Black Stone Cherry's Chris Robertson records original song with Rockin' 1000 - watch
Watch the 'How We Roll' video
Last updated 5th Jun 2023
Black Stone Cherry frontman Chris Robertson has joined forces with 'The Biggest Rock Band on Earth', Rockin’ 1000, on the vast Italian collective’s first original song.
Back in July 2015, Foo Fighters fan Fabio Zaffagnini assembled a 1000-strong group of musicians called Rockin’ 1000 and they performed an incredible version of ‘Learn To Fly’ in the small city of Cesena.
Alongside the viral video, which has since amassed more than 62 million views, Zaffagnini wrote: “Our call is to ask the Foo Fighters to come and play for us and give a concert in Cesena."
Dave Grohl tweeted in response “Ci vediamo a presto, Cesena.... xxx Davide” (“See you soon, Cesena"), and the Foo Fighters duly performed a concert there in November 2015.
Since then, Rockin’ 1000 have covered songs by David Bowie, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, The Who, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses to name but a few, and they’ve performed sold-out concerts across Europe.
Now, the gargantuan musical collective have teamed up with Mascot Label Group and they’re set to release their first original song, ‘How We Roll’, featuring the powerhouse vocals of Black Stone Cherry’s Chris Robertson.
Co-written by Jet’s Nic Cester, Giulio Nenna, Daniel Plentz, and Andrea Debernardi, ‘How We Roll’ was recorded by 100 of the Rockin’ 1000 musicians at the Teatro Verdi in Cesena, Italy in October 2022.
Watch Rockin' 1000's 'How We Roll' video ft. Chris Robertson:
Enthusing about his involvement, Chris Robertson said: “I’ve been a big fan of Rockin’1000 since the first video went viral, so to sing their first original song is a huge honour for me. I can’t wait for you all to check it out.”
Fabio Zaffagnini, founder of Rockin’1000, adds: “After creating the first draft, which included a topline with guitar accompaniment, we asked the community to arrange it and write the lyrics. We collected over 1,000 proposals, in which there was everything: punk, folk, metal, and prog versions.
“Gathering materials from so many people and putting them together was long, demanding, and very interesting. Listening to hundreds of versions allowed us to understand what worked and what didn’t.
“The feature of Black Stone Cherry is, for us, a confirmation of the quality of the song. We are delighted. Such a result was not taken for granted when we started with this yet another crazy idea!”
‘How We Roll’ will be played live for the first time by 1,000 musicians during the opening date of the Humans World Tour 2023 in Madrid on Saturday (3rd June).
In May 2022, Rockin' 1000 shared a poignant cover of Foo Fighters’ 1997 anthem ‘My Hero’ in tribute to the band’s late drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Black Stone Cherry celebrate the release of their eighth studio album ‘Screamin’ at the Sky’ with an intimate headline UK & Ireland tour and series of in-store signings in autumn 2023.
The Kentucky band also bring Steelhouse Festival 2023 to a rip-roaring close when they headline on Sunday 30th July. It’s their first ever performance up the Steelhouse mountain. Buy tickets to Steelhouse Festival.
The childhood homes of 20 rock stars:
Joe Elliott’s childhood home
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was born and raised at 61 Crookes Road in Sheffield. Ahead of Def Leppard's homecoming gigs at The Leadmill and Bramall Lane in May 2023, Joe visited the property. He wrote: "The house I was born in, grew up in, met Sav & Tony Kenning for the very time in that upstairs room you can see above me …. Sigh …. Memories!!"
Ozzy Osbourne’s childhood home
One of six children, Ozzy Osbourne spent his formative years in this small two-bedroom terraced house on Lodge Road in Aston. Ozzy told Huffington Post in 2014: "I've been back to that house a few times over the years and I can't believe there were eight of us living in a two-and-a-half-bedroom house. It is tiny! I have wardrobes bigger in my house."
