Hargus Melvin "Pig" Robbins (born January 18, 1938 in Spring City, Tennessee[1]) is an American session keyboard and piano player. Having played on records for artists such as Dolly Parton, Patti Page, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Ween, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, David Allan Coe, Moe Bandy, George Hamilton IV and Conway Twitty,[2] He played on Roger Miller's Grammy award winning "Dang Me" in 1964. Robbins is a prominent session instrumentalist in Nashville. He is also blind, having lost his sight at age four due to an accident involving his father's knife.[1]
Robbins learned to play piano at age seven, while attending the Nashville School for the Blind. He played his first session in 1957, with his first major recording being George Jones's "White Lightning".[3] Since then, he has gone on to play piano and keyboards for scores of country music artists.
Between 1963 and 1979, Robbins also recorded eight studio albums: one on Time Records, three on Chart Records, and four on Elektra Records, as well as an independent live album.[3] He was also awarded Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1976 and 2000.[4]
His 1959 single "Save It", recorded under the name Mel Robbins, was famously covered by The Cramps on their 1983 album Off the Bone.
Robbins joined producers Alan Autry and Randall Franks on the In the Heat of the Night (TV Series) 1991 Christmas Time's A Comin' CD appearing on several cuts but receiving feature credit on series star David Hart (actor)'s recording of "Let it Snow."
On October 21, 2012, Robbins was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.[5]
Discography
Albums
| 1962 |
"Hully Gully to The Hits" as Mel "Pigue" Robbins |
Smash 27012 MONO/ 67012 STEREO |
|---|
| 1963 |
A Bit of Country Piano |
— |
| 1968 |
Play It Again, Hargus |
— |
| 1969 |
Hargus Robbins |
— |
| One More Time |
— |
| 1977 |
Country Instrumentalist of the Year |
46 |
| 1978 |
A Pig in a Poke |
— |
| 1979 |
Alive from Austin City Limits |
— |
| Unbreakable Hearts |
— |
Singles
| Year |
Song |
US Country[4] |
|---|
| 1979 |
"Chunky People" |
83 |
| "Unbreakable Hearts" |
92 |
References
See also