Robert Randolph

Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Jermaine Randolph, born August 8, 1977, Irvington, New Jersey).

NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock 'n' roll swagger".

Rolling Stone included Randolph upon their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

The band has released six studio albums and has been Grammy nominated four times.

Frontman Robert Randolph was trained as a pedal steel guitarist in the House of God Church and makes prominent use of the instrument in the band's music.

The instrument is referred to in many African-American Pentecostal churches as "sacred steel".

Randolph was discovered while playing at a sacred steel convention in Florida.

The group's sound is inspired by funk bands such as Earth, Wind & Fire and Sly & the Family Stone.

Randolph himself has explained that in his adolescent years before being discovered by the secular community, he was almost completely unaware of non-religious music.

He went on to exclaim in an interview that "I grew up and saw a lot of older guys playing lap steels and pedal-steel guitars in my church. I had never heard of the Allman Brothers, or even Buddy Guy or Muddy Waters."

Before releasing albums with The Family Band, Randolph was selected by avant-garde jazz organist John Medeski to join him and the North Mississippi Allstars on their 2001 jam project, The Word.

Just prior to the release of The Word's debut album, Randolph was brought to the attention of music fans through a review by Neil Strauss in The New York Times in April 2001.

On their first non-church tour of the East Coast, Randolph's new Family Band opened for the North Mississippi Allstars and then rejoined the musicians after their set, with Medeski, as The Word.

The first Robert Randolph and the Family Band album, Live at the Wetlands, was released in 2002 on Family Band Records, recorded live on August 23, 2001, just prior to the club's closing.

In 2002, they were hired by ABC to make the network's new NBA theme song.

The song, "We Got Hoops", only appeared in three telecasts, though it was used throughout both the NBA and WNBA seasons during promotions for both leagues.

The band released their studio debut, Unclassified on August 5, 2003.

They attracted the attention of Eric Clapton, and have subsequently toured as a supporting act with the English blues guitarist.

In September 2003 Randolph was listed as No. 97 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list.

Robert entered the list following Leigh Stephens and directly preceding Angus Young.

The band made its first television appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on August 5, 2003, performing "I Need More Love".

In February 2004 Robert Randolph and the Family Band along with the band O.A.R. released a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain", which was made available for online purchase through iTunes.

In 2004, Robert Randolph and the Family Band was the opening act on the Eric Clapton tour.

They are featured prominently in the Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD (2004).

The band also appears on Bonnaroo Music Festival DVDs.

The length of the concerts can vary greatly depending on what songs are played (the band does not use a set list) and how long jams last.

Concerts go over the allotted time if the band and the audience are having fun.

Most concerts don't have an intermission; instead, band members will exit the stage leaving one or two members a chance to shine with solos.

The one time the band does stop is so the band can relax, get hydrated, and plan the encore.

Clapton later guested on their 2006 album Colorblind, playing on a cover of "Jesus Is Just Alright".

Their third album, Colorblind, was released October 10, 2006.

The song "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" was used in several commercials for NBC, and used in Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas' jive on Dancing with the Stars.

The song "Thrill of It" was used throughout the 2007 college football season by ABC during their College Primetime games.

In June 2008 the Discovery Channel used this same song in a popular promo entitled "It's All Good" for their summer lineup.

This version was played live with O.A.R. at their June 18, 2009, show at Charter One Pavilion in Chicago.

They worked with producer T-Bone Burnett on their fourth studio album We Walk This Road, released in 2010.

They released the supposed first single from that album entitled "Get There" but this song did not appear on the album.

The first official single from the album is "If I Had My Way."

Randolph used his steel guitar with a wah-wah pedal

Their 2019 recording, Brighter Days, was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic.