Umphrey's McGee
From left to right: Jake Cinninger, Kris Myers, Ryan Stasik and Brendan Bayliss performing in April 2007.
Background information
Origin	South Bend, IN/ Chicago, IL, USA
Genres	Rock, progressive rock
Years active	1997–present
Website	http://www.umphreys.com/
Members
Brendan Bayliss Jake Cinninger Joel Cummins Andy Farag Kris Myers Ryan Stasik
Past members
Mike Mirro

Umphrey's McGee or UM is an American progressive rock jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" (as per a progressive sampler released by the band in 2009).^[1] Although the band is part of the jam band scene, like Phish and the Grateful Dead (with ever-changing setlists, improvisation, two sets per night, open taping policy, etc.), they are much more influenced musically by progressive rock bands such as King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Frank Zappa, and early Genesis, as well as heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden. The band also identifies The Police, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin as primary influences.^[2] UM experiments with many genres including progressive rock, funk, jazz, blues, metal, electronic, bluegrass, and everything in between.

History[link]

Early Years (1997-2000)[link]

Umphrey's McGee at 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival

Formed at the University of Notre Dame in December 1997 by guitarist/vocalist Brendan Bayliss, bassist Ryan Stasik, keyboardist Joel Cummins, and drummer Mike Mirro, Umphrey's McGee combined members of Tashi Station and Stomper Bob, two Notre Dame rock bands. Early concerts consisted of both originals and cover songs, including Guns N' Roses' "Patience" and Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts theme "Linus and Lucy" as well as songs by Phish, moe., and The Grateful Dead.

In mid-1998, after only 8 months together, the band released their debut album, Greatest Hits Vol. III. The decision to release a studio disc allowed them to more readily book live performances. Though long out of print, this debut album contains songs that remain staples of Umphrey's live sets, such as "Divisions", "Phil's Farm", "FF", and "All in Time".

Shortly after the release of the album, the band added a fifth member, percussionist Andy Farag. Farag's father became the band's agent, and a second pressing of Greatest Hits Vol. III featured Farag in the album's inner sleeve and credits. By the end of the year, Umphrey's McGee, along with peers Ali Baba's Tahini, were one of the most popular bands in the South Bend/Notre Dame area.^{[citation needed]} They began performing outside of the area at colleges and house parties, allowing listeners to tape and trade their music freely. In 1998, the band released their first live album, Songs for Older Women.

Guitarist Jake Cinninger was added to the band in September 2000. Cinninger brought a heaviness to the Umphrey's sound, as well as a large repertoire of original music, much of which comprised the bulk of the catalog from his previous band, Ali Baba's Tahini. The band also adopted several songs written by Ali Baba's Tahini frontman Karl Engelmann (who now fronts Asheville-based rock band Mother Vinegar). Shortly after Cinninger's arrival, the band released another live album, One Fat Sucka, which contained live performances recorded in the summer and fall of 2000.

Full Line-up with Mike Mirro Era (2001-2002)[link]

In 2001, the band began practicing intense improvisational exercises. One of their first productive sessions took place in a hotel in the "Jimmy Stewart Ballroom", prompting the band to call their onstage improvisational excursions "Jimmy Stewart". This form of improvisation differs in approach from the methods utilized by many of their jam band peers.^[3]

Jake Cinninger and Joel Cummins released solo albums in 2001 and 2002, respectively. At least two songs from each of those albums have made their way into Umphrey's concert repertoire.

June 2002 saw the release of the band's first proper recording, Local Band Does OK. That summer, the first annual Bonnaroo Music Festival took place in rural Manchester, Tennessee, and featured over 30 bands performing in front of nearly 100,000 people. Umphrey's played to their largest audience to date. The band sold more CDs than any other artist on a bill that included Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, and Norah Jones.

