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The Presidents of the United States of America is an alternative band which was formed in 1989. They are a grunge pop group that had a sequence of hits in the mid 1990s, such as "Lump", "Kitty", and "Peaches". They were noted for their amusing lyrics and simple, catchy guitar riffs, usually with guitars from which they had removed strings. They also perform the theme music for The Drew Carey Show. Line-up
InstrumentsThe Presidents are credited with creating the instruments known as the 'basitar' and the 'guitbass'. Both instruments are modifications of traditional six string electric guitar bodies with specific strings removed and different tunings.
DiscographyFull-lengths:
Live/Greatest Hits:
Singles:
For a more comprehensive discography see the Musicbrainz entry (http://musicbrainz.org/artist/7509421d-1074-442f-be8f-b526167afcb3.html) for this artist. This page about Presidents of the United States of America includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Presidents of the United States of America News stories about Presidents of the United States of America External links for Presidents of the United States of America Videos for Presidents of the United States of America Wikis about Presidents of the United States of America Discussion Groups about Presidents of the United States of America Blogs about Presidents of the United States of America Images of Presidents of the United States of America |
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For a more comprehensive discography see the Musicbrainz entry (http://musicbrainz.org/artist/7509421d-1074-442f-be8f-b526167afcb3.html) for this artist. The album is The Stones' first full studio album since 1997's Bridges to Babylon, with a tentative release date in Summer 2005, as reported on Billboard (http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000735012) (external link). Singles:. Charlie Watts also attended the Paris sessions and was reported to be in excellent health after being treated for throat cancer. Live/Greatest Hits:. Was stated the Stones would reconvene after the Christmas holidays and that the tracks recorded so far were significantly different to anything he has worked on with The Stones before. Full-lengths:. The Stones completed sessions with Don Was as producer for a new studio album in Paris in December 2004, with Jagger and Richards writing and recording new songs. Both instruments are modifications of traditional six string electric guitar bodies with specific strings removed and different tunings. In response, other music retail chains (including Tower Records, Virgin Megastore and HMV) pulled all Rolling Stones CDs and related merchandise from their shelves and replaced them with signs explaining the situation. The Presidents are credited with creating the instruments known as the 'basitar' and the 'guitbass'. In November of 2003 the band exclusively licensed the right to sell their new 4-DVD boxed set, Four Flicks, recorded on their most recent world tour, to the U.S Best Buy chain of stores. They also perform the theme music for The Drew Carey Show. On November 9, 2003, the band played its first ever concert in Hong Kong as part of the Harbour Fest celebration. They were noted for their amusing lyrics and simple, catchy guitar riffs, usually with guitars from which they had removed strings. It was attended by an estimated 450,000 people, the largest concert in Canadian history. They are a grunge pop group that had a sequence of hits in the mid 1990s, such as "Lump", "Kitty", and "Peaches". On July 30, 2003, the band headlined the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to help the city recover financially and psychologically from the effects of the 2003 SARS epidemic. The Presidents of the United States of America is an alternative band which was formed in 1989. In 2002, Q magazine named The Rolling Stones as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". "Some Postman" (2004). (Critics of Windows also noted the song's lyric "You make a grown man cry".). Last Girl On Earth (2001). Some critics noted that the group who epitomise the way that rock and roll commercialised earlier rhythm and blues by delivering it to a global audience provided the soundtrack for the corporation who did the same with software. Jupiter (2001). The Stones' song "Start Me Up" was used by Microsoft to launch their Windows 95 operating system. Jazz Guy (2000). (He would go on to write a coffee table tome entitled "Rolling with the Stones" in 2002) After his departure, Wyman was replaced by respected session musician and Miles Davis sideman Darryl Jones in time to record Voodoo Lounge (1994) and Bridges to Babylon (1997) —both highly praised—and to tour in support of both records. Nuthin' But Luv (2000). In 1991 Bill Wyman left the band and had published Stone Alone, a frank autobiography. Tiny Explosions (2000). 