Living Colour

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Living Colour

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Img_capt = Live in Vienna, 1993
Img_size = 250
Landscape = Yes
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = New York City, New York, United States
Genre = Hard rock, Heavy metal, Funk metal, Alternative metal
Years_active = 1983-1995 2000-present
Label = Sanctuary, Epic
Associated_acts = Headfake, Wood Brass & Steel, Vice
Current_members = Corey Glover Vernon Reid Doug Wimbish Will Calhoun
Past_members = Muzz Skillings

Living Colour is an American funk metal band from New York City, formed in 1983. A prominent all-African American band of that movement, which also included Jane's Addiction, Faith No More, Primus, and 24-7 Spyz in the late 1980s, Living Colour rose to fame with their debut album "Vivid" in 1988. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, funk, hard rock, free jazz, hardcore punk and hip hop, containing lyrics that attack the Eurocentrism and racism of America. Although the band scored a number of hits, they are best remembered for their anthemic single "Cult of Personality", which won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1989, and their highest charting single "Type". They were also named Best New Artist at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.

Living Colour was ranked #70 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

History

Early years (1983-1986)

Living Colour was formed in New York City in 1983 by guitarist Vernon Reid. They grew out of the Black Rock Coalition, a non-profit organization founded by (among others) Reid for black musicians interested in playing rock music. Reid, British-born but a longtime New York resident, was well known on the downtown New York jazz scenes courtesy of his tenure in Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. A guitarist of unnerving technique and speed, he assembled a number of bands under the name Living Colour from 1983 to 1986. 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 than 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".

Mainstream success (1986-1991)

In 1986, a stable lineup was formed, consisting of vocalist Corey Glover (who Reid met at a birthday party and was suitably impressed with a rendition of "Happy Birthday"), bassist Muzz Skillings, and drummer Will Calhoun (who had graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music). With Calhoun and particularly Skillings, Reid had a rhythm section with the ability to express themselves in dozens of forms, and with Glover he had a vocalist who could produce depths of soul or rage upon demand. Soon after, the band became experienced at touring, including performing regular gigs at the seminal club CBGB's. Aided by a demo produced by fan Mick Jagger (who hired Reid and Calhoun to play on his 1987 album "Primitive Cool"), Living Colour scored a record deal with Epic Records, and released their debut studio album "Vivid" in mid-1988, reaching #6 on the "Billboard 200". The album gathered sales momentum only when in late 1988 MTV began playing the video for "Cult of Personality". The band gained further exposure as an opening act, along with Guns N' Roses, for the 1989 Rolling Stones tour of stadiums throughout the United States.

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 in the US and won a Grammy 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".

Break-up and solo work (1992-2000)

In 1992, Skillings left the band due to creative differences and was replaced by Doug Wimbish. This new line up released their third full-length album, "Stain", in 1993, revealing an emotionally darker, more personal side of the group. The album reached #26 in the US, a further drop since their debut.

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 break up, individual band members released a variety of solo efforts.

Reunion (2000-present)

Living Colour reformed on December 22, 2000, without Muzz Skillings. New bassist Doug Wimbish took over the bass duty.

The reunion was followed by the release of another dark record, "Collideøscope", in 2003, their first album to not chart in the United States.

In 2005, Sony Records released "Live From CBGB's", a live album recorded on December 19, 1989 at the legendary CBGB's, as well as another "best of" compilation, "", with songs from "Vivid" to "Collideøscope".

As of August 2006, Glover is taking on the role of Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" touring with Ted Neeley but has not left the band. [http://livingcolour.blogspot.com/2006/07/note-from-vernon-reid.html] Doug Pinnick, vocalist and bassist of progressive metal band King's X, filled in for Glover on lead vocals. Glover's tour of the musical is slated to run through 2009, but may possibly run indefinitely.

On September 22, 2006, Skillings joined the band for the first time in 14 years. The occasion was complemented by a private party drummer Jack DeJohnette threw for his wife Lydia. Wimbish was unable to come back from London to play for the event, so Skillings agreed to take over as bassist, albeit only for the event.

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 Creek, Oklahoma.

The band is planning to record a new album for an early 2009 release.

Acclaim and legacy

"Cult of Personality" was part of the ' repertoire of radio songs in , and was also one of the theme songs used by professional wrestler CM Punk. It was also the very first song to be confirmed for the tracklist of '. The reason Living Colour re-recorded the song is because Sony never responded to Guitar Hero's request for a license, so they were asked to submit a re-recording, which they were happy to do since it allowed Living Colour to issue the master use license directly to Activision; admittedly being fans of the game, they requested the song being one of the harder in the soundtrack, and made so by adding a new guitar solo. Fact|date=December 2007

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.

Discography

tudio albums

Compilation albums

Video albums

*"Primer" (1989)
*"Time Tunnel" (1991)
*"On Stage At World Cafe Live" (2007)

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

*1989 - Best New Artist ("Cult of Personality")

Grammy Awards

*1990 - Best Hard Rock Performance (won) ("Cult of Personality")
*1990 - Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (nominated) ("Glamour Boys")
*1991 - Best Hard Rock Performance (won) ("Time's Up")
*1994 - Best Hard Rock Performance (nominated) ("Leave It Alone")

Trivia

*Candidates for the bass player position vacated in 1992 by Muzz Skillings and eventually filled by Doug Wimbish included Melvin Gibbs (most known for having spent a long tenure with Rollins Band) and Me'shell Ndegeocello.
*Gibbs and Reid were both in the Decoding Society led by Ronald Shannon Jackson, and played together in Defunkt for a short time.

References

^http://www.livingcolourmusic.com/2006/07/note-from-vernon-reid.html

External links

*MySpace|livingcolourmusic|Living Colour