Hargus “Pig” Robbins – The Fingers of Country Music – Has Died

There are most certainly more popular and well-recognized entertainers to perform country music over the years. There are probably flashier side players who left their mark on audiences through country music’s century of existence. But nobody, nobody left more fingerprints on country music for well over 60 years, and remained relevant and sincerely sought after right up to his very death than Country Music Hall of Fame piano player and keyboardist Hargus “Pig” Robbins.
Robbins was there in 1958 when a young, crew cut George Jones stepped into the studio to record his first big single, “White Lightning.” He played those iconic piano parts on Patsy Cline’s most memorable compositions that became the very bedrock of how country piano was supposed to sound.
When Sturgill Simpson was assembling musicians to record his debut solo album High Top Mountain from 2013, Hargus “Pig” Robbins was the 1st on his wish list. And all the way up to last year, on Connie Smith’s latest album The Cry of the Heart, Hargus “Pig” Robbins can be heard, just like he can be heard on most all of Connie’s records, along with so many country legends who insisted it was Hargus on piano, and nobody else.
Born on January 18, 1938 in Spring City, Tennessee, Hargus Marvin Robbins was rendered blind at the age of four due to an accident involving his father’s knife. In those days, there were few occupations a blind boy could dream of, but one of them was playing piano, which he learned while attending the Nashville School for the Blind at age 7. His first session was in 1957, and soon Hargus became one of the most sought after studio performers in country music—a distinction he would enjoy for over 60 years.
It might be easier to name off the country artists Robbins did not play piano for, and for the ones he did, he often did for their entire career, and many of their signature songs. Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, and David Allan Coe are just a few of the names who worked with Robbins over the years. Nashville is notorious for heavy-handed producers assigning artists to play on pre-arranged compositions. But when it came to Hargus “Pig” Robbins attending a recording session, no complaints were registered. He was never not in demand, even in the mainstream. Miranda Lambert asked him to play on her 2016 album The Weight of These Wings.
And it wasn’t just the voluminous nature of his work, but what he played, and what he played on. Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “She Thinks I Still Care” by George Jones, and of course Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Pieces” are just some of the compositions graced by Robbins’ tasteful, emotional, and soulful notes springing from a player who had no choice but to perceive the world through imagination, and bring that imagination to music.
And though the name of Hargus “Pig” Robbins will always be synonymous with country music—and from every era, including country’s Golden Years, to Countrypolitan, to Outlaw, and even more contemporary moments—he also left an outsized impact on music outside of country as well. He played on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde sessions. Leon Russell wasn’t a shabby piano player himself, but turned to Hargus for accompaniment too. When Ween wanted to make an authentic country record in 1996 with their 12 Golden Country Greats, Hargus “Pig” Robbins was a must-have.
Hargus “Pig” Robbins was also a solo artist, releasing eight studio albums between 1963 and 1979. He won the CMA’s Musician of the Year in 1976 and in 2000. In retrospect, it’s a travesty he didn’t win it more—a distinction that always seems to favor guitar players. And in 2012, Hargus “Pig” Robbins was inducted in to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Nobody impacted country music from behind the ivories like Hargus. He’s a Mount Rushmore session musician in country music. And perhaps most important to note was the infectious smile he flashed when everything came together just right. He passed away on January 30th at the age of 84. No cause of death has been given.
Rest in Peace, Pig.
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This story has been updated.
January 30, 2022 @ 6:54 pm
A true legend.
RIP.
January 30, 2022 @ 7:49 pm
A very nice career. Rest in peace.
January 30, 2022 @ 8:44 pm
One time Waylon was in the studio and the electricity went out, and Pig was playing on the session. He said something like, “If anyone needs to find the bathroom, I’ll help you out for a dollar.”
I don’t think anyone realizes the importance of this man’s contribution until you read the liner notes of country albums over the last 60 years. I first started seeing him by reading Alan Jackson’s liner notes in the early ‘90s. You start to notice him and hear him. He was so much in demand because he was just so good and brought his own sound.
Rest In Peace, Pig.
January 30, 2022 @ 9:24 pm
As a visually impaired person who works in the blindness Industry as a technology instructor and a fan of Country music it was impossible not to be a fan of his. I regret I never met Hargus. I would have loved to talk blindness with him and talk about how he used it as a strength. Gods speed Hargus.
January 31, 2022 @ 12:51 pm
Exactly the same here; Chris31.
February 2, 2022 @ 2:09 am
My thoughts exactly, Chris.
January 30, 2022 @ 11:04 pm
Funny, I think that nickname added considerably to his fame. I, and I presume many others who read the booklets or notes when we get a new CD or lp, couldn’t help but notice the 3-letter name it when it would pop up among the players who made the music.
