Paul, a then-former member of Southern rock band Outlaws, founded Blackhawk with Robbins and former solo singer Van Stephenson (vocals, guitar), both of whom had success as songwriters for other acts such as Restless Heart.

Their albums accounted for several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the top-ten hits "Every Once in a While", "I Sure Can Smell the Rain", "Down in Flames", "That's Just About Right", "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No", "Like There Ain't No Yesterday", and "There You Have It" between 1994 and 1999.

Blackhawk's music combines influences of Southern rock with country, and is noted for vocal harmony and prominent use of mandolin.

Stephenson had previously been a rock singer who had a hit in 1984 with "Modern Day Delilah",[2][3] and both he and Robbins had found success in the mid-late 1980s as country music songwriters.

[5] The album was preceded by its lead single "Goodbye Says It All", which peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

[7][8] By 1996, Blackhawk was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), honoring shipments of two million copes in the United States.

[9] Additionally, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) nominated Blackhawk for Top New Vocal Group or Duet.

An uncredited review in Billboard was favorable toward Paul's lead vocals and the band's Southern rock influences, but thought tracks such as "Goodbye Says It All" were "down the middle".

[5] The Modesto Bee published a review which said, "pleasantly layered harmonies and easy listening arrangements abound, but there's little originality.

"[12] Michael Hight of New Country magazine rated the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, comparing the band's harmonies to Bread and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and noting the use of mandolin in the arrangements.

[13] Greg Burliuk of The Kingston Whig-Standard was more favorable, highlighting the band's vocal harmony and saying that they "attack each song vigorously".

[9] Of this album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in AllMusic that it "finds the group consolidating their strengths as songwriters and performers.

[25] Despite the promotions, the album accounted for only two unsuccessful singles, "Hole in My Heart" (written by Robbins, Stephenson, and Desmond Child) and "Postmarked Birmingham" (co-written by Phil Vassar), which both peaked in the 30s on Hot Country Songs.

"[26] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time thought the Heart and Andrew Gold covers, as well as the string section on "Postmarked Birmingham", suggested a more pop influence than the band's first two albums.

[23] Billboard writer Deborah Evans Price later attributed the failure of Love & Gravity to the band "stretching out" with songs that proved unpopular with radio.

[28] Owens stated of this album that "they have more confidence, not only in their performances but in the way they merge their pop songwriting instincts with more authentic country instrumentation.

The re-established lineup of Outlaws initially included Robbins and Anderson, alongside drummer Monte Yoho and, following Thomasson's death in 2007, guitarist Billy Crain.

[36] Additionally, Paul and Robbins founded the Van Stephenson Fund in 2006 to raise money for cancer research.

At this point, Paul, Threet, and Coleman were backed by guitarists Chris Anderson and Billy Crain and drummer Monte Yoho.

By this point, Blackhawk began crediting only Paul and Robbins as members of the group proper, although Threet remained in the backing band.

Yoho and Anderson also contributed to the album, as did Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Paul Riddle of the Marshall Tucker Band.

Their touring band consists of guitarists Jeff Aulich and Jimmy Dormire (previously of Confederate Railroad), bassist and tenor vocalist Randy Threet, and drummer Mike Bailey.

[49] Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the founding members's experience as songwriters and membership in a Southern rock band were influential in their sound, stating, "As a band, Blackhawk merged this sense of songcraft and outlaw swagger in an arena-sized melodic sound that suited the rockin' country of the '90s.

"[2] The publishers of Country Music: The Encyclopedia also found Southern rock influence in Blackhawk's sound, while also finding the vocal harmony of the original lineup similar to Restless Heart.

[28][50] Hight thought the use of vocal harmony and prominent mandolin made the band comparable to Diamond Rio, who were also on Arista Nashville at the time.

[13] Shirley Jenkins, in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article reprinted in the Anchorage Daily News, also compared the band's sound to Restless Heart and Outlaws, stating that they had "close harmonies with traditional acoustic instruments and an electric guitar edge.

"[51] The Los Angeles Times writer Buddy Seigal described the sound of Blackhawk's debut album as having "tight three-part harmonies [and] jangling guitars and mandolins".

[53] Nick Krewen of the Waterloo Region Record said that Paul's "nasal intonation gives Blackhawk their distinct sound.

[56] Despite all three founding members of Blackhawk being songwriters, Stephenson stated that they chose to include material written by others as well, so that they could "let other people do what they do best.