1989 also saw Stones inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Teenage Girl (1999). Ironically, Richards' first solo record, Talk is Cheap (1988), which he had been reluctant to make because of his loyalty to The Stones, was well received by both fans and critics, prompting Jagger to shelve his own solo career and reform the group for 1989's Steel Wheels album and tour, widely heralded as a return to form. "George Of The Jungle Theme" (1999). Sales of Jagger's solo records (She's the Boss (1985) and Primitive Cool (1987)) did not live up to expectations. Video Killed The Radio Star (1998). But by this point Jagger and Richards had begun openly criticizing each other in the press, and many observers assumed the band had broken up. Man (Opposable Thumb) (1997). However, a bright spot that year was when they were awarded a Grammy for lifetime achievement. Supersonics (1997). The Rolling Stones' only live appearance during this time was a tribute to Stewart. Volcano (1997). To add to the band's woes in 1986, longtime collaborator and unofficial band member Ian Stewart died of a heart attack. Supermodel (Oh Yeah) (1997). The album again sold poorly, and sales were probably hurt by Jagger's decision not to tour in support of the album. Bug City (1997). Indeed, Jagger was spending a great deal of time on his solo recordings, and most of the material on 1986's Dirty Work was authored solely by Keith Richards (indeed, many would later speculate that, after years of making decisions in drug-addled Richards' place, Jagger resented Richards reasserting creative control). Tiki God (1996). This move angered Richards, who saw it as a lack of commitment to the band. Ça Plane Pour Moi (1996). In 1982 Jagger had signed a major solo deal with the band's new label, CBS Records. "Cleveland Rocks (1996). To make matters worse, Ron Wood was now suffering from his own growing drug habit. Mach 5 (1996). The album's slick production and violent political and sexual content were coolly received by both critics and fans. Dune Buggy (1996). 1983's Undercover was widely seen as Jagger's attempt to make the Rolling Stones' sound more compatible with current musical trends. Back Porch (1996). Throughout the early 1980s the Jagger/Richards partnership continued to falter, and their records would suffer because of it. Peaches (1996). Tattoo You and the subsequent tour were major commercial successes. Naked And Famous (1995). It also featured the single "Start Me Up," showing that Richards was still capable of writing guitar parts of the same calibre as ten years earlier. Kitty (1995). Tattoo You (1981), like the album before it, was composed mainly of unused songs from earlier recording outings (The ballad "Waiting on a Friend" dated back to the Goats Head Soup sessions). Monkey River (1995). Emotional Rescue (1980) was in a similar vein, but lacked the redeeming features of its predecessor. Lump (1995). Jagger and Richards seemed to channel much of the personal turmoil surrounding them into renewed creative vitality. With the notable exception of the disco-influenced "Miss You," (a hit single and a live staple) most of the songs on the album were fast, basic guitar-driven rock and roll, and the album did much to quell the band's critics. Fuck California (1994). In 1978 the band recorded Some Girls, their most focused and successful album in some time, despite the perceived misogyny of the title track. Lump (1999) Greatest Hits. The Clash vocalist Joe Strummer even went so far as to declare "No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977.". Pure Frosting (1998) with, live features. By this time punk rock had become highly influential in pop circles, and the Stones were increasingly criticized as being decadent, ageing millionaires, with their music considered by many to be either stagnant or irrelevant. Rarities (1997) Greatest Hits. His marriage to Bianca would end in 1977. Love Everybody (2004). He was a regular at New York's Studio 54 disco club, often in the company of model Jerry Hall. Freaked Out And Small (2000). While Richards was settling his legal and personal problems, Jagger continued his jet-set lifestyle. Pure Frosting (1998). It also coincided with the end of his relationship with Pallenberg, which had become increasingly strained since the tragic death of their third child (an infant son named Tara). II (1996). This motivated a final, concerted attempt to end his drug habit, which proved largely successful. The Presidents of the United States of America (1995). The case would drag on for a year, with Richards eventually receiving a suspended sentence and ordered to play a concert for a local charity. The second C sharp is an octave higher. Despite having spent much of the previous year undergoing a series of drug therapies to help withdraw from heroin, including (allegedly) having his blood filtered, Richards and Pallenberg were arrested in a Toronto hotel room and charged with possession of heroin. It consists of a normal six string guitar with only three strings, tuned to C sharp, G sharp and C sharp (lowest to highest). Keith Richards would have more serious concerns in 1977. The guitbass acts as an electric guitar and was created by band member Dave Dederer to compliment Ballew's basitar. Although The Rolling Stones remained hugely popular through the 1970s, music critics had grown increasingly dismissive of the band's output. It consists of a normal (six string) guitar body fitted with two bass guitar strings on the two middle tuning pegs, tuned to C sharp and G Sharp (lowest to highest). Again, Jagger was, if nothing else, shrewdly interpreting market trends —the mid-1970s were the era of flashy stage acts such as Queen and Elton John, and the band's tours were to become even more expensive and elaborate in the years to come. The basitar was first created by lead singer Chris Ballew and acts as a bass guitar. This represented a further breakdown in Mick and Keith's relationship —the pragmatic Richards considering it entirely superfluous and distracting from the music. Jason Finn (see also: Love Battery). The shows featured a new format for