Blackberry Smoke
American rock band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blackberry Smoke is an American country rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000. The lineup consists of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Charlie Starr, lead/rhythm guitarist Paul Jackson, bassist Richard Turner and keyboardist Brandon Still. Richard's brother Brit Turner was the band's co-founder and drummer before his death in March 2024. Drumming duties have been covered during the bands tours since late 2023 by Atlanta drummer Kent Aberle. In 2018, they added touring members, guitarist Benji Shanks and percussionist Preston Holcomb, with Holcomb retiring from touring in the Spring of 2024. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums and five extended plays.
Blackberry Smoke | |
|---|---|
 Blackberry Smoke performing in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | BamaJam, Southern Ground, Rounder, 3 Legged, Earache (Europe) |
| Members |
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| Past members |
|
| Website | blackberrysmoke |
History
Summarize
Perspective
Blackberry Smoke was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000. They are the first independently released artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album charts in modern history. Their debut album, Bad Luck Ain't No Crime, was released in 2003. Their second album released in 2009, Little Piece of Dixie. has been featured by Paste magazine and other publications.[1][2]
In 2015, Blackberry Smoke became the first small independent outfit to have an album, Holding All The Roses, go to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Blackberry Smoke's 2016 album Like An Arrow did the same. They have performed throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, and South America. They have performed alongside numerous artists such as Tedeschi Trucks Band, Guns N' Roses, Zac Brown Band, ZZ Top, Eric Church and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band had their first chart success with their third album, The Whippoorwill, released in August 2012, reaching Top 40 on Billboard 200.[3] The album was released under the Southern Ground record label.[4] On August 26, 2012, they performed at a charity benefit called the Boot Ride with the cast of Sons of Anarchy, partnered with The Boot Campaign at the Happy Ending Bar and Grill in Hollywood, California.[5][6]
On November 12, 2014, they appeared among many others – Jamey Johnson, Trace Adkins, Warren Haynes, Peter Frampton, Gregg Allman, etc. – in a show in tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
They moved to Rounder Records in 2014,[7] and released Holding All the Roses produced by Brendan O'Brien in early 2015.[8] The album reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. The band spent much of the summer of 2016 on tour with Gov't Mule.
Blackberry Smoke released their fifth studio album, Like an Arrow, featuring Gregg Allman, on October 14, 2016, via their own record label, 3 Legged Records.[9] The album landed at No. 1 on the US Billboard Country[10] and Americana/Folk[11] charts as well as the UK Rock[12] and Independent Albums[13] charts during release week. The band released its sixth studio album, Find A Light, on December 19, 2018.[14]
In 2019, the band released via Earache Records a live album and a film Homecoming: Live in Atlanta, recorded at their annual Brothers And Sisters Holiday Homecoming event at the Tabernacle in Atlanta in November 2018.[15] In 2021 the band released its seventh studio album, You Hear Georgia.[16]
On May 28, 2021, their album You Hear Georgia was released. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Americana/Folk Chart.[17] It sold over 33k copies the first week, 12,239 copies in pure album sales. This was good enough to put it also at No. 1 in album sales in both country and rock, and No. 3 in all of music. The album also racked up another nearly 1 million streams its debut week. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and also features appearances by Jamey Johnson and Warren Haynes.
In March 2024, the band announced drummer Brit Turner had died after a battle with glioblastoma. He was 57, and was diagnosed with the cancer in 2022.[18]
On April 5, 2024, Preston Holcomb announced via Facebook his last show would be April 27th and he would no longer be touring with the band.
Band members
Current members
- Charlie "Starr" Gray[19] – lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar (2000–present)
- Paul Jackson – rhythm & lead guitar, backing vocals (2000–present)
- Richard Turner – bass, backing vocals (2000–present)
- Brandon Still – keyboards (2009–present)
- Benji Shanks – third guitar, mandolin, dobro (2018–present)
Touring members
- Kent Aberle – drums, percussion (2022–present)
Former members
- Brit Turner - drums (2000–2024; his death)
- Preston Holcomb – percussion (2018–2024)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [20] |
US Country [21] |
US Americana [22] |
US Heat [23] |
US Indie [24] |
US Rock [25] |
UK [26] |
UK Rock [26] | ||||
| Bad Luck Ain't No Crime[27] |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Little Piece of Dixie |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| The Whippoorwill |
|
40 | 8 | 30 | 10 | 12 | — | 30 | 2 |
| |
| Holding All the Roses |
|
29 | 1 | — | — | 7 | — | 17 | 1 |
| |
| Like an Arrow |
|
12 | 1 | — | 2 | 3 | — | 8 | 1 |
| |
| Find a Light |
|
31 | 3 | — | 2 | 6 | — | 12 | 1 |
| |
| You Hear Georgia |
|
55 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | — | 17 | — | ||
| Be Right Here |
|
135 | 26 | 9 | — | 24 | 23 | 31 | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [21] |
US [20] |
US Indie [24] |
GER [32] |
UK [26] | |||||
| Leave a Scar, Live: North Carolina |
|
17 | 128 | 22 | 49 | 35 | |||
| Homecoming/Live in Atlanta[35] |
|
— | — | 4 | — | — |
| ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| New Honky Tonk Bootlegs |
|
| Little Piece of Dixie EP |
|
| Wood, Wire & Roses[37] |
|
| The Southern Ground Sessions |
|
| Live from Capricorn Sound Studios |
|
| Stoned |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Airplay [38] | ||||
| 2009 | "Good One Comin' On" | — | Little Piece of Dixie | |
| 2013 | "Pretty Little Lie" | 46 | The Whippoorwill | |
| "Ain't Much Left of Me" | — | |||
| 2014 | "Wood, Wire, Roses" | — | Non-album single | |
| 2015 | "Living in the Song" | — | Holding All the Roses | |
| "Too High" | — | |||
| 2016 | "Waiting for the Thunder" | — | Like an Arrow | |
| "Pearls" | — | Like an Arrow (deluxe edition) | ||
| "Believe You Me" | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Sunrise in Texas" | — | |||
| "Let It Burn" | — | |||
| 2018 | "Flesh and Bone" | — | Find a Light | |
| "Best Seat in the House" | — | |||
| "Let Me Down Easy" | — | |||
| "I'll Keep Ramblin'" | — | |||
| 2020 | "Midnight Rider" | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Take the Highway" | — | |||
| "Keep on Smiling" | — | |||
| "Southern Child" | — | |||
| 2021 | "You Hear Georgia" | — | You Hear Georgia | |
| "Hey Delilah" | — | |||
| "Ain't the Same"[39] | — | |||
| "All Rise Again" | — | |||
| 2024 | "A Little Bit Crazy" | — | Be Right Here | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Sanctified Woman" | |
| 2009 | "Good One Comin' On"[40] | Roger Pistole |
| 2013 | "Pretty Little Lie"[41] | Cole Cassell |
| 2014 | "Shakin' Hands with the Holy Ghost"[42] | Lewis Cater |
| "Six Ways to Sunday"[43] | Blake Judd | |
| 2015 | "Too High"[44] | |
| "Rock and Roll Again" | ||
| 2016 | "Sunrise in Texas"[45] | Jamie Burton Chamberlin |
| 2017 | "Like an Arrow" | |
| 2021 | "You Hear Georgia | Andy Sapp |
| "Hey Delilah" | ||
| "All Rise Again" |
References
External links
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