Black Stone Cherry are a southern rock band formed on June 4, 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky, USA. They are signed to Roadrunner Records. The band is composed of Chris Robertson (lead vocals, guitar), Ben Wells (guitar, background vocals), John Lawhon (bass guitar, background vocals), and John Fred Young (drums, background vocals), son of The Kentucky Headhunters' rhythm guitarist Richard Young. Black Stone Cherry has released three studio albums and three EPs, and has charted five singles on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.
They originate from Edmonton, Kentucky. Chris Robertson and John Fred Young, son of The Kentucky Headhunters' rhythm guitarist Richard Young, started to play music together early in their teens and Jon and Ben soon followed. Black Stone Cherry officially formed on June 4, 2001. They then took over the practice house that had been used by The Kentucky Headhunters since 1968 and began to record tracks. After the band finished recording, they returned to Edmonton for a homecoming gig in the gym of the local middle school, which was attended by 1500 people. After the band’s self-titled debut album was released, Chris's former school principal invited the band back to Edmonton to celebrate with a concert. As the band entered the town, the streets were covered with signs welcoming them back.
In July 2007, they released a second EP containing the song "Rain Wizard" along with two previously unreleased tracks.
The first live album by Black Stone Cherry was released on October 31, 2007 immediately following the concert at the Astoria in London. They joined Def Leppard and Whitesnake in the summer of 2008 for European dates.
On August 19, 2008 Black Stone Cherry released their second album, entitled Folklore and Superstition. Three singles from the album, "Blind Man", "Please Come In" and "Things My Father Said" have been released.
In May 2009, they supported Nickelback's Dark Horse tour.
The White Trash Millionaire Songfacts states that their third studio album, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, got an unexpected early release on the bittorrent tracker, Demonoid on May 27, 2011 due to an employee error at an unspecified Walmart. The official release date was May 31, 2011.
Black Stone Cherry's music style is often associated with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Black Crowes, and Led Zeppelin to a lesser extent. While there are clear influences in Black Stone Cherry’s music, they have created their own style to a great extent. The musical tone and composition of Black Stone Cherry is very comparable to that of Brand New Sin and Zakk Wylde's Pride and Glory.
The song writing of Black Stone Cherry is often praised for great storytelling and delivering a strong message. For example, the song "Lonely Train" is about the effect on families when a relative goes to fight in a war. The song "Rain Wizard" is about a local legend of mysterious wisemen who could bring the rain in times of drought. "Backwoods Gold" is about a local man who ran moonshine out of the hardware store in the middle of Edmonton.