The band almost ended in late 2002 when drummer Mike Mirro announced he was leaving the band to attend medical school. After hundreds of tapes were reviewed by percussionist Andy Farag, the band settled on the first one they received, which was from Kick the Cat drummer Kris Myers.

Current Line-up (2003-Present)[link]

In 2004, the band released Anchor Drops, recorded in several different studios throughout the Chicago area. Shortly before the release of the album, the band scored a distribution deal for both Anchor Drops and Local Band Does OK, and for the first time, Umphrey's McGee music was available in stores all over the country. The album received rave reviews from several high-profile magazines.^[specify] Once again, Umphrey's headed to Bonnaroo, playing a coveted late-night spot. The band performed to over 20,000 people, many of whom had never heard the band before. In July, the band was declared by Rolling Stone Magazine to "have become odds-on favorites in the next-Phish sweepstakes."^[4] Also around this time, the UM Live program was started by "Sound Caresser" Kevin Browning. Each night's show would be offered for sale directly after the show. This translated into a partnership with Disc Logic and the band began to offer their shows for sale online as well, a few years later all of the band's shows would be moved to UMLive.net.

Starting in 2005, the band began producing Umphrey's McGee Podcasts, an effort to provide fans with highlights of recent shows. Each podcast is around 75 minutes in length and is released about twice a month, and it has 20,000 listeners.

On April 4, 2006, Umphrey's released their fourth studio effort, Safety In Numbers. They appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live alongside Huey Lewis in support of the new album on May 18, 2006. The band was featured at many of the major U.S. festivals throughout the summer, playing 129 shows before a three-night stand in Chicago for New Year's Eve. The Bottom Half, an album of leftover tracks from the Safety in Numbers sessions, was released a year later on April 3, 2007. Near the end of 2006, Umphrey's began a program to provide complimentary tickets to audience tapers in exchange for them distributing the recordings digitally online.

A live double-album titled Live at the Murat was released on October 16, 2007. The album was recorded over 2 nights at the Egyptian Room in the Murat Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 6–7, 2007. It received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone magazine. The album also won a Jammy for best live album.^[5]

Mantis was released on January 20, 2009. The album concentrated more on the progressive style that was associated with their Anchor Drops album.^[2]

The band's latest album, entitled Death By Stereo, was released September 13, 2011. The album features a mix of new songs as well as old songs that the band has used in their live rotation for years, such as "Hajimemashite" and "The Floor".

Discography[link]

• Greatest Hits Vol. III (1998) (Bayliss/Cummins/Stasik/Mirro)
• Songs for Older Women (1999, recorded live in 1998) (Bayliss/Cummins/Stasik/Mirro/Farag)
• One Fat Sucka (2000, recorded live) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Mirro/Farag)
• Local Band Does OK (2002) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Mirro/Farag)
• Local Band Does OKlahoma (2003, recorded live) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Anchor Drops (2004) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Safety In Numbers (2006) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• The Bottom Half (2007) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Live at the Murat (2007, recorded live) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Jimmy Stewart 2007 (2008, recorded live) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Mantis (2009) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)
• Death By Stereo (2011) (Bayliss/Cinninger/Cummins/Stasik/Myers/Farag)

DVD releases[link]

• Live from the Lake Coast (2002)
• Wrapped Around Chicago - New Year's Eve at The Riviera (2005)
• Soundstage: Umphrey's McGee - Live (2009)

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Umphrey's McGee

• Official website
• Umphrey's McGee on Myspace
• Umphrey's McGee at Rolling Stone
• Umphrey's McGee Live Recordings at Internet Archive
• [1] Live Video at iclips.net
• [2] Umphrey's McGee Live Concert Photos from 1.29.2011 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia

