Rob Zombie
Robert Bartleh Cummings, known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have been praised for their elaborate shock rock theatricality. He has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide. He rose to fame as a founding member and the frontman of heavy metal band White Zombie, with whom he released five studio albums and one techno remix album.
His first solo effort, the 1996 song "Hands of Death ", was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. His debut solo studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe, was released in 1998. Hellbilly Deluxe sold over 3 million copies worldwide and spawned three singles. His second studio album, The Sinister Urge, was released in 2001 and became his second platinum album in the U.S. His third studio album, Educated Horses, was released in 2006. It became his third album to enter the top 10 of the Billboard 200, but saw a decrease in sales compared to his previous releases. His fourth studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, was released in 2010 and peaked at no. 8 in the United States. Remix album, Mondo Sex Head, was released in 2012 and was followed by his fifth album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor in 2013. In 2016, Zombie released his sixth album, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, and his seventh studio album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, was released in 2021.
Zombie directed the horror film House of 1000 Corpses in 2000, though the controversial project was not released until 2003, and has since been described as a cult classic. Zombie followed the film with two sequels in his Rejects trilogy: The Devil's Rejects and 3 from Hell. After the success of his first two films he directed Halloween, a remake of the classic 1978 horror film. The film became his highest-grossing to date, though it was generally received negatively by critics. He later directed Halloween II, which failed to match the commercial success of its predecessor. Zombie has also directed the films The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, The Lords of Salem, 31, and The Munsters.
Early life
Zombie was born Robert Bartleh Cummings in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on January 12, 1965, the oldest son of Louise and Robert Cummings. His younger brother, Michael, uses the stage name Spider One and is the lead singer of Powerman 5000. Growing up, he had a fascination with horror films and "always wanted to be Alice Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Bela Lugosi, and Stan Lee". He has said of his childhood, "I didn't aspire to be anything. I was just a dopey kid. Basically everyone seemed amazing to me as a kid. I grew up in some nowhere town... anybody that even seemed remotely famous just seemed like they were on another planet."Cummings' parents worked at a carnival. In 1977, when he was 12, his parents chose to leave after a riot broke out at the carnival and tents were set on fire. He said of the experience, "Everybody's pulling out guns, and you could hear guns going off. I remember this one guy we knew, he was telling us where to go, and some guy just ran up to him and hit him in the face with a hammerjust busted his face wide open. My parents packed up real quick, and we took off." He later elaborated, "I think someone just got ripped off for a lot of money on the gambling tents and they came back later and set the tents on fire it turned into this big riot. It was super violent and crazy and I think that was when my parents were like, 'You know what? We might be able to find something better to be doing here.' Because me and my brother are in the middle of this. Things are on fire, people beating the crap out of each other."
Cummings graduated from Haverhill High School in 1983. He moved to New York City and began attending Parsons School of Design, where he met eventual bandmate and girlfriend Sean Yseult. Before the success of White Zombie, he worked as a production assistant for the children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse. He took the stage name "Rob Zombie" from Bela Lugosi's 1932 horror film White Zombie, from which he also took White Zombie's band name. The name first shows up on White Zombie's 1989 EP God of Thunder. He had previously used the name "Rob Straker" on the White Zombie LPs Soul-Crusher and Make Them Die Slowly. In 1996, he made "Rob Zombie" his legal name.
Career
1985–1998: White Zombie
Cummings and Yseult co-founded the band that would become known as White Zombie. They broke up after seven years of dating, but continued to work in the band together. The band released three extended plays to little success, with their debut studio album Soul-Crusher following in 1987 through the band's own record label, Silent Explosion. They released their second studio album Make Them Die Slowly in 1989 to little commercial reaction. Yseult and Zombie ended their relationship in 1991 and Zombie began dating Sheri Moon shortly afterwards. The band caught the attention of Geffen Records following the release of their fourth extended play; their third studio album, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One, was released through the label in 1992. Although the album did not enter the Billboard 200 chart until about a year after its release, it became the band's breakout hit, going on to sell over two million copies in the United States. Two singles, "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine", were released to promote La Sexorcisto.White Zombie's fourth and final studio album, Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head, became their first and only to enter the top ten of the Billboard 200; it went on to sell over two million copies in the United States. Cummings directed the music video for the album's single "More Human than Human" and would go on to direct all subsequent videos for the band. In 1996, Cummings legally changed his name to Rob Zombie. White Zombie released a remix album that year, marking their final release before their eventual disbandment. Zombie collaborated with Alice Cooper on the song "Hands of Death " for Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files. The song was nominated in the category of Best Metal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, though lost to Rage Against the Machine. White Zombie officially broke up in September 1998, with Zombie stating, "Sometimes a band just breaks up because the band has run its course and the best days are behind them. White Zombie went through a lot together and did tons of great stuff, but it was time to stop. The good times were over and we were all moving in different directions." A box-set for the group was released in 2008 featuring all of their released material.
