Dave Matthews

Matthews and his wife, Ashley Harper, have twin daughters, Stella and Grace, and split their time between Seattle, Washington and Charlottesville. There were some exceptions, such as Happy Together (1991 in music) and Breaking Free (1993 in music). Matthews released a solo album in late 2003, Some Devil, which went platinum; its single, "Gravedigger," won a Grammy Award in 2004. Though he continued recording throughout the 1990s, his celebrity was rapidly fading, with his albums received more and more mixed reviews. The band's first performance was on May 11th 1991, at a private rooftop party, held by Lydia Condor at the South Street Warehouse in downtown Charlottesville. "Rub a Dub Sound Style" is sometimes considered the first ragga recording. Matthews formed The Dave Matthews Band in early 1991 with Boyd Tinsley, Leroi Moore, Carter Beauford and Stefan Lessard while he was working as a bartender at Miller's in Charlottesville. Herbman Hustling saw a return to dancehall and roots reggae.

After writing his first few songs, including "The Song that Jane Likes" and "Recently", Matthews who had originally envisioned someone else singing his songs, began to consider starting his own band. "Good Thing Going" (cover of Michael Jackson) was his first UK #1. It was in 1990 that he hatched the idea to form his own band. "Run Come", "Not for Sale", "African Girl", "Lovers Rock", "In a Dis Ya Time", "Africa" and "Make It with You" (with Carroll Thompson) were huge hits in the proceeding years. His first professional musical performance was at a modern dance performance by the Miki Liszt Dance Company, singing "Sensitive Feelings," composed by John D'earth and Dawn Thompson. Bittersweet followed, and then the third album of 1979, Ghetto-ology, which saw a return to roots reggae; the album was a critical smash hit. Roots Lovers (1980 in music) saw a move towards lovers rock, which was a UK hit, and one of the biggest selling lovers rock albums during its era of popularity. Though he also logged time back in South Africa and in Amsterdam, it was in Charlottesville where Matthews—who took piano lessons as a child before picking up the guitar at age nine—became part of the local music community. Showcase (1979 in music) was just as revolutionary, and also spawned a great many chart-topping singles.

The key move for Dave Matthews was when he relocated in 1986 to Charlottesville, Virginia, where his parents had lived before he was born. His first major hit was "Vanity" in 1978 (see 1978 in music); his debut LP was Live Loving, often credited as the first dancehall album. The family moved back to South Africa in 1980, where Matthews went to a few different schools. Minnott's solo career was slow to take off. Then, in the early 1970s, he moved to Cambridge, England, before returning to New York—where his father died in 1977. After 1974's "No Cup No Broke", the African Brothers broke up (see 1974 in music). At the age of two, Matthews and his family immigrated to Westchester County, New York, where his father, a physicist, went to work for IBM. The group had several successful singles, and were an early example of Rastafarianism's influence on the Jamaican music scene.

Dave Matthews (born January 9, 1967 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is the vocalist and guitarist from Dave Matthews Band. He began his career as the African Brothers along with Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard in 1969. Sugar Minnott (born May 25, 1956) is a Jamaican singer.