the Stones with their usual act replaced by increasingly theatrical stage props and gimmicks, including a giant inflatable phallus and a cherry picker on which Jagger would soar out over the audience. Dave Dederer. Wood had already contributed to It's Only Rock'N'Roll, but his first public act with the band would be the 1975 United States tour. Chris Ballew. American session players Wayne Perkins and Harvey Mandel appeared on much of the album, but the band settled on Ron Wood, a long time friend of Richards' and guitarist with The Faces, whose singer Rod Stewart had recently gone solo. The band used the album's recording sessions (again in Munich) to audition possible replacements. Guitarists stylistically far-flung as Humble Pie lead Peter Frampton and ex-Yardbirds impressario Jeff Beck were auditioned. Irked by perceived mistreatment, and a small share of the band's royalties, Taylor announced he was leaving the band shortly before sessions commenced for the next album, Black and Blue (1976). By the time of It's Only Rock'N'Roll Richards was reportedly berating Taylor during recording sessions, and Taylor contributed little to the album. Mick Taylor's intricate lead style and shy persona never quite matched Richards' outspoken image and basic, Chuck Berry-inspired rhythm work. Critics generally wrote the album off as uninspired from a band perceived as stagnating, but both album and single were huge hits, even without the customary tour to promote them. Intra-band strife continued. Regular producer Jimmy Miller was not asked to participate in the sessions because of his increasing unreliability, due to drug use. By the time they came to Munich to record 1974's It's Only Rock'N'Roll, however, there were even more problems. Many fans and critics regard these recordings as the best Rolling Stones concert recordings ever. A live recording made in Brussels on 17 October was intended for an official release but due to legal problems it appeared only on bootlegs (Nasty Music and Brussels Affair). But the tour of Europe in fall 1973 showed the Rolling Stones in top form, particularly Mick Taylor who played extensive solos on songs like Midnight Rambler and You Can't Always Get What You Want in an exciting interplay with Keith Richards on rhythm guitar. The making of the record was not helped by another legal battle over drugs, this one dating back to their stay in France. When it finally arrived, Goats Head Soup (1973) was disappointing, with the Stones' unique sound diluted by the influence of glam rock and memorable largely for the hit single "Angie," popularly believed to be about David Bowie's new wife but in reality another of Richards' odes to Pallenberg. By the time Exile on Main Street had been completed Jagger had made the other band members aware that he was more interested in the celebrity lifestyle than working on its follow-up, and increasingly their records were made piecemeal, with tracks and parts laid down as, and when, the band —Jagger and Richards in particular—could get together and remain amicable sufficiently long enough to do so. It would also be one of the last on which the band still functioned as a unit. The film Cocksucker Blues (never officially released) documents the subsequent tour. Dismissed by some on its release as sprawling and self-indulgent, the record is now considered among the band's greatest. Using the recently completed mobile studio, they set about recording the double album Exile on Main Street (1972) in the basement of their new home. He married the pregnant Nicaraguan model Bianca Pérez Mora Macías, and the couple's jet-set lifestyle put further distance between himself and Keith. Pressured by the UK Inland Revenue service about several years of unpaid income tax, the band left for the South of France, where Richards rented a chateau and sublet rooms to the band members and assorted hangers-on. As Richards removed himself from society, Jagger began to move in more elevated social circles. However, all the songs were credited as usual to 'Jagger/Richards' which certainly frustrated Taylor. Mick Taylor collaborated heavily on this album with Mick Jagger, most probably because Keith Richards could not contribute as constructively as usual due to his drug problems, and the sprawling "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" attests to Taylor's influence. Sticky Fingers (1971), the band's first record under their own Rolling Stones Records label, continued where Let It Bleed had left off, featuring the rocking "Brown Sugar" (another big hit), the country-styled "Wild Horses" (influenced and recorded first by Parsons), and a version of Faithfull's "Sister Morphine," about her own ambiguous relationship with heroin. (Concert tapes, including the time in 1976 when he fell asleep on stage, do not bear this out) In time, heroin would sap Richards' creativity , but in 1971, the band showed no sign of slowing. Richards has always maintained that the one facet of his life that was unaffected was his live performance. He would spend the best part of next decade as an addict, taking occasional cures in private clinics but always returning to the drug, and each subsequent tour would become a logistical nightmare to ensure a regular supply in the face of trouble from the police and customs officers. The murder, coming so soon after the death of Jones, had a harrowing effect on Richards, and his reaction to the events was to increase his usage of heroin. In fact, the murder occurred during "Under My Thumb". The aptness of