The Black Crowes Near Settlement In Lawsuit With Ex-Drummer Steve Gorman

The Black Crowes are close to completing a settlement with longtime former drummer Steve Gorman over royalties, reports say.

Gorman sued The Black Crowes this past spring, citing breach of contract regarding an unknown amount of money. Gorman accused former bandmates frontman Chris Robinson and guitarist Rich Robinson of failing to pay him what he was owed under the terms of their 1991 partnership agreement and furthermore "denying Plaintiff access to inspect the Partnership's books and records and improperly deducting unauthorized expenses from the royalty payments Plaintiff has received to date."

Gorman, who was excluded from the band's reunion in 2019, explained in the spring that the decision to file suit came after years of failed attempts to negotiate.

"For more than five years, my attorneys and I have made repeated requests to review the Partnership's books to confirm the accuracy of royalty payments and my share, but Chris and Rich have consistently ignored my rights under the partnership agreement," he said in April.

In a new filing, reported by Blast, a representative for Gorman said a settlement was on the horizon. The rep said that the lawsuit would be dismissed once the agreement was finalized.

Gorman co-founded the Black Crowes with the Robinson brothers in 1989. He remained with the group until its second hiatus in 2012. In his 2019 memoir, Hard to Handle, Gorman writes that a rift between himself and Chris Robinson spelled the end of his time in the band.

While the Crowes intended to go on one final tour in 2015, Chris put the kibosh on the plan when he demanded 75 percent of the proceeds (the other 25 percent would go to Rich) and that Gorman be fired from the band once and for all.

After reforming the band in 2019 without Gorman, the Robinson brothers explained that they worried bringing in another person with whom they had history could lead to another breakup; they needed to prove that their partnership could survive another tour.

"In order to get back, we really had to do this very specific purge where we focus on the two of us and let this be something that will be positive," Rich said last summer of the reunion.