Robin Zander
Encyclopedia
Robin Wayne Zander is the lead singer and rhythm guitar
ist for the rock
band
Cheap Trick
.
Zander reportedly was reading books by age three, and learned to play the guitar
by age 12. He played with his first group, The Destinations, while in seventh grade. The next year he was with a group called Butterscotch Sundays, playing summer festivals, and after that formed a band called Robin and the Hoods. In high school, Zander sang for three years in the Madrigals, the most demanding of the three choral groups at his school, played basketball
and football
, and had a part-time job at a sandwich shop.
by the group's drummer
, Bun E. Carlos
. At the time, Zander was under contract with a resort in Wisconsin Dells
, where he sang and played cover songs
, and Cheap Trick had a lead vocalist, Randy "Xeno" Hogan. Hogan left the band around the same time Zander's resort contract expired, and Zander joined Cheap Trick as lead singer. Guitarist Rick Nielsen
introduces Zander at concerts as his "favorite lead singer in the whole wide world".
In 1993, Zander released a self-titled solo
album
.
Zander and his Cheap Trick band mates had cameo roles in the 2003 Eddie Murphy
comedy Daddy Day Care
. Zander continues to perform with Cheap Trick around the world. In 2008, the group played in Japan for the 30th anniversary of their original Budokan album release.
singers from 1980s hard rock
ers such as Joe Elliott
of Def Leppard
, Vince Neil
of Mötley Crüe
, Axl Rose
of Guns N' Roses
, Bret Michaels
of Poison
, and Sebastian Bach
of Skid Row, 1990's punk revivalist
s, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day
, to alternative
icons Eddie Vedder
of Pearl Jam
, Kurt Cobain
of Nirvana
, and Scott Weiland
of Stone Temple Pilots
http://www.answers.com/topic/robin-zander-1.
with his wife, Pamela and two children: a son, Robin Zander Jr., and a daughter, Robin-Sailor Zander. He owns a Bichon Frise
named Daisy Mae that lives with him in Safety Harbor, Florida. He has two children from a previous marriage, Ian and Holland, who currently reside in Rockford, Illinois
.
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist for the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
.
Early life
Zander was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, the fourth of five children; he has two older brothers, and older and younger sisters.Zander reportedly was reading books by age three, and learned to play the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by age 12. He played with his first group, The Destinations, while in seventh grade. The next year he was with a group called Butterscotch Sundays, playing summer festivals, and after that formed a band called Robin and the Hoods. In high school, Zander sang for three years in the Madrigals, the most demanding of the three choral groups at his school, played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and had a part-time job at a sandwich shop.
Cheap Trick
In 1972, Zander was offered the lead singer role in a new band called Cheap TrickCheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
by the group's drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, Bun E. Carlos
Bun E. Carlos
Bun E. Carlos, born Brad Carlson, June 12, 1951, is the primary drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He is the band's chief setlister and archivist, and maintains recordings of all the band's shows, some of which have been released under the name 'Bun E's Bootlegs'.Carlos is left-handed, but...
. At the time, Zander was under contract with a resort in Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,418 as of the 2000 census. It straddles four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk. The city takes its name from the dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacially formed gorge that features striking sandstone...
, where he sang and played cover songs
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
, and Cheap Trick had a lead vocalist, Randy "Xeno" Hogan. Hogan left the band around the same time Zander's resort contract expired, and Zander joined Cheap Trick as lead singer. Guitarist Rick Nielsen
Rick Nielsen
-External links:* * *...
introduces Zander at concerts as his "favorite lead singer in the whole wide world".
In 1993, Zander released a self-titled solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
.
Zander and his Cheap Trick band mates had cameo roles in the 2003 Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
comedy Daddy Day Care
Daddy Day Care
Daddy Day Care is a 2003 American comedy film, starring Eddie Murphy. It was written by Geoff Rodkey and was directed by Steve Carr. It was released in theaters on May 9, 2003. It was produced by Revolution Studios and released by Columbia Pictures...
. Zander continues to perform with Cheap Trick around the world. In 2008, the group played in Japan for the 30th anniversary of their original Budokan album release.
Influence
Zander's vocal style has influenced many other rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singers from 1980s hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
ers such as Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
of Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Vince Neil
Vince Neil
Vincent Neil Wharton is an American vocalist and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.-Early life:Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton...
of Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
, Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
of Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
of Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, and Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...
of Skid Row, 1990's punk revivalist
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
s, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, to alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
icons Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
of Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, and Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
of Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
http://www.answers.com/topic/robin-zander-1.
Personal life
Zander currently resides on Davis Islands Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
with his wife, Pamela and two children: a son, Robin Zander Jr., and a daughter, Robin-Sailor Zander. He owns a Bichon Frise
Bichon Frisé
A Bichon Frise , is a small breed of dog of the Bichon type. They are popular pets, similar in appearance to, but larger than, the Maltese.-Etymology and History:...
named Daisy Mae that lives with him in Safety Harbor, Florida. He has two children from a previous marriage, Ian and Holland, who currently reside in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
.
Singles
- "I've Always Got You" (1993), #13 Billboard's Mainstream Rock, from album Robin Zander
- "Surrender To Me" with Ann WilsonAnn WilsonAnn Dustin Wilson is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, flute player, songwriter, and occasional guitar player of the rock band Heart.-Personal life:...
(1988), from the soundtrack to Tequila SunriseTequila Sunrise (film)Tequila Sunrise is an American crime thriller film written and directed by Robert Towne, and starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, with support from Raúl Juliá, J. T... - "In This Country" (1987), from the soundtrack to Over the Top
- "You Send the Rain AwayYou Send the Rain Away"You Send the Rain Away" is a song by singers Rebbie Jackson and Robin Zander, taken from Jackson's 1986 album Reaction. The song was released as a single in 1987, peaking at number fifty on the Billboard R&B chart. It later developed a following and a music video was filmed. It remains one of her...
" (1987) duet with Rebbie JacksonRebbie JacksonMaureen Reillette "Rebbie" Brown is an American singer professionally known as Rebbie Jackson . Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
, #50 Billboard's R&B Chart