Jimmy Kimmel
Kimmel in May 2007
Birth name	James Christian Kimmel
Born	(1967-11-13) November 13, 1967 (age 44) Brooklyn, New York, USA
Medium	Radio, Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	American
Years active	1989–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Black comedy, Satire, Deadpan
Subject(s)	American politics, Celebrities, Everyday life, Sex
Influences	David Letterman
Spouse	Gina Kimmel (1988–2002; divorced; 2 children)
Domestic partner(s)	Sarah Silverman (2002–2007; 2008–2009) Molly McNearney (2009–present)
Notable works and roles	Creator and Host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) Creator and Co-Host of The Man Show co-host of Win Ben Stein's Money (Comedy Central) co-host of Crank Yankers
Emmy Awards
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host: 1999 Win Ben Stein's Money

James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian, actor, voice artist and television host. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money. Kimmel is also a television producer, having produced shows such as Crank Yankers, Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, and The Andy Milonakis Show.

Early life[link]

Kimmel was born in the Mill Basin neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn,^[1] the eldest of three children of Joann (née Iacono), a homemaker, and James Kimmel, an IBM executive.^[2][3][4] He is Roman Catholic and, as a child, served as an altar boy.^[5][6] Kimmel is of German and Irish descent on his father’s side and Italian descent on his mother’s side.^[7] His uncle, Frank Potenza, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a regular from 2003 until his death in 2011.^[8]

The family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, when he was nine years old.^[2] He graduated from Ed W. Clark High School and then attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas for one year before attending Arizona State University for two years without completing a degree.

Career[link]

Radio career[link]

Kimmel began working in the radio industry while in high school, hosting a Sunday night interview show on UNLV's college station KUNV. While attending Arizona State University, he became a popular caller to the KZZP-FM afternoon show hosted by radio personalities Mike Elliott and Kent Voss in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1989, Kimmel landed his first paying job alongside Voss as morning drive co-host of The Me and Him Show at KZOK-FM in Seattle, Washington. Ten months later, Kimmel and Voss were fired by KZOK (for reasons unknown) and were fired again a year later at WRBQ-FM in Tampa, Florida. Kimmel went from Tampa to host his own show at KCMJ in Palm Springs, California, where Kimmel convinced a young Carson Daly to drop out of college and become his intern. After a morning stint at KRQQ In Tucson, Arizona, Kimmel landed at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. He spent five years as "Jimmy The Sports Guy" for the Kevin and Bean morning show. During this time he met and befriended a struggling comedian named Adam Carolla.^{[citation needed]}

Comedy Central[link]

Kimmel began his television career as the comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the game show Win Ben Stein's Money, which began airing on Comedy Central in 1997. His quick wit and loutish everyman personality were counterpoints to Stein's monotone performing style and patrician demeanor. The combination earned the pair an Emmy award for Best Game Show Host.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, during his time with Win Ben Stein's Money, Kimmel was also co-host with Adam Carolla and co-creator (with Daniel Kellison) of Comedy Central's The Man Show. Kimmel permanently left Win Ben Stein's Money in 2001, replaced by comedian Nancy Pimental, who was eventually replaced by Kimmel's cousin Sal Iacono. The Man Show's success allowed Kimmel, Carolla and Kellison to create and produce, under the banner Jackhole Industries, Crank Yankers for Comedy Central (on which Kimmel plays the characters "Elmer Higgins", "Terrence Catheter", "The Nudge", "Karl Malone" and himself), and later The Andy Milonakis Show for MTV2. Kimmel also produced and co-wrote the feature film Windy City Heat, which won the Comedia Award for Best Film at the Montreal Comedy Festival.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In January 2003, Kimmel permanently left The Man Show to host his own late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel Live was briefly also broadcast on Irish digital TV channel 3e.^[9] In the April 2007 issue of Stuffmagazine.com, Kimmel was named the "biggest badass on TV". Kimmel said it was an honor but clearly a mistake.

