Robin Russell

Robin Russell is an American drummer, songwriter, and recording artist from Los Angeles, California.

Career

As of September 1972, Russell is the original drummer with the rhythm and blues ensemble New Birth and their instrumental counterpart, the Nite-Liters. Russell has performed with Little Richard including the performance at "The London Rock and Roll Show", Wembley Stadium, London, England, August 5, 1972. Russell also performed with Johnny "Guitar" Watson, disco era giant Sylvester, and has performed with a variety of artists in the Los Angeles area including Richard Berry (composer of "Louie Louie"), Danny Flores (composer of "Tequila"), and Rosa Lee Brooks, who recorded "My Diary" with Jimi Hendrix. Since the onset of digital recording technology in the 1980s, Russell's drums have been sampled by a number of Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B artists including Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, The Notorious B.I.G., Fat Joe, De La Soul, Black Sheep, A Tribe Called Quest, and more. In 2001 Russell contributed liner note comments for legendary jazz/fusion drummer Billy Cobham's Rudiments-Anthology CD, and Russell was a featured artist in the June 2010 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. Most recently Russell's drumming was featured in an article written by Mary MacVean and published on the front page section of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, dated Friday, November 6, 2015. This article is also posted on latimes.com. Over the years Russell has periodically joined New Birth for reunion shows.