BlackHawk keyboardist Dave Robbins cut his teeth on progressive rock organ-pounders, such as Rick Wakeman, with the band Yes, and Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren, of Kansas.
"I had actually began playing the piano when I was 6," Robbins said during a phone interview from his home in Nashville, Tenn. "But I didn't want any of my friends to know. By the time I was in seventh grade, I wanted to quit. But got back into it when I got into ninth grade. That's when I put on those Kansas albums and learned how to play them."BlackHawk -- Robbins, vocalist/guitarist Henry Paul and guitarist Van Stephenson -- will play the Delta Center for a New Year's Eve party on Dec. 31. The band is scheduled to hit the stage about 11 p.m. The Bullriders will actually kick off the evening at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at all Smith'sTix outlets.
Although progressive rock got Robbins back into music, it was a church preacher who actually put him to work. "He told me he needed a keyboard player for a Christmas program that was using pop-style music. So I did it."
Later, Robbins began studying his music seriously. One of his teachers was a Juilliard graduate who urged him to go to Nashville to study music at Belmont University.
From there, Robbins met Stephenson, who, in turn, introduced the pianist to the House of Gold publishing. "I began writing songs for other country groups and musicians."
Some of the songs Robbins and Stephenson penned include Kenny Rogers' "All My Life," Laura Brannigan's "Never in a Million Years," Dan Seals' "Everybody's Dream Girl" and a string of singles for Restless Heart -- including "Blues Eyes in Texas" and "Big Dreams in a Small Town."
Another friend, Tim DuBois -- who was president of Arista Records Nashville -- noticed the songwriting and suggested that Stephenson and Robbins team with Paul and try to do something for themselves.
One of the major challenges the trio faced was writing songs for themselves.
"It's interesting," Robbins said. "We were so used to writing to fit the styles of other artists that it took us some time to write something that fit us. We knew how to write a Restless Heart song. And we had to find out our own vocal ranges and figure who was singing what part in the harmonies in order to write a good song."
The chemistry worked. BlackHawk has hit the top spot on the country charts with "Every Once in a While" and "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No." The band also has a string of Top 10 singles.
BlackHawk's debut album became certified double-platinum in 1996 (selling more than 2 million copies).
BlackHawk has also played the Grand Ole Opry and has garnered many music awards and other nominations.
"We would like to headline a major tour someday," Robbins said. "We're doing all right, where we are, but that's a goal. We want to headline."