Since the show's second season, it has not actually been broadcast live. This is due to an incident during the 2004 NBA Finals in Detroit, when Kimmel appeared on ABC's halftime show to make an on-air plug for his show. He suggested that if the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, "they're gonna burn the city of Detroit down ... and it's not worth it." Officials with Detroit's ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV, immediately announced that night's show would not air on the station. Hours later, ABC officials pulled that night's show from the entire network. Kimmel later apologized.^[10] The incident led ABC officials to force Kimmel to tape his show an hour before it airs in most of the country to check for offending content.^[11]

Kimmel usually ends his show with, "My apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time." When Matt Damon did actually appear on the show to be interviewed, he walked in and sat down only to be told just a few seconds later by Kimmel, "Sorry, but once again we are completely out of time." Damon seemed to become angry.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2008 Kimmel showed a mock music video with a panoply of stars called, "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck",^[12] as "revenge" after his then-girlfriend Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon recorded a similar video, "I'm Fucking Matt Damon". Silverman's video originally aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and became an "instant YouTube sensation."^[13] Kimmel's "revenge" video featured himself, Ben Affleck, and a large lineup of stars, particularly in scenes spoofing the 1985 "We Are the World" video: Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Cameron Diaz, Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, Dominic Monaghan, Benji Madden and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte, Lance Bass, Macy Gray, Josh Groban, Huey Lewis, Perry Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Pete Wentz, Meat Loaf, Rebecca Romijn, Christina Applegate, Dom Joly, Mike Shinoda, Lauren Conrad, and Joan Jett, among others. After this Jimmy's sidekick, Guillermo, appeared in a spoof of The Bourne Ultimatum, which starred Damon. He was then chased down by Damon as Matt cursed about Kimmel being behind all this. Guillermo also stopped Damon on the red carpet one time and before he could finish the interview he said, "Sorry we are out of time." The most recent encounter was titled "The Handsome Men's Club" which featured Kimmel, along with the "Handsome Men", who were: Matthew McConaughey, Rob Lowe, Lenny Kravitz, Patrick Dempsey, Sting, Keith Urban, John Krasinski, Ethan Hawke, Josh Hartnett, Tony Romo, Ted Danson, Taye Diggs, Gilles Marini, and Ben Affleck, speaking about being handsome and all the jobs that come with it. At the end of the skit Kimmel has a door slammed in his face by none other than Matt Damon, stating that they had run out of time and then Damon continues with a sinister laugh. Jennifer Garner also makes a surprise appearance.

As a tradition, celebrities voted off Dancing with the Stars appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, causing Kimmel to describe himself as "the three-headed dog the stars must pass on their way to No-Dancing Hell".^[14] In the 2008 season of his show, Kimmel started another tradition of ceremonially burning the dancers' shoes after they were voted off DWTS.^{[citation needed]}

Other television work[link]

In Spring 1996, Kimmel appeared as "Jimmy the Fox Guy" in promos on the Fox network.

Kimmel's other television work included being the on-air football prognosticator for Fox NFL Sunday for four years. He has had numerous appearances on other talk shows including, but not limited to, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Howard Stern Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Late Show with David Letterman. Kimmel has appeared on The Late Show five times, most recently in 2010. Kimmel served as roastmaster for the New York Friars' Club Roast of Hugh Hefner and Comedy Central Roasts of Pamela Anderson. He has appeared on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, along with his parking lot security guard Guillermo.

In August 2006, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel would be the host of their new game show Set for Life.^[15] The show debuted on July 20, 2007. On April 6, 2007, Kimmel filled in for Larry King on Larry King Live. That particular show was about the paparazzi and Kimmel reproached Emily Gould, an editor from Gawker.com, about the web site's alleged stalking of celebrities. On July 8, 2007, Kimmel managed the National League in the 2007 Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game in San Francisco. He played in the game in 2004 and 2006 (Houston and Pittsburgh). On July 11, 2007, Kimmel along with basketball player LeBron James, hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. The show aired on ESPN on July 15, 2007. Kimmel hosted the American Music Awards on ABC four times, in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Kimmel guest hosted Live with Regis and Kelly during the week of October 22, 2007 – October 26, 2007, commuting every day between New York and Los Angeles. In the process, he broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest distance (22,406 miles (36,059 km)) travelled in one work week.^[16]

