A Songbird Sings: Robin Lane

Looking Back & Giving Back

While watching an episode of Chronicle on July 25th, I was amazed with the "Ballad of Robin Lane". Robin was a rock 'n roll icon from the 1980's. I remembered her band, The Chartbusters and listened about her life since and up to her recent non-profit organization, songbirdsings.org which is focused on helping those suffering from trauma. Whether it be abuse, PTSD, incarceration or exploitation and other forms of trauma, the organization wants to help -- one song at a time by providing support systems and music therapy.

I contacted Robin via Facebook to let her know that I loved the episode and asked how I could help. Fundraising is the best way to support this non-profit. So I set up a donation page at Fundraise.com. I donated $100 and my mother, Lorraine donated $50. Additionally, I am selling four $30 PRAY IT FORWARD necklaces on Cherished Saints, where $10 profit from each sale will go to Robin's organization.

Robin has been busy promoting Songbird Sings with public appearances and performances -- and her CD, "A Woman's Life". Consider making a donation this holiday season or purchase Robin's CD -- to make a difference and to give back by helping others that have suffered major trauma in their lives.

Robin Lane ROCKS!

Background on Robin Lane direct from Wikipedia:

Robin Lane (born 1947, Los Angeles, California) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Her band, Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, released three albums on Warner Bros. Records in the early 1980s, and was best known for its single "When Things Go Wrong".

Robin Lane grew up in Los Angeles. Her father was Ken Lane, songwriter and pianist for Dean Martin; her mother was a model. While in her teens, Robin began singing and performing in folk-rock clubs in southern California. From 1968 to 1970 she was married to future Police lead guitarist Andy Summers. In 1969, she sang backing vocals on the song "Round & Round" on Neil Young's album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. In the 1970s, Lane moved to eastern Pennsylvania and then to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her musical interests turned from folk-rock to a harder sound influenced by the growing punk rock and New Wave genres.

In 1978, Lane formed the Chartbusters with Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe (of The Modern Lovers), Scott Baerenwald and Tim Jackson. She had signed with Private Stock Records, which shortly afterward went out of business. After Jerry Wexler saw a Chartbusters show, however, he signed the band to Warner Brothers. Their first album, Robin Lane & the Chartbusters (1980) featured the singles "When Things Go Wrong" and "Why Do You Tell Lies?", earned favorable reviews, and received widespread airplay; the music video for "When Things Go Wrong" was the 11th song shown on MTV's first American broadcast day, August 1, 1981. The band had two more releases on Warner, the EP "5 Live" (1980) and "Imitation Life" (1981). The limited commercial success of these records, combined with business disputes and Lane's desire to have a child, led to the breakup of the Chartbusters in 1983.

Lane continued writing and recording music, and released the independent EP "Heart Connection" (1984), the self-produced cassette In Concert (1989), and the full-length Catbird Seat (1995). She co-wrote the song "Wishing On Telstar" for the 1991 Susanna Hoffs album When You're a Boy.

In 2001, Lane and several of the Chartbusters regrouped for two reunion concerts, and decided to continue recording and performing; they released "Piece of Mind" in 2003. Since then, Lane has moved to western Massachusetts, where she works with the Turners Falls, Massachusetts Women's Resource Center, using music therapy to aid survivors of abuse.

Background from the website of Songbird Sings:

The Mission of Songbird Sings

It is the mission of Songbird Sings to transform those silenced by domestic violence, sexual exploitation, post traumatic stress disorder, childhood abuse, war, and incarceration, enabling them to give voice to their experiences and emotions. Through songwriting and creative collaboration, participants find the key to their own healing, developing inner strength and resilience as they come to trust themselves and others, while building support systems between those with a shared history of trauma. 

Future goals:  To create a nation-wide network of accredited instructors to offer Songbird Sings songwriting and recording workshops for trauma survivors.