Blackhawk

Band

Blackhawk is an American country music group founded in 1992 by Henry Paul (lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar), Van Stephenson (background vocals, electric guitar), and Dave Robbins (background vocals, keyboards.) Several backing musicians also performed with the trio; however, these backing musicians were not officially part of Blackhawk until 2008.

Prior to the group’s formation, Robbins and Stephenson co-wrote several Number One Singles for the country pop band Restless Heart, and Stephenson also charted two pop hits in the early 1980s. Paul was previously a member of the Southern rock band Outlaws as well.

In 1993, Blackhawk was signed to a record deal with Arista Nashville. Their debut single, Goodbye Says It All, was released the same year, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and their first album (1994’s BlackHawk) was certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, the band continued to chart several singles, in addition to releasing three more albums and a Greatest Hits package.

Van Stephenson departed the group in 2000 due to complications from skin cancer. He was replaced with Randy Threet (also a former member of the Outlaws), who made his first appearance on Spirit Dancer, the band’s fifth studio album. After Threet's departure in 2003, Anthony Crawford took over as tenor vocalist and lead guitarist; Crawford was, in turn, succeeded by Michael Randall four years later. From early 2008 until he re-joined in 2010, Robbins left the group to resume his songwriting career, and Threet re-joined. Since then, Blackhawk’s backing band subsumed into the main group, which comprises Paul (lead vocals, guitar, mandolin), Randy Threet (bass guitar, background vocals), Chris Anderson (lead guitar, background vocals), Dave Robbins (keyboards, background vocals), and Monte Yoho (drums, percussion.)