I'm like, 'Someone please turn the heat down,'" he said. "We needed that break."

"It looks ugly on the outside - and it some of it was," Chris continued. "[But] during that time, I went through a lot of changes. I found the love of my life, my wife Camille [Johnson], who could bring around so much positivity."

"Our brotherhood, in reality, isn't just being brothers," Chris said. "We are songwriters. We are performers. We have a business to run as well ... but I know that Rich and I - now more than ever ... [we] love each other and have deep respect."

The Black Crowes on David Crosby: Chris doesn't take for granted his interactions with Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, a band he'd idolized since he was a little boy. "One of the earliest memories I remember was listening to [CSNY's] 'Carry On,' ... It left a huge imprint," he said before sharing a story about meeting the band backstage in 1999. "If you had told me ... growing up that all of these people would've even known my name ... That is something I'll remember forever. That was a magical moment."

Chris had kind words for David Crosby, who had first reached out to the Black Crowes singer after hearing him cover CSNY's "Almost Cut My Hair." Crosby apparently loved the rendition so much he left Chris a musical voicemail, along with an invitation to watch him perform with Graham Nash at the infamous L.A. club Whisky A Go-Go.

"We go up to the dressing room, and we're in all our like Black Crowes bell bottoms, and Graham Nash goes, 'They look like us in 1971!'" Chris laughed, explaining Crosby then invited him to perform together on stage. "We just hit it off. He was a real character, and very talented."

The Black Crowes on Don Rickles: "Unbelievably funny, unbelievably quick, but very sweet," Chris said of the insult legend, who passed away in 2017. Chris also recalled Don managing to score some vodka at the Kennedy Center's State Department dinner, where liquor supposedly wasn't being served. "He like snaps his finger, next thing you know there's a bottle of Grey Goose on the table ... [He's] the Keith Richards of comedy."

When Rickles suffered a wardrobe malfunction, he turned to Rich for assistance. "He asked me to put my hand down his pants," the guitarist admitted before explaining it was after the comic's suspenders broke. "He was doing shtick, and he had commentary for everyone who walked in."

Years later, Chris bumped into Rickles along with Bob Newhart at a Santa Monica restaurant. To the singer's delight, Don remembered him. "He gave me a hug ... maybe better than [meeting] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was to have Don Rickles introduce me to Bob Newhart," he said. "It was like f***ing amazing."

Check out the full appearance here and a clip below where The Black Crowes discuss going to the Edge's Birthday Party With David Bowie.