I also didn’t know that he was blind. That’s not something that was regularly stated when his name would be mentioned in various articles.
January 31, 2022 @ 1:01 am
I think most people attribute the well-known piano playing on Behind Closed Doors to Charlie Rich himself, when in reality it was Pig’s doing. Rich was a fine pianist himself, but shows how valued Hargus was. May he Rest In Peace.
January 31, 2022 @ 8:42 am
I was guilty of that.
Had no idea who actually played the piano, on that recording.
It is my favorite piano accompaniment
February 4, 2022 @ 7:28 pm
Yes, amazing that Charlie would turn to another player, and what a sound on that cut!
February 4, 2022 @ 11:05 pm
Not amazing if you go back in time to when it was made.
Charlie Rich had been recording for a dozen years with no real hits when Epic Records decided to put him in the studio to cut the “Behind Closed Doors” album, released in 1973, and to give it a major promotional push. It looked like they were doing an aging, failed artist a big favor.
Charlie was in no position to tell producer Billy Sherill who should play on the album. And being a musician, Charlie probably understood that they’d get the best recording if he concentrated solely on the vocal and left the piano playing to studio pro Hargus Robbins.
January 31, 2022 @ 4:41 am
What a well written obit, Trig, and a poignant goodbye to a “Mount Rushmore” session LEGEND. Always enjoyed his many appearances on The Marty Stuart Show and the crazy good playing he added to every artist he backed – just like his studio career.
Rest In Peace, Hargus.
January 31, 2022 @ 5:00 am
Mr. Robbins also played on some Jerry Lee Lewis recordings.
January 31, 2022 @ 7:05 am
damn, an actual legend gone.
January 31, 2022 @ 7:25 am
This man’s contribution was huge to country music. Cannot be overstated. R.I.P. So glad he was inducted to HOF with Connie Smith.
January 31, 2022 @ 7:43 am
The greatest thing about these monster session guys is how the parts they played became synonymous with the songs because it melded with the song. It wasn’t about just having chops, but playing the absolute right part for the song.
January 31, 2022 @ 10:07 am
Consider the sheer amount of sessions that he played on as well as the number of huge hit singles and albums that he contributed his talent to. Few musicians have achieved that level of success. Shame that so many of his memorable licks & performances were never directly attributed to him by an unknowing public. As Trigger pointed out he left his “fingerprints” all over country music history.
Despite his thousands of sessions I recall only one instance when Pig was actually acknowledged by name on a recording. After creating the iconic piano fills for David Houston’s 1966 classic “Almost Persuaded,” Pig was recruited for Sheb Wooley’s clever parody “Almost Persuaded #2” recorded as his drunken alter-ego “Ben Colder.” After Pig purposely hit a bad note during the final chorus, “Ben” requested “once more there Hargus.” Pig then played the proper notes and for additional comedic effect added an extra flourish following the next line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccp_W9PBFTw
A uniquely talented member of Nashville’s most elite squad of pickers. He should have been inducted to the Country Music Hall Of Fame many years earlier. Thank God that it happened during his lifetime.
RIP Pig. Thanks for all of the great music.
January 31, 2022 @ 9:32 pm
I was always a Ken fan on the demised “My…Country” site and always got a kick out of how much he hated my guts.
This one is clasic Ken. I have to admit that while I knew that Sheb Wooley (also an actor in movie and TV westerns) had a country music career, I’d not heard this or any other “Ben Colder” record.
February 1, 2022 @ 7:03 am
Thanks Ken for the Sheb Wooley link. Hysterical! My favorite Sheb moment was him doing Hello Walls, great stuff. I miss that goofy kinda comedy, we need more of that in our lives.
On a serious note, Robbins had a great sense of melody. You remember those piano parts because they were catchy and pretty. To me melody and hook are key in making songs that endure the test of time.. Hargus Pig transcended musician status, he was a master artist.
February 1, 2022 @ 9:17 pm
If we’re collecting vocal salutes to Pig Robbins on record, here’s another:
Travis Tritt
@Travistritt
I did an uptempo, rockin version of Winter Wonderland on my 1992 Christmas album. On that track you can hear me yell, “Burn it up, Pig” right before the piano solo. Hargus “Pig” Robbins was playing that solo.
That 29-year-old Travis Tritt cut has become something of a Christmas season perennial. I’ve heard it over the years when having a cup of coffee at Starbucks, etc. I never noticed the shout-out, but it’s there–at 1:24–and a literal shout-out, at that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEILHzMWBuc
January 31, 2022 @ 2:10 pm
He was a backbone for country music for so long. A true legend.
January 31, 2022 @ 3:05 pm
Stone cold legend. What a great player, right there with Floyd Cramer. Four hands in heaven. Rest in peace, sir, and prayers for the family.