John Lennon’s childhood home
Now a lovingly restored Grade II listed building preserved by the National Trust, John Lennon lived at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi from 1945 to 1963. It featured on the cover to Oasis single 'Live Forever' in 1994 and in 2000 it was adorned with an English Heritage blue plaque.
Paul McCartney’s childhood home
Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. It became a listed building in 2012 and is owned by the National Trust. The Trust markets the house as "the birthplace of the Beatles" as it was where McCartney and Lennon penned the earliest Beatles songs.
Ringo Starr’s childhood home
Ringo Starr (aka Richard Starkey) spent his very early childhood years at a terraced house on Madryn Street in Liverpool but moved to at two-up, two-down house 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle when he was 3 with mum Elsie when his parents separated. He lived there for the next 20 years. Pictured is 10 Admiral Grove in 1964.
David Bowie’s childhood home
40 Stansfield Road in Brixton where a young David Jones - aka David Bowie – lived until he was six years old. The house became a shrine for Bowie when the music legend died in January 2016.
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana fan Lee Bacon bought the house in 2018 for $225,000 (around £170,000) and told Rolling Stone: "My goal is to preserve and restore it for my generation and for my kids."
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's Led Zeppelin graffiti is still on the walls in his attic bedroom.
Little Richard’s childhood home
The late rock and roll pioneer was brought up alongside his eleven siblings in this detached home in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood of Macon, Georgia in the 1930s and 40s. Now named The Little Richard Resource Center, the home is now open to the public and hosts a number of community events.
Bruce Springsteen’s childhood home
Bruce Springsteen grew up in this home at 39 1/2 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey from the years 1955 to 1962. It was while living at this house aged 7 in 1956 that Springsteen witnessed Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided he wanted to be a musician himself.
Johnny Cash’s childhood home
Meticulously restored in 2014 thanks to funds from Arkansas State University, Johnny Cash's boyhood home is in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas.
Jim Morrison’s childhood home
Jim Morrison's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he lived in his teens while his dad worked at the nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.
Bono’s childhood home
Paul 'Bono' Hewson's parents bought this house on Cedarwood Road, Dublin seven weeks after his birth in 1960 and he spent his entire childhood here. The U2 song 'Cedarwood Road' on their 2014 album 'Songs of Innocence' is a nostalgic musical celebration of Bono's boyhood abode.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
Aged 17, Freddie Mercury and his family fled the Zanzibar revolution to live at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London. Pictured is Queen's Brian May and Freddie's younger sister Kashmira Cooke at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the house in September 2016.
Lars Ulrich’s childhood home
Lars Ulrich lived in this uniquely designed property in Hellerup, Denmark with his family until he moved to America aged 17.
Mick Jagger’s childhood home
Sir Mick Jagger was brought up in this semi-detached house in Dartford, Kent. His future bandmate Keith Richards lived just around the corner.
Keith Richards’ childhood home
Keith Richards spent the first six years of his life living in this two-bedroom flat above a florists in Dartford, Kent.
Axl Rose’s childhood home
Axl Rose lived at this humble Lafayette, Indiana house from 1962 to 1982 before moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties.
Marc Bolan’s childhood home
The young Mark Field (Marc Bolan) lived at this terraced property on Stoke Newington Common, London from his birth in 1947 to aged 15 in 1962. In 2005, the London Borough of Hackney honoured Bolan with a plaque outside the property.
Elvis Presley’s childhood home
The humble two-bedroom house in Tupelo, Mississippi where The King himself Elvis Presley was born on 8th January 1935. It was built by his father Vernon after he successfully secured a $180 loan.
Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home
John Francis Bongiovi Jr.'s childhood home in Sayreville, New Jersey. Astonishingly, MTV bought the home in 1989 and gave it away in a competition. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be "angry" at the publicity stunt and the competition winner soon sold the property.
Noel and Liam Gallagher's childhood home
Soon after Liam's birth, the Gallaghers moved to Ashby Avenue and then to Cranwell Drive in Burnage (pictured). With a violent and alcoholic father, Noel and his brothers had an unhappy childhood before mum Peggy left Thomas in 1982 with her three children.