Kimmel has performed in several animated films, often voicing dogs. His voice appeared in Garfield and Road Trip, and he portrayed Death's Dog in the Family Guy episode "Mr. Saturday Knight"; Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane later presented Kimmel with a figurine of his character on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Kimmel also did voice work for Robot Chicken. Kimmel's cousin "Sal" (Sal Iacono) has accepted and won a wrestling match with WWE superstar Santino Marella. On January 14, 2010, in the midst of the 2010 Tonight Show host and time slot conflict, Kimmel was the special guest of Jay Leno on The Jay Leno Show's "10 at 10" segment. Kimmel derided Leno in front of a live studio audience for taking back the 11:35 pm time slot from Conan O'Brien, and repeatedly insulted Leno. He ended the segment with a plea that Leno "leave our shows alone," as Kimmel and O'Brien had "kids" while Leno only had "cars".^[17]

Kimmel also made a brief appearance in the TV commercial "There's A Soldier In All Of Us" promoting the 2010 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops, along with Kobe Bryant. He is seen taking cover from bullets, then firing an RPG-7 with the words PROUD N00b on it, with the aftershock from the weapon sending him tumbling backwards.

He has been asked to host the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards which will air on September 23, 2012, marking his first time hosting the event.^[18]

Kimmel hosted the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2012.

Personal life[link]

Kimmel and his then girlfriend, Gina, married in June 1988. They have two children, Katie (born 1991) and Kevin (born 1993). The marriage ended in separation in early 2002. Kimmel then dated comedian Sarah Silverman for five years, splitting with her in March 2009.^[19] He started dating current girlfriend, Molly McNearney, in October 2009. McNearney is also a co-head writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live.^[20]

Kimmel plays the bass clarinet. He got a chance to showcase his talent during a July 20, 2008, concert in Costa Mesa, California, featuring the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, when he took the stage and played bass clarinet on their hit song "The Impression That I Get."^[21]

Kimmel has spoken publicly of being a narcoleptic.^[22]

Kimmel co-founded the annual LA Feast of San Gennaro,^[23] which celebrates Italian culture through entertainment, music and cuisine. The festival also honors outstanding members of the Los Angeles community and raises funds to aid needy children and families in the city. He hosted Los Angeles' eighth annual feast of San Gennaro from September 28 to 30, 2009.^[24] Kimmel served as Master of Ceremonies for the National Italian American Foundation's 34th Anniversary Gala in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2009.

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

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Cee Lo Green
Cee Lo Green at a Gnarls Barkley concert in July 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Thomas DeCarlo Callaway[1]
Also known as	Cee Lo Green, Cee Lo
Born	(1974-05-30) May 30, 1974 (age 38)[1] Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Soul, hip hop, neo soul, R&B, funk, alternative hip hop, hip hop soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Arista, Elektra
Associated acts	Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob, TLC, Kid Cudi, OutKast, Jazze Pha, Bruno Mars
Website	ceelogreen.com

Thomas DeCarlo Callaway (born May 30, 1974),^[1] better known by his stage name Cee Lo Green, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. Originally came to prominence as a member of the southern hip hop group Goodie Mob, later launching a critically acclaimed solo career^[2] and forming Gnarls Barkley with DJ Danger Mouse.

Internationally, Cee Lo is best known for his hip hop work, his most popular was Gnarls Barkley's 2006 worldwide hit "Crazy", which reached number one in various singles charts worldwide, including the UK. In the United States, "Crazy" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Parent album St. Elsewhere was also a hit, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200 album charts. Gnarls Barkley's second album, The Odd Couple (2008), was less successful and missed the top ten in both the UK and U.S., where it charted at number 12 in the U.S. and 18 in the UK.

