Robbie Dupree

Born Robert Dupuis on December 23, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York, Robbie Dupree built a career as a pop and rock vocalist and composer whose silky yet lightly soul-tinged voice secured a pair of chart successes early in the 1980s. His initial musical steps involved performing with local doo-wop ensembles around the neighborhood, where he absorbed the styles of classic soul figures including Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. During the early 1970s he sang alongside the ensemble New World Rising, whose guitarist Nile Rodgers would later achieve prominence as a producer, songwriter, and frontman of Chic. After moving to Woodstock, New York, Dupree spent the remainder of the decade performing live with several different groups, refining his delivery through steady touring and sharpening his skills as a songwriter.

In 1978 he shifted to Los Angeles and launched a solo identity. A deal with Elektra Records followed, and producers Rick Chudacoff and Peter Bunetta helped shape his debut album, which carried the sleek yet melodic imprint of soft-rock stalwarts the Doobie Brothers. Issued in 1980, the self-titled collection yielded two notable singles: “Steal Away,” which climbed to number six on the Top Singles chart, and “Hot Rod Hearts,” which reached number 15. His follow-up LP, Street Corner Heroes, appeared in 1981 and contained the modest hit “Brooklyn Girls,” which peaked at number 54 on the same survey.

A disagreement with his label soon curtailed new output, leaving only the track “Girls in Cars” on the 1987 compilation The Wrestling Album, Vol. 2: Piledriver until his third studio album, Carried Away, finally surfaced in 1989. Although American interest had cooled, Dupree retained a devoted audience in Japan; his subsequent releases, Walking on Water in 1993 and Smoke and Mirrors in 1995, were issued on the Japanese Polystar imprint. The self-released live set All Night Long arrived in 1998 and featured guest appearances by Tony Levin and John Hall, while the 2003 project Robbie Dupree with David Sancious paired him with the noted pianist for a jazz-leaning recording. Sancious rejoined him for Time and Tide in 2010, the same year online enthusiasts rediscovered the soft-rock sound of the 1970s and 1980s under the “yacht rock” banner and sparked a renewed wave of attention. Jimmy Fallon welcomed Dupree onto his program for a yacht-rock segment, and the singer began occasional performances with Atlanta’s Yacht Rock Revue; in 2015 he joined the “Rock the Yacht” tour alongside the Little River Band, Stephen Bishop, Ambrosia, and Player.

A benefit EP, Arc of a Romance, returned him to more earnest subjects in 2012, and the 2014 single “In God’s Country” included a contribution from fellow soft-rock figure Christopher Cross. The anthology Anthology: 1998-2014, drawn from concert recordings with his road band, appeared in 2015.