![]() ![]() Brent Lamb – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2000–2002).Mike Folsom – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–2011).Austin Crum – lead guitar (2020–present).Brad Benge – bass guitar, backing vocals (2016–2018).Donnie Allen – fiddle, acoustic guitar (1990–1997, 2014–present).Principal Members (Founding members in bold, current members in italic) ![]() The band's material is dominated by Raybon's bluegrass-tinged voice, and usually features lyrics pertaining to the warmth and values of Southern life, alongside polished and tight musicianship. ![]() While the membership has continued to change yet again, Raybon and McGuire remain, along with Donnie Allen, Austin Crum, Travis Mobley and Paul Sanders. A flurry of membership changes ensued, with Jimmy Yeary (a popular Nashville songwriter and husband of bluegrass musician Sonya Isaacs) assuming lead vocals until Raybon finally returned in 2014. All of the remaining members except Raybon reunited in 2000, with new lead singer Brent Lamb, followed quickly by Curtis Wright (who coincidentally wrote "Next to You, Next to Me" and "Rock My Baby"). During this timespan, he had a hit with his brother tim as the Raybon Brothers, with one of two successful renditions of "Butterfly Kisses" that year. Raybon officially left in 1997, effectively disbanding Shenandoah. Raybon also dabbled in a few solo side projects alongside a stopgap album called Now and Then, which included re-recordings of Columbia-era material alongside five new songs. Thorn and Ezell left in late 1995, with Rocky Thacker and Stan Munsey replacing them. A transfer to Liberty Records in 1994 brought In the Vicinity of the Heart, whose Grammy-winning title track "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart" featured guest vocals from a then up-and-coming bluegrass singer known as Alison Krauss. RCA Records then picked them up for two albums, which were somewhat less successful, but still accounted for minor hits in "Rock My Baby" and "If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too)". But then trouble struck when several other groups filed lawsuits against Shenandoah for use of the name, eating up the band's resources and causing them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while also losing their deal with Columbia. Their third Columbia album Extra Mile accounted for their biggest hit to date in "Next to You, Next to Me", along with three more singles and another gold certification. That album produced six singles in total, a gold certification, and critical acclaim for their blend of traditional country, modern country, and bluegrass not unlike Diamond Rio a few years later. Notably, "Cumberland Road" was the first time that a country band's first #1 single spent more than one week at the top of the Hot Country Songs charts. While their first album had very little success, followup The Road Not Taken notched three consecutive #1 hits in "The Church on Cumberland Road", "Sunday in the South", and "Two Dozen Roses". ![]() Founded as a house band for other Muscle Shoals musicians, they began recording with songwriter-producer Robert Byrne, who got them signed to Columbia Records. A Country Music band founded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama by Marty Raybon (lead vocals), Ralph Ezell (bass guitar), Stan Thorn (keyboards), Jim Seales (lead guitar), and Mike McGuire (drums). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |