Robert Hill
Robert Hill was born at a very early age, a small, naked male child in North Little Rock, Arkansas. As the story goes, whenever someone from the city of Little Rock, (on the other side of the Arkansas River), had something they wanted to get rid of, say, a car, a dog , or maybe an ex-wife or husband, they would drive it over the bridge to the NLR side and dump it. As a result of people depositing, particularly dogs, the town gained the distinguished nickname of “Dogtown”. It made the people proud.
Whether he was " asked" to leave the state by local officials, or left on his own accord, Hill moved to the Northeast, where he played with local NYC band, The Bluesicians, sharing the stage with numerous national acts, and revellers of all ages. Here he formed the first incarnation of the Robert Hill Band, performing exclusively his own material, and released the cleverly-titled debut cd, "Robert Hill", to excellent reviews. He says many of the songs are autobiograghical, just not necessarily about him.
His latest release, “My Corner”, is a showcase not only for his exceptional writing, but also for his mastery of the acoustic guitar, and soulful vocals. The title song, “My Corner”, won first prize in the AAA / Americana category of the 10th Annual Unisong International Songwriting Competition. Two other songs on the cd, “Angelina”, and “Another Chapter” have also won acclaim in the ISC, and 11th Unisong competitions.
The section of the country Hill grew up in possesses a unique gumbo of musical styles: urban and deep Delta blues, bluegrass, oldtime country, zydeco, ragtime, cowpunk, gospel, even a polka or two in spots. When you mix it all together, they just call it Rock and Roll. Johnny Cash was born there - what else needs to be said? VIEW ADDITIONAL VIDEOS AT: http://www.youtube.com/radiotoneslide
Robert Hill - Guitar, vocals, harmonica, gravy
CREDITS:
Hill’s latest cd, “My Corner”, was placed on XM Satellite’s, “The Loft”,(singer/songwriter show), most
requested section. The cd has been played on well over 100 stations across the country including: WUMB,
WFMT,WXPN,WPKN, WMUA,WFDU, WKZE and WHUD to name a few.
Debuted at #19 on The Roots Music Report Folk Chart Top 50-12/07. Charted at #3 on The New Jersey
Roots Artist Radio Airplay Chart.
American Music Association Top 5 Most Added/Americana 1/07/08. Also Top 5 Most Added for Internet
Airplay Chart.
Radio and Records publication, Top 5 Most Added-1/07/08
A recent show recorded live at Studio Joe Coffeehouse Studios, in Little Rock, AR, was broadcast June
2009 over NPR affilliate, KUAR.
He has has opened for Chris Smither, Levon Helm (The Band), John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band),
Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown),The Tony Trischka Band, Rick Danko (The Band), Rory Block,
Debbie Davies,and numerous others.
Certificates of Achievement:
Winner in 3 Categories of The 12th Annual Unisong International-May 2009
See: http://roberthillband.com/news.html FOR DETAILS
1st Place Winner, 2005 Unisong International Songwriting Contest,
AAA/Americana category for his song; “My Corner ”
2006 & 2005 Semifinalist ISC Songwriting Contest- 1999 & 1997 UNISONG International Song Contest,
To view video clips of live performances, go to: www.youtube.com/radiotoneslide
Hill’s song, "Long Rain", ran in the Smirnoff Ice commercial, "Rope", which aired during the 2002 Super Bowl game.
Hill’s Instrumental, "Slide On Rye", is currently being used in an episode of the TV series, Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.
Second place winner in the 1st Annual National Slide Guitar Festival, Acoustic Competition, held in Brevard, NC, August 1997. This was a national competition.
Hill’s instrumental, "Slide On Rye", is the theme song for Blue Country, a weekly radio show broadcast live on 101 FM, Logan City, Queensland, Australia every Tuesday night from 10 pm to 12am. (http://members.tripod.com/blue_country/ )
Certificates of Achievement: 1st Place Winner, 2005 Unisong International Songwriting Contest,AAA/Americana category for his song; "My Corner".
2006 & 2005 Semifinalist ISC Songwriting Contest,
1999 & 1997 UNISONG International Song Contest,
1996 BILLBOARD Song Contest
Composed soundtrack for award winning PBS Film Documentary, "BURLEY"- the story of a North Carolina tobacco farmer.