Led by the powerhouse vocals of Chris Cornell, Soundgarden was one of the pioneering Seattle bands associated with the dawn of grunge rock. By 1994, they were on the charts with "Black Hole Sun," the haunting ballad whose creepy video burned into everyone's brain. The song became their biggest hit, peaking at #24 and winning a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Cornell's gloomy lyrics and the band's gritty riffs made some other notable chart appearances through the decade. "Fell On Black Days" (#54), "Pretty Noose" (#37), "Burden In My Hand" (#40), and "Blow Up The Outside World" (#53) are classics of the genre. The band broke up in 1997 but reunited after a few years. They scored one final chart appearance in 2010 when "Black Rain" hit #96. It was a previously unreleased song, but the reunion led to a new album in 2012 called "King Animal." Appropriately, the first track is called "Been Away Too Long" and kicks ass. "Halfway There" is a more radio-friendly mid-tempo number that deserved to put the band back on the charts. In addition to his work in Soundgarden, Cornell recorded with Temple of the Dog and Audioslave, amidst completing several solo albums. Sadly, this tremendous talent committed suicide in 2017 at the age of 52.
Soul Asylum formed in Minneapolis in 1981 and slowly amassed a loyal following craving Dave Pirner's quirky lyrics and raspy melodies. By 1992's "Grave Dancers Union" album, the raw garage rock had morphed into smart, gritty pop that sat comfortably alongside some of the more radio-friendly grunge. The band's first foray into acoustic ballads landed the smash hit, "Runaway Train," which peaked at #5 and won a Grammy. Surprisingly, nothing else from this fantastic breakthrough album found its way onto the charts. Expectations were high for their follow-up, "Let Your Dim Light Shine," which arrived in 1995. It yielded only one minor hit called "Misery," which deserved much better than the #20 position it earned. One more single from the record charted, "Broken Promises," stalling at #63 and becoming their final chart appearance. After their 1998 record flopped, the band chilled out for 8 years before releasing a very solid record called "The Silver Lining." It truly boggles the mind why strong cuts like "Lately" didn't give the band a second life. The only constant in the band these days is Pirner, but he continues to make records under the band's moniker and as a solo artist.
Sons of Champlin was formed by singer and songwriter Bill Champlin in San Francisco while he was still in high school. The band managed to crack the Top 100 twice in the 70s with "Hold On" (#47) and "Here Is Where Your Love Begins" (#80). Champlin left for a brief career as a solo artist, managing to score two more Top 100 hits: "Tonight Tonight" (#55) and "Sara" (#61) from 1982. He then joined Chicago and delivered some monster hits like "Hard Habit To Break," "Look Away," "You're Not Alone," and more. Champlin's son, Will, also tasted Top 100 success. In 2013, his cover of "At Last" from the TV show The Voice, peaked at #83. Listening to the grooves by Sons of Champlin draws clear parallels to what Chicago was doing at the time. Check out "What'cha Gonna Do" from their 1977 album, "Loving Is Why."
Something Happens was an alternative rock band from Dublin that never got the airplay they deserved in the US in the late 80s and early 90s. Sounding a lot like R.E.M. and Toad the Wet Sprocket, the band blended catchy music with thoughtful lyrics. But college rock had a tough time competing with the hairband and power ballad craze popular at the time. In 1990, they released their sophomore record, "Stuck Together With God's Glue." Critics loved it, but it failed to make an impression. Even strong cuts like "Good Time Coming" could not help this band get their head above the crowd.
Bert Sommer, who played Claude in the musical Hair, became a one-hit wonder in 1970. His lone chart appearance was "We're All Playing In The Same Band," which managed to reach #48. Before that, he spent a little time as lead singer for The Left Banke. Quite inexplicably, Sommer could not land another chart appearance with the many harmonious gems on his follow-up self-titled record. "Someone Like Me" is a perfect song from the era that should have given him a higher profile. He passed away from illness in 1990 at only 41 years of age.
Led by the gritty vocals of Mike Ness, Social Distortion is a punk rock band that formed in in California in 1978. By 1983, they released their debut album, "Mommy's Little Monster." They slowly built up a following that liked to jam to their wall of guitars and down-on-my-luck lyrics. By 1989, they found major label success and released their critically acclaimed self-titled third album in 1990. Thus began a string of fan favorites that received a lot of airplay but never charted, including "Ball And Chain," "Story Of My Life," "Bad Luck," and "When She Begins." The band finally obtained chart success in 1996 when "I Was Wrong" peaked at #54. To date, it remains their only chart appearance, but this is not because their music took a dive. On the contrary, I found their last album from 2011, "Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes" to be among their best. Combining the shredding guitars with more melody and harmonies than ever, this album should have been huge. I hope we hear from the band again while they're "Still Alive."
Vocalist Phoebe Snow scored her big hit in 1975 when "Poetry Man" soared to #5. With a little help from Paul Simon, she scored another one with "Gone At Last," which reached #23. Snow came close to cracking the Top 40 once again with a reinvention of her sound to suit the early 80s. "Games" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" topped out at #46 and #52, respectively, in 1981. Both of these came from her 1982 comeback record, "Rock Away." Overlooked was the irresistibly fun jam, "Shoo-Rah Shoo Rah." Sadly, Snow passed away in 2011 at the age of 60.