In 2010, Cee Lo took a break from recording with Gnarls Barkley and released the single "F**k You!" on August 19 as a solo recording artist. The song was an instant hit, with the radio-edit version "Forget You" reaching the top spot in the UK and the Netherlands and charted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, The Lady Killer (2010) saw similar success, peaking within the top five of the UK Albums Chart and debuting within the top ten on the Billboard 200 album charts, and received a Gold certification from the BPI in the UK shortly after its release. His second single "It's OK" was a hit in Europe and the third single, "Bright Lights Bigger City" has also seen similar charting success. Cee Lo is also currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.

Early life[link]

Cee Lo Green was born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated high school from Riverside Military Academy, Gainesville, GA., an All-Boy Boarding School. Both of his parents were ordained ministers and he started his music career in his church. His father died when he was two years old. His mother, Sheila J. Tyler-Callaway, was also a volunteer firefighter.^[3][4] She was involved in a car crash, leaving her paralyzed, and died two years after the accident. At the time, Cee Lo's career with Goodie Mob had just begun taking off. His mother's death led Cee Lo into depression, as is reflected in various songs throughout his career, including "Free" by Goodie Mob, songs on St. Elsewhere, and on The Odd Couple ("She Knows", "A Little Better").^[5][6] Cee Lo also expresses his love for his mother in the song "Guess Who" from Goodie Mob's Soul Food album. In an excerpt of "Cee Lo Distilled", a mini documentary produced by Absolut and The Fader released on YouTube, Cee Lo explained that his mother's death was a defining moment to "crossing that threshold over into a career".^[7]

Music career[link]

Goodie Mob[link]

Along with Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Khujo, Cee Lo was an original member of the Atlanta hip hop group Goodie Mob. He is the youngest of the four.^[8] The Goodie Mob were a part of the Atlanta rap collective the Dungeon Family, which also included OutKast. The group released their debut album, Soul Food in 1995. The album received much critical praise as a pioneering record for the then emerging Southern rap scene. It featured a distinctive soulful southern sound by production team Organized Noize, who had also produced OutKast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Cee Lo got considerable praise for his rapping and singing of hooks, particularly on the hit singles "Cell Therapy" and "Soul Food". The band has recently published a single "Fight to Win" and performed it on The Voice.

The group's second album, Still Standing came out in 1998 and also received much critical praise. Its commercial performance was slightly lower than the group's previous effort however. At this time, Cee Lo focused primarily on rapping over singing. While he did frequently sing hooks and did some singing, at this point he was a rapper first and foremost. Cee Lo took more creative control on the group's next album, World Party. Released in 1999, this album was more of a party record than the group's previous output, getting away somewhat from their socially conscious lyricism.^[9]

During the making of the album World Party, Cee Lo left the group to pursue a solo career under Arista and the remaining members continued to perform together under the Goodie Mob name with Koch Records. They did however collaborate in combinations in the Dungeon Family album Even in Darkness. Although the next Goodie Mob album seemed to mock Cee Lo with its title, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, the group expressed that it was more of a jab at Arista and the music industry as a whole.

The song "Hold On" from Big Boi of OutKast's Got Purp? Vol. 2 album was the first newly recorded Goodie Mob song with all four members since World Party. (Khujo later revealed to fans at an album signing^{[original research?]} for his new album "Mercury", that the song "Hold On" was originally recorded in 1995 before Soul Food was released.)

Santana[link]

In 1999, Cee Lo, credited as "Cee-Lo" was one of ten famous guest musicians who contributed to the Santana album Supernatural. Lauryn Hill wrote "Do You Like The Way," and the two of them trade off on lead vocals.

Solo career[link]

Cee Lo at a Gnarls Barkley concert in the Netherlands, July 2008.

