A musical icon charts a new course
“Coming of age in ’60s California, Lane cavorted with members of Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Arthur Lee and Love, and other musical icons of the era. The daughter of Dean Martin’s musical arranger and pianist Ken Lane, she grew up amid Hollywood glamour.” Her father was a songwriter who wrote the hit “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.”
Robin lived with and sang for Neil Young and married Police guitarist Andy Summers with whom she had a child. She then went on to form her renowned band Robin Lane & The Chartbusters. They had the 11th video broadcast on the debut day of MTV with their hit song “When Things Go Wrong” and performed for audiences worldwide. They were one of Rolling Stone’s Top 10 bands of 1980.
Despite a life tailor-made for a bestseller, it was not all glitz and glamour. Lane is a survivor of childhood neglect and adult domestic violence. She was dropped by the record industry when she chose to be a mother. Now the music trailblazer is using her three decade long recording and performance career to help fellow survivors of trauma. Her nonprofit, Songbird Sings, addresses the needs of victims of domestic violence, childhood abuse, youth-at-risk and incarcerated women.
Robin is certified as Teaching Partner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cultural Council. She has a lengthy record of providing therapeutic music programming to at-risk youth Giving Youth A Voice and trauma survivors A Woman’s Voice. She has taught workshops on creativity and The Artist’s Way at various locations. Robin has been a presenter at the Dare to Act Conference in Baltimore and Break The Silence Conference at Rowe, MA, as well presenting workshops and conferences for youth and women trauma survivors.
A recipient of the E-chievement award from E-town Radio and The Ripple Effect Award from Woman’s Fund of Western Massachusetts for her work, she has produced and recorded seven CD’s for her women’s music collaborative entitled A Woman’s Voice.
As Robin explains, “I began my songwriting programs working with Youth At Risk in the Boston area. After moving to western MA. I continued working with Youth at Youth Centers naming my program Giving Youth A Voice. I was adjunct faculty at Northfield Mount Hermon School where I taught creativity and songwriting. There is empowerment in the arts. Those participating will come to see that they do not have to go back to the lives they once lived. They will learn to have faith in their creative abilities and will realize the power contained in their own voice. This isn’t a cure but for those who have survived trauma, for those who are incarcerated, it is a powerful step in the healing transformation.”