Since the break up of White Zombie, Zombie has shown no interest in reforming the band and has been quoted as saying, "I have many legit reasons . Just because you don't know them does not mean they don't exist. Everything is not everybody's business." In a 2011 interview, Zombie stated that he had not spoken to any members of the band "except John Tempesta in about 15 years."
1998–2001: Solo debut and commercial success
Work on Zombie's debut solo album first began in 1997, before the band had officially broken up. For the album, Zombie worked with numerous artists, including Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails fame and former White Zombie bandmate John Tempesta. Zombie's solo debut album, Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International, was released on August 25, 1998. The album was a commercial success, debuting at number five on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 121,000 copies. The album's first week sales topped that of his prior albums with White Zombie. Hellbilly Deluxe went on to become Zombie's highest selling album to date, with sales exceeding three million copies in the United States. The album was influenced by classic horror films, with numerous songs on the album containing samples and quotes from some of Zombie's favorite horror films. The album spawned three singles, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Numerous songs from the album were used in films and video games, mainly in the horror genre. The success of the album led to the release of Zombie's first remix album, American Made Music to Strip By. The album entered the top forty of the Billboard 200 in its debut week.Zombie formed his own record label, Zombie-A-Go-Go Records, in 1998. The label released the final album from American instrumental band The Bomboras, as well as the debut album from the Ghastly Ones. Both albums were released on June 2, 1998, though received little critical or commercial success. The label next released the compilation album Halloween Hootenanny, featuring appearances from artists such as Reverend Horton Heat and Rocket From the Crypt. Zombie himself contributed the song "Halloween " to the soundtrack, which had previously appeared on promotional releases of "Dragula". Zombie released the album Rob Zombie Presents The Words & The Music Of Frankenstein on October 12, 1999, through Zombie-A-Go-Go Records. The album, considered a soundtrack, features the original score and some dialogue from the original Frankenstein.
Zombie was set to make his directorial debut with the film The Crow: 2037, and even wrote the film's script. The film was set to take place in the future, though it was never released. It was decided that the film was not suited for the franchise, but would instead serve as a standalone project. He composed the original score for the video game Twisted Metal III, released in 1998. Zombie designed a haunted attraction for Universal Studios in 1999, which was later deemed instrumental in reviving the Halloween Horror Nights annual attraction. It was during this time that Zombie began working with the studio on his directorial debut, a film titled House of 1000 Corpses. The project began filming in May 2000 with a scheduled release date of the following year, though the studio ultimately cancelled its release due to the violent themes present throughout the film. Zombie's song "Superbeast", taken from Hellbilly Deluxe, received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. Zombie contributed the song "Scum of the Earth" to the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack.
Zombie's second studio album, The Sinister Urge, was released on November 13, 2001. The album expands on the horror and shock rock elements seen in his debut album, and features collaborations with artists such as Ozzy Osbourne. The album became his second to enter the top ten in the United States, with its first week sales topping that of his previous album. The album went on to sell over one million copies in the United States, his second to accomplish this feat. The album was preceded by the single "Feel So Numb", with a second single being released the following year. Despite the album's success, it was noted as a decline in sales when compared to his first studio album. The Sinister Urge and its subsequent singles were met with a positive critical reception, with AllMusic writing "It is the slow burn of last track that shows the most promise; after years of making good heavy metal, he finally expands the boundaries of his own sound. Few metal musicians kept their sound fresh for as long as Zombie, and this album is no exception." The Sinister Urge was voted as the fans' favorite album on Zombie's official website. The album is the final project to feature guitarist Mike Riggs and drummer John Tempesta, who had been with Zombie since the start of his solo career.