this legend has ensured that no amount of subsequent corrections (in that publication and elsewhere) has been able to correct this impression. This was originally reported in Rolling Stone magazine, considered by some to be the "journal of record" for 1960s music. A recurring, morbid urban legend states that "Sympathy for the Devil" was playing during the killing, though this is not the case. (The concert would be documented in Albert and David Maysles' film Gimme Shelter). Poorly organised, and with on-site security provided by the Hells Angels (at the suggestion of the Grateful Dead), the concert was a disaster, featuring running battles between fans and security which reached a head when Meredith Hunter, a young black fan who had unwisely brought a pistol (and a white girlfriend) to the show, was stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels during the band's performance of "Under My Thumb". In an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of Hyde Park, and as a reaction to the Woodstock festival, the tour culminated in a free concert given at Altamont, a disused racetrack located about 40 miles east of San Francisco. Immediately, the band set off on another US tour, characterised by the hedonism that their position in rock's aristocracy afforded them. Let It Bleed (1969) followed a short time later and was rapidly hailed as another classic, featuring the slow and brooding "Gimme Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (featuring a boys choir) and a further nod to their roots with a cover of Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain". Their studio work was another matter. Shortly after, the band released their highly successful single, "Honky Tonk Women," recorded without Jones but too early for Taylor to contribute. The band's performance, under rehearsed and suffering from the remaining members narcotic intake, was somewhat shambolic. Despite this, the concert went ahead, with an audience of hundreds of thousands of fans, with Jagger reading from Shelley's "Adonais" and releasing a flock of butterflies by way of tribute to the late guitarist. His cause of death remains a mystery to this day (all of the reports collected from the many people there at the time contradicted each other), but drowning seems to be the most feasible. Within two months, and a matter of days before the new-look band were due to play a free concert in London's Hyde Park, Jones was found dead in his swimming pool. After his minimal contribution to Beggar's Banquet he found himself forced out in May 1969, replaced by the young, jazz-influenced guitarist, Mick Taylor, then of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Increasingly, Jones was either absent from recording sessions by choice, or locked out of them. Drugs were, however, making Jones increasingly unreliable. Music was not all the Stones and the independently wealthy Parsons had in common: "We liked drugs," Richards said later, "and we liked the finest quality.". Secondly, both Mick and Keith befriended Gram Parsons, who helped educate them about the country music with which he had grown up. Firstly, Richards played extensively with Ry Cooder, and was taught his open-G guitar tuning (as used by John Lee Hooker), later admitting "I took Ry Cooder for all I could get". Two other events contributed to the change in The Stones' sound. In contrast to its predecessor, however, it was a clear rejection of the hippie ethos, replacing the platitudes of "free love" with a layer of sleaze. The songs themselves were firmly rooted in the blues, but tempered by the changes that occurred in 1960s music and assimilating the imagery of Dylan and the emergent heavy rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Despite the tension, and aided by an excellent sound from an up-and-coming producer named Jimmy Miller, Jagger and Richards produced some of their most memorable work —including the distorted acoustic guitar-driven "Street Fighting Man" and the anthemic "Sympathy for the Devil"—and the Stones entered the phase that would see them billed as "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". After the excesses of Satanic Majesties, and with personal relations between Jones and Richards increasingly frayed, the band returned to the black music that had originally inspired them on 1968's Beggars Banquet. Within the band the dynamic was changing with the two principal writers steadily assuming power from the former leader, Jones. The record, which would eventually be released as Their Satanic Majesties' Request, received lukewarm reviews —the songs and arrangements did not lend themselves to their natural style and the increasingly-strung-out Brian Jones contributed little—but, despite Richards later pronouncing it "crap", still produced a small number of songs which showcased the improving songwriting of Jagger and Richards. Pepper. With Richards out on bail within a day, and shortly to be acquitted on appeal, work commenced on a new "psychedelic" album, which Jagger envisioned as the group's response to The Beatles' Sgt. Despite being a quickly cobbled-together collection of hits and studio outtakes, it was nevertheless a hit. During the furor, Decca shrewdly released Flowers in the United States. Beneath the title "Who Breaks A Butterfly On A Wheel" editor William Rees-Mogg wrote:. Amidst intense press interest he was convicted and sentenced to a year's imprisonment, prompting The Times newspaper to run an editorial criticising the verdict. Richards was charged and