Born and raised in Chicago, Robert started studying drums at the age of 10, starting a band with twin brother, Richard, who plays bass. They had a soundproof studio built by their father, Charles Shipley, who was a recording engineer.

In 1979 he started touring the world with blues bands such as Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, who he recorded on Gatemouth’s Grammy-winning album (Best Blues Artist) in 1981. After moving to Los Angeles in 1982 he began touring with Natalie Cole 1983-1989, Diana Ross 1989,The Temptations 1989-1990, The O’Jays 1990-2002, Chaka Khan 1995-1998, and isolated dates with artist such as Stephanie Mills, R. Kelly, Gerald Levert, Yolanda Adams, The Main Ingredient, Ben Vereen, Evelyn King, The Emotions, The S.O.S. Band, Jody Whatley and many more.

20年来，罗伯特在卡内基音乐厅、麦迪逊广场花园、新奥尔良的超级穹顶、洛杉矶的环球圆形剧场等各种场所巡回演出，并出现在《灵魂列车》、《奥普拉·温弗瑞》、《今夜秀》和许多H.B.O.特别节目等电视节目中，他决定将自己的事业转向另一个方向。他搬到维加斯，在维加斯的展厅里追求更稳定的生活，并与孩子们分享他对打鼓的热情。

Robert Shipley is currently the director of Jazz Studies at Hope College, a tenure-track position he proudly accepted July 1, 2021.

He is the author of the drum method book,The Art of Commercial Drumming.

He is also an accomplished musician, widely acclaimed for his versatility and accomplishment, whose various styles of playing includes, but is not limited to pop, jazz, R&B and Latin music.

Robert has started the Rising Artist Series. The Rising Artist Series involves using excellent high school jazz musicians to collaborate with the Hope College Jazz area to strengthen the connection and pathway to Hope College’s Jazz Arts Collective Program.

AREAS OF Expertise

Robert Shipley had a rising career in Vegas with productions such asAin’t Nothing like the Real Thing,Earl Turner,Legends In Concert, andHitzville (The Show)由金金·里夫斯主演的摩城讽刺剧他在温彻斯特社区中心教授鼓课，该中心由布鲁斯基金会、DW鼓和萨比安钹赞助。世界杯英格兰队vs丹麦队足彩除了他的许多努力，从2010年5月开始，他作为音乐总监/鼓手在全球巡演，为埃迪·莱弗特(The O 'Jays)，比利·奥逊，约翰尼·吉尔(New Edition)， j·t·泰勒(Cool and The Gang)和丹尼斯·爱德华兹(The Temptations)。

EDUCATION

• Master of Music, jazz theory and composition, University of Nevada Las Vegas (2021)
• Bachelor of Music, jazz performance emphasis, University of Nevada Las Vegas (2018)
• American Conservatory of Music, Chicago (1978–1979)
• Kentucky State University (1977–1978)

GRANTS

• Research grant through the Nyenhuis Program, for the summer of 2022

Published Work

• The Art of Commercial Drumming