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Robert Brookins
Birth nameRobert Franklin Brookins Jr.[1]
Born(1962-10-07)October 7, 1962
OriginSacramento, California, United States
Died(2009-04-15)April 15, 2009 (aged 46)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instrument(s)Singing, keyboards, drums, guitarist, bassist
Years active1979–2009
Labels
Formerly ofAfterbach, The Stanley Clarke Band

Robert Brookins (October 7, 1962 – April 15, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, producer and musician. A member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire he also worked with artists such as George Duke, Stephanie Mills, Stanley Clarke and The Whispers.[2]

Early years

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Brookins grew up in Del Paso Heights, Sacramento, California.[3] Singing, and playing keyboard and drums as a child, he formed his first band, aged 11, Little Robert & the Fondeles,[2] which won the Motown's Soul Search Contest in 1974.[2] Brookins was also an alumnus of Grant Union High School.[3]

Musical career

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In Our Lives
An audio sample of "In Our Lives" (released 1986)
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Brookins later formed a group with his brother Michael known as Afterbach.[2] The duo issued a critically acclaimed album entitled Matinee in 1981 on Maurice White's ARC Records, an imprint of Columbia Records.[2] After such he performed as a keyboardist on Philip Bailey's 1983 album Continuation as well as Ramsey Lewis and Nancy Wilson's 1984 album The Two of Us.[4]

Brookins then composed on Deniece Williams 1984 album Let's Hear It for the Boy and The Isley Brothers' 1985 LP Masterpiece.[4] He also made a guest appearance on Stanley Clarke's 1985 LP Find Out!,[5] and on George Duke's 1985 album Thief in the Night. He then composed on Rebbie Jackson's 1986 LP Reaction and Al Jarreau's 1986 album L Is for Lover.[4]

During 1986, he released his debut solo album entitled In the Night. While the album itself did not chart on the Billboard 200, it did feature the minor R&B singles chart hit, "Our Lives",[6][7] and a follow-up single, "Come to Me" also received airplay, supported by a music video featuring Laurence Fishburne and Tracy Camilla Johns. That same year, Brookins performed on Stanley Clarke's and George Duke's respective follow-up albums – Clarke's Hideaway and Duke's self titled LP. He went on to produce Bobby Brown on his 1986 debut album King of Stage.

The following year, Brookins produced for Stephanie Mills on her 1987 LP If I Were Your Woman.[4] Featuring four top-20 R&B chart singles (including two number ones and another top-ten), If I Were Your Woman has since been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.[8] He also composed on Nancy Wilson's 1987 album Forbidden Lover.

In 1988, Brookins released his second solo album, Let It Be Me, featuring the top-20 R&B cover of the Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway classic "Where Is the Love?" (a duet with Stephanie Mills) and the top-40 follow-up hit, "Don't Tease Me".[7] He worked as a songwriter and producer on Jeffrey Osborne's 1988 LP One Love-One Dream and Jackie Jackson's 1988 album Be the One.[2][4][9] Later in the year, Brookins performed on George Howard's 1988 album Reflections and the following year, produced Christopher Williams on his 1989 LP Adventures in Paradise. Brookins also produced The Whispers' on their 1989 album More of the Night. More of the Night has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.[10] He later produced Michael Cooper on his 1989 LP Just What I Like and Jeffrey Osborne on his 1989 album Only Human.[4]

Brookins went on to collaborate with the band Earth, Wind & Fire on their 1990 album Heritage. He later featured on Stanley Clarke and George Duke's 1990 LP 3 and produced Keisha Jackson's 1991 self titled album.[4]

Brookins went on to play on Wayman Tisdale's 1995 LP Power Forward and produced Tisdale's 1996 album In the Zone.[4] In the Zone reached No. 7 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 9 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. He later appeared on George Duke's 2000 LP Cool.[11][12] He also became Earth, Wind & Fire's keyboardist and musical director.[13] He went to perform on the band's 2003 album The Promise.[4]

Death and legacy

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Writing for AllMusic, Andrew Hamilton said: "The often overused term multi-talented is true to its definition when referring to Robert F. Brookins."[2]

On April 15, 2009 Brookins died from a heart attack.[14][15][3] He was survived by a son.[14] Since his death, an annual concert has been held in Sacramento in his honour.[16] In 2019, the city's Nuevo Park was renamed Robert Brookins Park.[13][17]

Solo discography

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Albums

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Studio albums

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Year Title Peak chart positions Record label
US R&B
[7]
1986 In the Night – MCA
1988 Let It Be Me 37
2002 Something You Can Make Love To – MusicSoft Works
"–" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

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Year Title Peak chart positions Record label
US R&B
[7]
1986 "Our Lives" 95 MCA
1987 "If You Only Knew" –
"Come to Me" –
1988 "Where Is the Love" (with Stephanie Mills) 18
1989 "Don't Tease Me" 39
"–" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

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  1. ^ "Renaming Nuevo Park as Robert Brookins Park". Granicus. June 11, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Hamilton, Andrew. "Robert Brookins – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Remembering Sacramento Native, Robert F. Brookins". Sac Cultural Club. April 15, 2013. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Robert Brookins – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  5. ^ Ginell, Richard S. "Stanley Clarke – Find Out!". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "Robert Brookins - In the Night (1986)". Apple Music. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Robert Brookins – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  8. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Stephanie Mills: If I Were Your Woman". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Sanders, Charles L. (July 1989). "Sounding Off – The Best in Recorded Music". Ebony. Vol. 44, no. 9. ISSN 0012-9011.
  10. ^ "Gold & Platinum: The Whispers: More of the Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Wayman Tisdale: In the Zone Chart History – Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Wayman Tisdale: In the Zone Chart History – Contemporary Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Ding, Jaimie (June 22, 2019). "He's the 'DNA of R&B.;' Now Sacramento is naming city park after Robert Brookins". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Robert Brookins Soul Music Tribute". Sac Cultural Club. May 1, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Ross, Kevin (April 16, 2009). "Singer/Producer/Songwriter Robert Brookins has Died". Radio Facts. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "Always Remembered: Robert F. Brookins Black Music Month Celebration". Sacramento365. June 1, 2013. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  17. ^ "Robert Brookins Park (formerly Nuevo Park/Paseo Nuevo Park)". City of Sacramento. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
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