They call him the heartbeat of the band. Grammy Award winner Forrest Robinson, of super band Delta Deep, is an alumnus of UTC’s College of Music. Although he’s a Memphis native, he calls Chattanooga his home. So the band’s recent stop in Chattanooga to perform at Riverbend was something of a homecoming for Robinson.
“It’s my first time playing Riverbend in 20 years. I played here twice before: on this stage in ‘92 and I think it was the Miller Stage in 1996. It was great to be back here,” Robinson said in an interview with UTC TV.
Delta Deep began as “an extreme blues project” with Phil Collen, lead guitarist of Def Leppard, and singer Debbi Blackwell-Cook, whose history boasts stints as back up singer for Michael Buble and Gregory Hines, among others. Along the way, the band picked up Robinson, drummer, and Stone Temple Pilots’ bassist, Robert DeLeo.
With seven Grammy Awards under his belt, Robinson has built quite the musical career for himself. He’s toured as drummer with bands India.Arie, Victor Wooten, Joe Sample, TLC, and Arrested Development, to name a few. He has also performed live on “Saturday Night Live”, “Late Show with David Letterman”, “Good Morning America”, and many more.
