Seattle Soul Musician Robbie Hill Needs Your Help

Robbie Hill is organizing this fundraiser.

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Robbie Hill needs your help. The legendary Seattle drummer and band leader has been diagnosed with lung cancer and is suffering a great deal of pain. For Robbie, it's always been a family affair, whether in his notable music career, in the family's longstanding Seattle BBQ business, or in his decade-long tenure at Seattle Central Community College, where he worked until his retirement at the age of 64 in 2013.

Today, Robbie's health and mobility are rapidly declining, but he's not ready to give up! Let's show Robbie that he's not alone in this fight by pitching in if you're able. All funds will go directly to Robbie and assist with his medical expenses and end of life preparations.

If you've ever met Robbie, then you have experienced his pure positivity, kindness, and joy. He's always there to lend an ear, offer a piece of friendly advice, or help and support those in need, be it strangers, family, or friends. Robbie has always gone the extra mile, and he brought the same level of dedication and positivity to his years of service at SCCC, working alongside his brothers Will and Kenny, as he did with his true life passion: music.

As one of two drummers in the seminal funk band Black On White Affair as well as both the drummer and band leader for Robbie Hill's Family Affair, Robbie was a central figure in the acclaimed Wheedle's Groove documentary, along with the album series released by Light in the Attic Records. Compiled from the crates of renowned DJ and record collector Supreme La Rock, Wheedle's Groove showcased the talented musicians from Seattle's brilliant soul and funk scene during the 1960s to 1980s, of which Robbie Hill was an integral player. As Robbie and the Wheedle's Groove band took the stage for the Bumbershoot Festival on September 4th, 2010, Seattle Mayor McGinn officially proclaimed the moment as "Wheedle's Groove Day."

A San Bernardino, CA native, Robbie's family moved to Seattle when he was just nine. He attended Pacific High School, and it was during that time that he was discovered by a local band.

Listen and read more about Robbie Hill's Family Affair below in excerpt from the Wheedle's Groove Vol. 2 liner notes by Jonathan Zwickel:

The band is called “Family Affair” for a reason—Robbie Hill started out singing in church alongside his younger brothers Will and Kenny when they were kids. Robbie grew into a truly badass drummer and at 16 years old, while playing after-hours sessions around Seattle, was picked up by Black And White Affair. Before leaving on a West Coast tour with the group, he told his brothers to try their hands at music and maybe when he got back a month later they’d form a band. To his surprise, both proved to be talented musicians.

The Hills started Family Affair while in their teens, escaping work at their parents’ busy barbecue restaurant in the Central District. Their 1972 song “I Just Wanna Be (Like Myself)” remains a Seattle soul favorite, very much in the vein of Sly Stone. The momentum provided by its modest success led them to tour the West Coast. While in LA, the Hills auditioned for a spot backing the Main Ingredient, the soul group most famous for the 1972 smash “Everybody Plays the Fool.” They got the gig and stayed in LA a few months, recording. With the Main Ingredient as producers, Family Affair recorded a five-song EP in 1975 at RCA Studios in LA.

Robbie on Hills Brothers BBQ:

"Hills Brothers BBQ was a restaurant in Seattle run by my family, my dad (Zebdee Hill), my uncle (Robert Hill), and my aunt (Dormay Hill). My mom (Maxine Hill) made the potato salad and sweet potato pies. She was good too. No one made sweet potato pies like mom. I worked there with my brothers Kenny and Will and our cousin Zebdee. We chopped all the wood and prepared the fire and when we got older we served barbecue to the customers. I started working there when I was 9 years old, around 1958. The most popular items were the homemade hot wings. On weekends there would be long lines of people around the corner, waiting to get in. It was the most popular barbecue spot in Washington. Period. Lyndon B. Johnson sent his bodyguards down there to order barbecue. Elgin Baylor and Red Fox used to come down there. I'd see them personally. The restaurant was on 23rd & Cherry (Seattle). I'd guess that the restaurant ended in the mid/late '70s. Now it's apartments."