On the 22nd anniversary of the death of legendary Ratt guitarist Robbinson Lantz "Robbin" Crosby (June 6th, 2002) at the young age of 42, we revisit last year’s Streaming For Vengeance conversation with singer Stephen Pearcy, as he recalls getting signed by Atlantic Years and walking into the major label offices of their new home with Crosby.
Pearcy recalls: "What was going through my head - I have to say Robbin too - because we were both like, 'Fuckin' eh!'. This is where Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones are at, I think we're happy! I mean, no complaints! What is this BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.)? ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers)? Ok, they're BMI, we're going to go there. So yeah, interesting."
BraveWords: But Atlantic must have been happy. They just signed a band with the songs, with the looks, with the attitude, and, most importantly the sales, big time. So, you guys were golden boys.
Pearcy: "Yeah. You can say that. We worked our asses off, and if it wasn't for Beau Hill instigating ‘Round And Round’ - he was just, 'What do you guys got?'. And we were like, 'Well, we got this song and that song', and when he heard ‘Round And Round’, he was like, 'What's that?'. We were like, 'Oh, it's just a song we have in this set, and it's not quite there', it didn't have the bridge. So, thank you, Beau, for coming in the picture. Because he was a staff producer and the deal was that Doug Morris, President of the label, would sign us only if he was producing. Now, that tale is told, and I don't know how much truth there is there. I'd have to ask Beau Hill. But I loved working with Beau Hill. My drummer, (Bobby) Blotzer, was out there doing some interviews and he's saying some things, speaking for us, Ratt, and I don't agree. I get along great with Beau Hill. He actually mixed and mastered some music of mine over the years, I love him. I mean, he and I created my sound, how we record my voice, the whole schematics of me, you know? My delivery. So, we walk into Atlantic and we were, yeah, quite happy. But I gotta tell you, and Warren hasn't said this in any interview, but it's true, we were one of the last bands to be signed, believe it or not. I mean you got an independent EP selling 100,000 units, and people started taking notice. After we did Santa Monica Civic that was pretty much it. It was like, 'Time for lift-off', you know? Ok, you need a record deal. We were the last to be signed on, if you want to say that."
(Photos by MissTruthAdare)
