Magyar Commercial Free Café: Robin Trower

Born in London, England in 1945, Robin Trower is one of rock music’s most driven musicians hands down. Getting his start in the Paramounts in 1962, Trower would play in a handful of other groups before ending up in Procol Harum which was created by a former Paramounts bandmate.  

With Procol Harum, Robin Trower really started to gain traction. The band’s debut single “A Whiter Shade of Pale” topped 19 different charts in 15 different countries. At their very first show, the same day “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was released, Jimi Hendrix enjoyed the performance so much that he took bassist David Knight’s bass and played along to their cover of Tim Rose’s “Morning Dew”.  

Trower would stay with Procol Harum until 1971, being involved on their albums Procol Harum (1967), Shine on Brightly (1968), A Salty Dog (1969), Home (1970), Ain’t Nothin’ to Get Excited About (1970), and Broken Barricades (1971). After leaving the band, he joined a super group called Jude which disbanded before they could record any music. 

In 1973, Robin Trower formed the Robin Trower Band with vocalist James Dewar and drummer Reg Isidore. That year, the band released their debut album Twice Removed from Yesterday which was well received. The following year they released Bridge of Sighs which did even better, landing at number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.  

The Robin Trower Band was noted to have heavy Jimi Hendrix influences for its first few releases. In turn, Robin himself became an influence and inspiration to other guitarists. One such being King Crimson’s Robert Fripp who even took guitar lessons from Trower.  

While he was successful in his endeavors with the Robin Trower Band, that didn’t stop Robin from expanding his reach. In the early 1980’s, he released two albums with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce titled BLT (1981) and Truce (1982). This was followed by the release of the Robin Trower Band’s Back It Up in 1983.  

In 1991, Trower was brought in to be a part of the Night of the Guitars II European tour. Organized by Sting and Miles Copeland, the tour featured the McCoys’ Rick Derringer, Saga’s Ian Crichton, and Dave Sharman.  

By 2000, Trower had released over 15 albums between the Robin Trower Band and his other solo work like BLT. This number has only continued to grow, with the total number of releases being well over 30 with no signs of stopping. The most recent album, Joyful Sky was released in October of 2023. 

Click HERE to for more information about the all-day music festival coming to The Mills at Jersey Gardens!

From 12:00pm to 1:00pm from 3/17/25 to 3/21/25, text your name and where you’re listening to 732-545-8275 to enter this text to win contest. Three (3) random entrants will win a pair of tickets to see Robin Trower at the Wellmont Theater valued at $49.00 each (plus fees), courtesy of the Wellmont Theater. Must be at least 18 years old and legal residents of the United States. Unless otherwise specified, listeners are eligible to win in station’s contests; a prize valued under $600 only once every seven (7) days and a prize valued at $600 or more, only once every thirty (30) days. Only one winner per household (whether related or not) is permitted in any contest. Otherwise, WMGQ's General Contest Rules apply and are available by clicking HERE.