John Connell Chris Gibson Popular Books

John Connell Chris Gibson Biography & Facts

The Connells are an American musical group from Raleigh, North Carolina. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic, jangle-pop style of rock music with introspective lyrics that often reflect the history or culture of the American South. Though the band has released little content since 2001, they never officially broke up and continue to occasionally perform to the present. In the United States, the Connells had three top 10 hits on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, but they are best known for their song "'74–'75", which was a number one hit in Norway and Sweden in 1995 while reaching the top 10 in a total of 11 European countries. Early history (1984–87) Guitarist Mike Connell formed the band in 1984 along with his brother David Connell on bass, Doug MacMillan on lead vocals, and future filmmaker John Schultz on drums. This initial four-person line-up was quickly supplemented by the addition of George Huntley on second guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Around the same time, former Johnny Quest drummer Peele Wimberley replaced Schultz, finalizing the "classic" line-up of the band. An early version of "Darker Days", recorded by the band's initial four-piece lineup, appeared on the North Carolina indie compilation More Mondo in 1984. A re-recorded version of "Darker Days" provided the title track to the band's debut album, which was produced by fellow North Carolinian Don Dixon. The album was released in 1985 on Elvis Costello's Demon Records in the UK and the band's own Black Park Records label in the U.S., with slightly different track listings for each country. In addition to the title track, one of the most notable songs on the album was "Hats Off", an attack on then-President Ronald Reagan. After the release of the Darker Days album, the band re-recorded a more aggressive take of "Hats Off" for a 12" single, which was the second Connells release on Black Park, and the last until 2000. During this period, videos for the songs "Seven" and "Hats Off" were aired on MTV's 120 Minutes program. College success (1987–93) After touring heavily behind Darker Days, the Connells re-entered the studio in 1986 with producer Mitch Easter to record their second album, Boylan Heights. The decision to work with Easter continued to perpetuate the comparisons to R.E.M. Mike Connell's songwriting on Boylan Heights would provide most of the foundation for the band's live show sound for the remainder of their career. The opener, "Scotty's Lament", featured the most explicit Celtic influence in the band's songbook, while the chorus lyric "I delight in my despair" satirized the band's early image as doom and gloom merchants a la Morrissey and The Smiths. Also notable is that the lyrics for that song originally included the sardonic twist, "I delight in your despair." "Choose a Side" incorporates synths (played by Huntley), and "Over There" features an ironic military trumpet counter-melody. Closing ballad "I Suppose" was a haunting tribute to the Raleigh upper-class neighborhood of Boylan Heights. Although the band shopped Boylan Heights to various labels, the major record companies, including Columbia Records, which expressed some mild interest, passed on it. The record was ultimately released in 1987 on mid-major TVT Records, which had made its name releasing a series of "Tee Vee Toons" television theme song compilation CDs. TVT would prove to be no commercial match for R.E.M.'s own mid-major label, I.R.S. Records, and over the next decade, the Connells would engage in a series of disputes with the label, on at least one occasion suing, unsuccessfully, to break their recording contract. Boylan Heights was a substantial college radio hit, and the Connells continued to tour relentlessly. During this period, both Connell and Huntley began to move away from their twelve-string Rickenbackers towards six-string Fender and Gibson guitars, leading to a heavier, less folky sound, although elements of the band's patented jangle were still audible on "Hey Wow", the lead single from Fun and Games, the 1989 follow-up album. Other songs, such as "Something to Say" and "Upside Down" were heavier, featuring power chords, as well as the most self-lacerating lyrics to date from Connell. Fun and Games also saw Huntley's role as a songwriter grow; after contributing one song each to Darker Days and Boylan Heights, Huntley wrote or co-wrote five tracks on Fun and Games, with the anthemic "Sal" quickly becoming one of the most popular songs in the band's live set. CD pressings of Fun and Games included a bonus track, "Fine Tuning". Fun and Games was quickly followed in 1990 by One Simple Word, which was recorded in Wales with U.K. producer Hugh Jones. Jones had previously produced various British bands that the band had admired. Despite the high quality of the songs and improved playing by the band, notably on the Connell-MacMillan collaboration "Stone Cold Yesterday" and Connell's own "Get a Gun" which were both college radio hits with videos, the band struggled to reach a higher level of success, although "Stone Cold Yesterday" notched the band a No. 3 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where "Get a Gun" also reached No. 24. This album saw the band stretch their sound and playing further, as on Connell's debut as a lead vocalist, the plaintive ballad "Waiting My Turn", which featured Kate St. John on cor anglais, but also saw the reworking of two songs that dated back to the Darker Days era, "Too Gone" and "Take a Bow". Some critics have contended that the album/tour/album cycle was by this point outstripping Connell's ability to compose new material. This is why the increasing contribution of other songwriters in the band became important as lead vocalist, Doug MacMillan also contributed a song, "Another Souvenir", that he had written on his own. '74–'75 and European success (1993–96) After a three-year recording hiatus, which included more legal jousting with TVT Records and the addition of Steve Potak on keyboards, a rejuvenated Connells released Ring in 1993. Though the lead single, "Slackjawed", was another college radio hit in America, the band was initially disappointed with the album's reception and considered breaking up. However, the follow-up single, "'74–'75", another Celtic-influenced ballad, took off in Europe shortly thereafter and became a top-20 hit across the continent, including in the United Kingdom where it peaked at No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart, as well as Sweden and Norway, where it even managed to top the charts. This led to the band touring extensively in Europe and opening stadium shows for Def Leppard. "'74–'75" won numerous European music awards in the mid-1990s, leading to greater financial and radio success than the band had known to that point. "'74–'75" also appeared in the 1995 film, Heavy. However, while European music fans made Ring a platinum record outside the United States, such high level success in America still remained elusive. Ring reached No. 36 in the UK A.... Discover the John Connell Chris Gibson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Connell Chris Gibson books.