Name | Living Colour |
---|---|
Caption | Live in Vienna, 1993 |
Landscape | Yes |
Background | group_or_band |
Origin | New York City, United States |
Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock, funk metal, alternative metal |
Years active | 1984–19952000–present |
Label | Megaforce, Sanctuary, Epic |
Associated acts | Headfake, Wood Brass & Steel, Vice, Masque, Yohimbe Brothers, Free Form Funky Freqs |
Current members | Corey GloverVernon ReidDoug WimbishWill Calhoun |
Past members | Muzz Skillings |
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, hard rock and heavy metal. Their lyrics range from the personal to the political, in some of the latter cases attacking Eurocentrism and racism in America.
Living Colour rose to fame with their debut album Vivid in 1988. Although the band scored a number of hits, they are best remembered for their signature song "Cult of Personality", which won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1989. They were also named Best New Artist at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. After disbanding in 1995, Living Colour reunited in late 2000.
Early band members included bassists Alex Mosely, Jerome Harris and Carl James, drummers Greg Carter, Pheeroan Aklaff and J.T. Lewis, keyboardist Geri Allen, and vocalists D.K. Dyson and Mark Ledford, with Reid occasionally singing lead vocals himself. The band's sound was vastly different from the songs that showed up later on their major label recordings. Material from this period included instrumental jazz/funk workouts, politically pointed punk rock burners, experimental excursions via Reid's guitar synth, and an early version of the song "Funny Vibe", which was reworked for their debut album Vivid.
In 1990 the band's second full-length album, Time's Up, was a sprawling affair that capitalized on the ability of its members to work in numerous musical contexts; jazz fusion, punk rock, Delta blues, hip hop (cameos by Queen Latifah and Doug E. Fresh), funk, thrash metal, jive, and hints of electronica were all represented. The album reached #13 on the Billboard 200, and won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Album. Other guests included Maceo Parker and Little Richard.
In 1991, Living Colour joined the inaugural Lollapalooza tour, and released an EP of outtakes entitled Biscuits.
Despite retaining their strong fan base, Living Colour disbanded in January 1995, after failing to settle on a common musical goal during sessions for their fourth studio album. Four of these tracks were included on the compilation Pride.
Following the breakup, individual band members released a variety of solo efforts.
In 2005, Sony Records released Live From CBGB's, a live album recorded on December 19, 1989, as well as another best of compilation, Everything Is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour, with songs from Vivid to Collideøscope.
In August 2006, Glover took on the role of Judas in a national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, touring with Ted Neeley. Doug Pinnick, vocalist and bassist of King's X, filled in for Glover on lead vocals. Glover's tour of the musical ran through June 2008, and he then rejoined the band.
On September 22, 2006, Skillings joined the band for the first time in fourteen years when they played at a private party which drummer Jack DeJohnette threw for his wife Lydia. Wimbish was unable to come back from his base in London to play for the event, so Skillings agreed to take over as temporary bassist.
The band performed a week-long European Tour starting on December 12, 2006. In May 2007, the band released their first live DVD - On Stage At World Cafe Live. On July 11, 2008, the band performed at the 1980s hard rock-themed Rocklahoma festival at Pryor, Oklahoma. Once again, Skillings performed with them in August 2008 for a Black Rock Coalition Band of Gypsys tribute in Harlem. They performed "Them Changes" and "Power of Soul".
On October 25, 2008, MVD Audio and CBGB's records released CBGB OMFUG MASTERS: August 19, 2005 The Bowery Collection, a soundboard collection of songs from the Save CBGB's benefit show. On November 25, 2008, Inakustik and MVD released The Paris Concert, a DVD recorded at New Morning, in Paris, France, during their 2007 European Tour.
The band released their fifth studio album, The Chair in the Doorway, on September 15, 2009 on Megaforce Records. The album sold approximately 2,800 copies in its first week and landed at #159 on the Billboard 200. This was the band's first album to chart since Stain in 1993. The band is currently touring the world in support of the record.
According to an interview on breakdownroom.net, Glover hopes to release another album with the band next year. "We're going to do something different [for us] and make a real record, right now, right after we've done this one," Glover said with a laugh.
Living Colour was ranked #70 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
"Cult of Personality" was part of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas repertoire of radio songs in Radio X. It was also the first song to be confirmed for the tracklist of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
In October 2006, "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" was ranked and voted 303 out of 2006 songs featured in the Triple M Essential 2006 Countdown.
Rolling Stone have called the band, "funk-metal pioneers."
Category:Heavy metal musical groups from New York Category:Funk metal musical groups Category:African American musical groups Category:African American rock musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1984 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2000 Category:American alternative metal musical groups Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:Musical groups from New York City Category:Musical quartets
da:Living Colour de:Living Colour es:Living Colour fr:Living Colour it:Living Colour nl:Living Colour ja:リヴィング・カラー pl:Living Colour pt:Living Colour fi:Living Colour sv:Living Colour tr:Living ColourThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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