World-renowned, Grammy-winning musician John "J.R." Robinson is widely considered the most recorded drummer in history, playing on albums that have sold well over 500 million copies. He is the drummer on 30 number one pop songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie and Steve Winwood, and has been the drummer on more than 100 Grammy winning tracks. Rolling Stone Magazine featured J.R. in their list of The Top 100 Drummers of All Time.
Some of J.R.’s number one hits include:
Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Bad," and "The Way You Make Me Feel”
Whitney Houston’s "Greatest Love of All," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "Saving All My Love For You" and “I Will Always Love You”
Lionel Richie’s "All Night Long," and "Say You, Say Me"
Steve Winwood’s "Higher Love," and "The Finer Things,"
USA for Africa’s “We Are The World”
J.R. is the drummer on many other top 40 hits with artists such as Madonna, Lady Gaga, Diana Ross, Daft Punk, David Lee Roth, Rufus & Chaka Khan, The Pointer Sisters, Wilson Philips, Peter Cetera, George Benson, and Quincy Jones. It’s not an exaggeration to say that J.R. Robinson is the drummer on the soundtrack of our lives.
A native of Creston, Iowa, J.R. attended Berklee College of Music where he developed the skills for his illustrious studio career. J.R. moved to Los Angeles where he joined Rufus and Chaka Khan and aligned with Michael Jackson to record, “Off The Wall” for the legendary/mentor Quincy Jones.
J.R. has released two solo records, “Funkshui” and “Platinum”. He has toured with an array of stars, including Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Rufus & Chaka Khan, George Duke/ Stanley Clarke, David Foster and Peter Frampton. J.R. served as the musical director for John Fogerty in 1986. J.R. released a record with Mark Williamson called Bridge 2 Far and a record called “Rivers Of Paradise” from TRW. He latest jazz trio SRT released the acclaimed album “Vanguards Of Groove” in 2023.
J.R.’s playing has been featured in hundreds of movies including Superman, The Bodyguard, My Cousin Vinny, the Hangover series, Anchorman, and Space Jam. Additionally, J.R. has scored three films, “The Bronx USA”, “If You’re Not In the Obit, Eat Breakfast” and the recent HBO hit documentary, “The Super Bob Einstein Story”.
J.R. continues to add his magic on many hits, movies, jingles and the live J.R. Robinson Experience with his recognized sound, employing great time, great songs and a great groove.
"Remo has been infused into my soul since I started playing when I was 8 years old. There never has been any drum head to remotely come close to the quality, performance and sound of Remo." -JR Robinson
