John was born in Creston, Iowa, on December 29, 1954. He's the son of optometrist Dr. Jack Robinson and the late Helen Sloan. Both parents, through music, had a strong effect on John. He started on piano at the age of 5 and on drums at the age of 8. John turned pro when he started his first band at the young age of 10.

After attending many music camps throughout junior and senior high school, John chose to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. At Berklee, John was introduced to a whole world variety of culture through music.

While touring with his own band in early 1978, John got his break. Rufus and Chaka Khan came into the club where John was playing, and, by the third set, Rufus was sitting in with John! A few weeks later, John had moved to Los Angeles to finish the 1978 Rufus world tour.

In late 1978, John was introduced to Quincy Jones. "Q" asked John if he did sessions outside Rufus. Of course John said "yes" and was immediately in the studio recording Off The Wall for Michael Jackson. Ever since then, JR's phone has been ringing "off the wall"!

JR has become the most recorded drummer in history, even surpassing the great Hal Blaine. Some of the hits are: "We Are The World"; Lionel Richie's "All Night Long"; The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" and "Slow Hand"; David Lee Roth's "I'm Just A Gigolo" and "California Girls"; Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" and "Back In The Highlife"; Madonna's "Express Yourself"; Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, Bad and his upcoming CD; Natalie Cole's new CD Stardust; Eric Clapton's "Change The World"; Quincy Jones' The Dude, Q's Jook Joint and From Q With Love; to name a few. And in 1983, JR won a Grammy with Rufus and Chaka Khan for "Ain't Nobody".

John has been the drummer for Quincy Jones since 1979 and the drummer for Barbra Streisand since 1993. He also was the drummer for Peter Frampton's live CD Frampton Comes Alive 2.

John is currently working on his solo CD and producing several projects. He maintains a recording studio in Thousand Oaks, CA. In addition, he will continue to add his magic on many hits to come with his recognized sound employing great time and a great groove.