Cee Lo's Arista career was short lived, as he was dropped after only two albums due to low record sales. His first album, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, was heavily in the vein of various other Dungeon Family releases, with southern soul/funk/jazz backings produced solely by himself and boasting appearances by fellow Dungeon Fam members Big Gipp and Backbone. The album explored his departure from Goodie Mob and his solo growth in the song "El Dorado Sunrise (Super Chicken)", as well as socio-political issues, and showcased his singing. The album did not sell very well, but Cee Lo achieved some airplay with the single "Closet Freak".

His second Arista album, Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine brought a more branched-out sound and more deeply explored southern rap music. This is evidenced by collaborations with Ludacris, T.I., and Pharrell Williams, as well as production from Timbaland, The Neptunes and Jazze Pha, among others. The only other Dungeon Family member that appeared on his second release was Big Rube. This album saw Cee Lo delve into other styles besides traditional rap. Timbaland proved to be Cee Lo's single producer as their song "I'll Be Around" received mild airplay. They performed the single on an episode in the second season of Chappelle's Show. "The One" featuring Jazze Pha and T.I. was also released as a single. On the heels of the success of Gnarls Barkley, Arista released a 17-track greatest hits collection of Cee Lo songs, Closet Freak: The Best of Cee-Lo Green the Soul Machine. It features predominantly Cee Lo solo tracks and several Goodie Mob songs. His new song "What Part of Forever" has been included in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.^[10]

After his second solo album, Cee Lo joined the group Gnarls Barkley (see below) with Danger Mouse, temporarily putting his solo career on hold. He would release two albums with that group, before again releasing solo material in 2010.

On August 14, 2010, Cee Lo released the single "Fuck You!" to YouTube ahead of his planned solo album release, due to its partial leak on April 13. "Fuck You!" was an instant viral smash hit,^[2] registering over two million plays in less than a week. Two weeks later on September 1, Cee Lo released to YouTube an official music video of the song.^[11] "Fuck You" made a debut at No.1 on the UK charts, notably beating out "Shame" from the recently reunited Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow. On December 1, 2010, Cee Lo received five Grammy nominations for "Fuck You!", which has been certified Gold in the United States^[12] and Denmark.^[13] The single achieved platinum status in Canada,^[14] New Zealand,^[15] and the UK;^[16] and multi-platinum status in Australia.^[17]

When discussing his most recent album, The Lady Killer (released on November 9, 2010, by Elektra Records and Roadrunner Records),^[18] Cee Lo said: "I suppose this is a more clear, concise, consistent, conceptual, entire album. It's a complete thought, because it's written to be like a score. The album's meant to be a motion picture, you know? I've never taken that approach to doing an album before."^[19] The album was certified Gold in the UK on December 6, 2010.^[20]

Green is touring with an all-female backing band named "Scarlet Fever" (made up of Sharon Aguilar, Brittany Brooks, Theresa Flaminio, and Regina Zernay Roberts), performing for Taratata,^[21] the BBC,^{[22][23][24][25]} Late Show with David Letterman,^[26] W's Symmetry Live Concert Series,^[27][28] Saturday Night Live,^[29][30] the Jimmy Kimmel Live! special show following the Academy Awards,^[31] and many other venues. Green also performed "Forget You", a sanitized version of his hit "Fuck You", with Gwyneth Paltrow and several puppets provided by The Jim Henson Company at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011, a shoutout to Elton John, who wore a very similar costume in a Muppet show performance in 1977.^[32] At the 2011 BRIT Awards two days later, he was joined by British vocalist Joelle Bennett in another duet of "Fuck You".^[33][34] Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Green will be joining Rihanna and J. Cole on the North American leg of Rihanna Loud Tour in the summer of 2011.^[35] However, he later dropped out of the tour citing that his busy work schedule which includes his commitment to judging “The Voice”, writing a new book and recording a new album as the reason for his withdrawal.^[36] On August 14, 2011, Green performed at WWE SummerSlam performing "Forget You" and the event's theme, "Bright Lights, Bigger City".