Early years Crenshaw grew up outside of Detroit in
Berkley, Michigan. His parents and three brothers (
Marshall, Mitchell, and John) were musically inclined. He was gifted his first drums at age 9, a red
Trixon set. Crenshaw's first band Rasputin included younger brothers of members of Marshall's band Astigafa. In his teens he was drummer for Denny and the Robots, an oldies band. In 1976, Crenshaw and his lifelong friend Stewart Simon studied recording engineering at the
Institute of Audio Research in New York City.
Marshall Crenshaw Band After Marshall Crenshaw finished his involvement in
Beatlemania, he recruited Robert as drummer for his new band, along with bassist Chris Donato. Marshall signed with Warner Brothers in 1981, and the trio recorded the album
Marshall Crenshaw. Robert also drummed on Marshall's follow-up album
Field Day in 1983, but only appeared on two tracks on
Downtown. He was back on drums for 1987's
Mary Jean & 9 Others, along with
Graham Maby on bass.
Recordings On Crenshaw's first three albums:
Full-Length Stereo Recordings,
Victory Songs and
Dog Days, Crenshaw recruited Dixon,
Marti Jones, and Jamie Hoover, among others. For 2014's
Friends, Family, and Neighbors, Crenshaw was assisted by his brother John, a sound mixer, producer
Don Dixon, bassist Maby, and engineer Stewart Simon.
Memoir In June 2019, Crenshaw published his memoir, "My Mythological Narrative A Rock Odyssey." The book chronicles Crenshaw's life and experiences including growing up in Berkley, Michigan, playing drums for brother, Marshall's band, and interactions with musicians such as Tina Turner, Joe Jackson, and Hall and Oates.
Personal life Besides performing music whenever possible, Crenshaw is a curriculum writer and robotics instructor in the automation industry. He also wrote a
mechatronics curriculum. ==Discography==