Growing up in Virginia in the 70s and 80s, I sure heard a lot of Richmond based Robbin Thompson's music. He was the co-writer of "Sweet Virginia Breeze", which is one of two Virginia state songs. He also wrote "Brite Eyes", which was a minor national hit, and "Candy Apple Red". "Sweet Virginia Breeze" was even used as a commercial jingle for Farm Fresh, a local supermarket chain.
Thompson died last month at the age of 66. He had quite an illustrious career. He was an early member of one of Bruce Springsteen's bands. Eagles and Poco band member Timothy B. Schmidt sang backup on his records. He also worked with Bruce Hornsby and other Virginia based artists.
Some time ago, I became obsessed with Thompson's song, "Brite Eyes". I kept searching for it on the Internet and could never find it. My efforts were unrewarded because I spelled the word "bright" correctly. Once I spelled it the wrong way, I found what I was looking for.
I'm not sure why Thompson died at age 66. Based on the obituary I read, my guess is that he was stricken by some sort of cancer. A person in the know mentioned "treatment", which usually indicates cancer. But I could be wrong, of course, and if anyone out there wants to correct me, I would welcome that. Anyway, he was a great artist and I'm glad he lived long enough to see his song become one of Virginia's state songs.
Thompson died last month at the age of 66. He had quite an illustrious career. He was an early member of one of Bruce Springsteen's bands. Eagles and Poco band member Timothy B. Schmidt sang backup on his records. He also worked with Bruce Hornsby and other Virginia based artists.
Some time ago, I became obsessed with Thompson's song, "Brite Eyes". I kept searching for it on the Internet and could never find it. My efforts were unrewarded because I spelled the word "bright" correctly. Once I spelled it the wrong way, I found what I was looking for.
I'm not sure why Thompson died at age 66. Based on the obituary I read, my guess is that he was stricken by some sort of cancer. A person in the know mentioned "treatment", which usually indicates cancer. But I could be wrong, of course, and if anyone out there wants to correct me, I would welcome that. Anyway, he was a great artist and I'm glad he lived long enough to see his song become one of Virginia's state songs.
He wasn't originally a Virginian, but he sure came to love the place of my birth and upbringing... RIP, Robbin Thompson.
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