a few months later stood trial for allowing drug use in his home. The raid also served as a source of apocryphal stories, mainly concerning the appearance and demeanor of their friend Marianne Faithfull, which only served to augment their reputation for debauchery. The February 1967 raid, now legendary in the band's mythology, occurred during one of the regular parties, where police discovered a moderate quantity of cannabis. As a reaction the police obtained warrants to search Richards' country home, Redlands. By now the band had become almost synonymous with part of the rebellious spirit of the 1960s, and in particular a more relaxed attitude towards drug use. With the main songwriters maintaining their rate of production, Aftermath (1966) continued the progression, consisting entirely of Jagger/Richards compositions including "Mother's Little Helper," about pill abuse, and the misogynistic "Under My Thumb," whereas on Between The Buttons (1967) they wore the influences of their many contemporaries, including The Who and The Kinks. During this period Pallenberg's opinions about the music, as one of the few people the band trusted, should not be underestimated. Jones, not unaware of his reduced importance, retreated into drug abuse, alienating both Richards and Pallenberg, who began a liaison that would last over ten years. Prompted by Oldham, who possessed sufficient business acumen to see where money was to be made, Jagger and Richards became more prolific songwriters and 1965's Out Of Our Heads contained much self-penned material, including the classic "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and saw the dynamic of the band begin to change, with Jagger and Richards starting to emerge as the perceived leaders of the band. Jagger, Richards and Jones were sharing a house and Jones had begun to see Anita Pallenberg, an actress and model who introduced them to the circle of society in which she moved: a group of young artists, musicians and film makers. Back at home these early years of success represented a rare period of stability in the personal relationship between the band members. While on tour they took time to visit important locations in the history of the music that inspired them, recording the EP Five By Five at the studios of Chess Records in Chicago. Encouraged by Oldham, the band toured Europe and America continuously in their support, playing to packed crowds of screaming teenagers in scenes reminiscent of the height of Beatlemania. The follow-up album, The Rolling Stones #2 (Now in the U.S), was also composed mainly of cover tunes, only now augmented by a couple of songs written by the fledgling partnership of Jagger and Richards having been locked in a room by their manager who refused to let them out until they had produced something they could release that was self-written. More importantly perhaps, while The Beatles were still suited, clean-cut boys with mop-top haircuts, The Stones cultivated the opposite image: decidedly unkempt, and posing for publicity photographs like a gang sulking at cameras because they were afraid of showing bad dentistry if they smiled.This made many girls go crazy for their bad boy image, and soon made them a teen idol group. The performances were pivotal in introducing a generation of white British youth to rhythm and blues music, and helped to fuel the "British Invasion". Similarly, the album The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hitmakers) which appeared in April 1964 featured versions of such classics as "Route 66" (originally recorded by Nat King Cole), "Mona" (Bo Diddley) and "Carol" (Chuck Berry). The choice of material on their first record, a self-titled EP, reflected their live shows. Already though, the rhythmic interplay between Watts and Richards was clearly the heart of their music. The band rapidly gained a reputation in London for their frantic, highly energetic covers of the rhythm and blues songs of their idols and, through manager Andrew Loog Oldham, were signed to Decca Records (who had passed when offered The Beatles). At this time their music was fairly primitive: Richards had learned much of his guitar playing from the recordings of Chuck Berry, and had not yet developed a style of his own, and Jagger was not as in control of the idioms as he would soon become. At first, Jones, a guitarist who also toyed with numerous other instruments, was their creative leader. By the time of their first album release Ian Stewart was "officially" not part of the band, though he continued to record and perform with them.United by their shared interest in rhythm and blues music the group rehearsed extensively, playing in public only occasionally at Crawdaddy Club in London, where Alexis Korner's blues band was resident. The original lineup included Mick Jagger (vocals), Brian Jones (guitar), Keith Richards (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Charlie Watts (drums) and Dick Taylor (bass). Taylor left shortly after to form The Pretty Things, and was replaced by Bill Wyman. They named themselves after a song by Muddy Waters, a popular choice of name —at least two other bands are believed to have called themselves The Rolling Stones before the Jagger/Richards/Jones band was formed. The band came into being in 1961 when former school friends Jagger and Richards met Brian Jones. The band was named after a song by Muddy Waters, a leading exponent of hard-rocking blues. The Rolling Stones are a British rock and roll band who rose to prominence during the mid-1960s. |