JR’s advice: Follow the beat of your passion

When world-renowned drummer John “JR” Robinson spoke to students from Creston High School during last week’s leadership class I felt a personal connection to his message.

John is a 1973 graduate of Creston High School. He’s from my era, as I graduated in 1975 from Fort Dodge Senior High. We’ve both lived a lot of life. Granted, his circle is the top rung of musical talent on this planet, while I’ve spent most of my adult life in the more humble surroundings of his hometown.

But, there’s one thing we share. A knowledge early in life what we wanted to do, and a passion to pursue it relentlessly. I still enjoy the challenge of completing an account of something I covered to make it worthy for local readers. JR is still in the mix of major national projects in the music and cinematic realms, and released a best-selling book in 2024, “King of the Groove.” (It is available in book stores and on Amazon.com.)

The book includes passages about his childhood in Creston, where he built a foundation for musical success with the help of local instructors who provided some door-opening opportunities for him.

Some of the themes of the book were discussed in his presentation a week ago to the leadership class for students in activities from the junior and sophomore classes. (The roster of speakers includes Kyle McCann, Scott Driskell, Dr. Michael Buck, Mike Tamerius, Mindy Stalker and Amy Higgins.)

“Fall in love with the idea of what you’re going to do with your life,” Robinson said, now 71. “I’m still busy. I’m not going to retire. Be a leader, walk dominantly through life. You have only one life. What’s the point of not having fun?”

The very next night, Robinson was scheduled to appear at the Blue Note in Los Angeles with the jazz vocal group, Take 6.

Robinson told students to think about what they want to do in life. Think about what talents or interests they have that can separate them from the pack, something they see themselves doing with passion.

He shared his thoughts about leaving small-town Creston for the urban sprawl of Boston after high school, to join musicians from around the globe at the esteemed Berklee College of Music. Suddenly, he was walking around looking up at skyscrapers and noticing people didn’t smile as they met on the street.

“The day you leave and mommy’s crying, is the day you grow up,” Robinson said.

He learned how to navigate life in a competitive atmosphere in a completely different culture. One of the Creston students asked him how he kept going when he hadn’t “made it” yet in the music industry.

“I had faith,” Robinson said. “I focused on the whole, not an individual circumstance.”

In 1978 Robinson was still in Boston playing with groups in clubs, trying to scrape out a living to make rent, when he got his lifetime break. The group Rufus, featuring Chaka Kahn, had appeared in Boston. That same night Robinson was playing at a local club.

One of the leaders of Rufus was troubled about an upcoming album recording session with master producer Quincy Jones, because their drummer had been inconsistent. Great one night and “blah” the next. He knew Quincy Jones wouldn’t tolerate anything but consistent excellence and that a new drummer probably was necessary.

“Take me to a live music club,” he told a cabbie. “It doesn’t matter. One that has the best live shows you know of.”

As luck would have it, he arrived where Robinson and his band were playing.

“Ten bars in I knew that was our new drummer,” he reportedly said. “I called the hotel and told the rest of the band to come down and listen.”

From that night, Robinson was a member of Rufus, and developed a relationship with his mentor in the business, Quincy Jones. It was Jones who asked JR to be the drummer on the world-famous single, “We Are the World,” that raised more than $80 million in humanitarian aide for famine-stricken Africa.

Robinson became the most recorded drummer in history, appearing with the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Nicks, John Fogarty, George Benson, Steve Winwood, The Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie and Daft Punk. (Spotify has a compilation of hit songs Robinson has appeared on titled “King of the Groove.”)

Not every student in the room knew what they wanted to do as adults yet. But, they got a good look (via Zoom conference) at someone who made the most of his passion, a talent honed through hard work, and the courage to seize the life-changing break that stumbled upon him after that late-night cab ride in Boston.

•••

Contact the writer:

Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

X: @larrypeterson