Big Head Todd and The Monsters are a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed by Todd Mohr, Brian Nevin, and Rob Squires in 1986 in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album ''

Sister Sweetly ''Sister Sweetly'' is the third album by the Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records. ''Sister Sweetly'' sold more than 1,000,000 copies, going platinum. The album was ...

'' going

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

in the United States. The band has developed a sizable live following especially in the

Mountain States The Mountain states (also known as the Mountain West or the Interior West) form one of the nine geographic divisions of the United States that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. It is a subregion of the Western Un ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Their lineup changed in 1986 after Christerson left the band and was replaced on bass by Rob Squires. The trio had attended

Columbine High School Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district. In 1999, it became the scene of an infamous mass shooti ...

together. Mohr attended

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

and transferred to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

to join Nevin and Squires. The three began touring clubs in Denver, Fort Collins, and Boulder as Big Head Todd and the Monsters in 1987. The band soon built up a following throughout Colorado and the West. They toured extensively throughout the Mountain States and West Coast of the United States in their van dubbed "The Colonel", which was driven more than 400,000 miles. In 1989, the band formed Big Records and released its first album ''

Another Mayberry ''Another Mayberry'' is the first studio album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1989. The album was released on the band's own Big Records, which also released their second album ''Midnight Radio'' the following ...

'' that same year. '' Midnight Radio'' was released the following year, and featured artwork from

Chris Mars Chris Mars (born April 26, 1961) is an American painter and musician. He was the percussionist, drummer for the seminal Minneapolis based alternative-rock band The Replacements (band), The Replacements from 1979 to 1990, and later joined the inf ...

of The Replacements. By 1993, Big Head Todd and the Monsters had developed a considerable live following across the United States. Their first live album ''Big Head Todd and the Monsters Live'' was recorded at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1993. The group signed with

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

in 1993 and recorded ''

'' with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

associate

David Z David Z may refer to: * David Z (producer) David Rivkin (born 1953), professionally known as David Z, is an American music producer, engineer, and songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is best known for his long-standing work with Prince, a ...

producing. This album went

and spawned three singles that made the rock charts, including " Bittersweet," " Broken Hearted Savior" and "

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

." Mohr produced the next album '' Strategem'' released in 1994. It reached No. 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but did not sell as well as its predecessors. Their song "In the Morning" was featured in the 1994

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' Blown Away''. The band contributed "

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

" to the 1995

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

'' Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin''.

Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...

, formerly of the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, produced the next album, '' Beautiful World'', released in 1997.

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

was recording an album in the same studio and played with the band on a version of his best-known song " Boom Boom". Squires described the recording of the track on the band's website. "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio."

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

, formerly of

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

, played some keyboards on the album's title track "Beautiful World". Corey Mauser filled out the other key parts on the album. The album spawned two hit singles on the rock charts, "Boom Boom" and "Resignation Superman." The ''Live Monsters'' album followed in 1998. In 2002, the group released the follow-up studio album ''Riviera''. As Giant Records had closed its doors, the self-produced album was released through Big Records with distribution through

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. ''Crimes of Passion'' was released in 2004 with

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

distributing it. Another live album ''Live at the Fillmore'' was released in 2004. In 2005, the group joined the growing trend of Internet-based music sales by releasing the single "Blue Sky" exclusively on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The song was written at the request of crewmembers of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' for their STS-114 Return to Flight mission in 2005, the first mission after the ''Columbia'' disaster. "Blue Sky" was written and performed as a tribute to all the people involved in the American space program. The song was used as Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's presidential campaign song in 2008, and in the introduction of Clinton on her keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. "Blue Sky" was also performed acoustically on March 8, 2011 at

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

as the first live version of a wake-up call to Space Shuttle Discovery during the

STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' docked with the International Space Station. It was ''Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission l ...

mission. In June 2007 BHTM recorded their annual charity show to raise money for autism research at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The recordings were sold on

USB flash drives A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since first ...

at the merchandise stands following the performance. BHTM toured in the summer of 2008. This extended tour was in support of the July release of their 8th studio album ''All The Love You Need''. In 2010, Big Head Todd and the Monsters again returned to the studio to record ''Rocksteady''. This featured "Beast of Burden" by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and "Smokestack Lightning" by

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

. The band returned to the studio again in 2011 to record a new project under the name Big Head Blues Club. The album ''100 Years of Robert Johnson'' celebrates the songs of the late

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer and musician

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

. The members of Big Head Todd and the Monsters were accompanied by B. B. King,

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

Cedric Burnside Cedric O. Burnside (born August 26, 1978)'' Jefferson'' interview. Issue 141, March 2004Swedish original via Google Translate is an American electric blues guitarist, drummer, singer and songwriter. He is the son of blues drummer Calvin Jackson ...

David "Honeyboy" Edwards David "Honeyboy" Edwards (June 28, 1915 – August 29, 2011) was a Delta blues guitarist and singer from Mississippi. Biography Edwards was born in Shaw, Mississippi.

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

Ruthie Foster Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt ...

, and Lightnin' Malcolm. Big Head Todd and the Monsters have also played shows under the name Big Head Blues Club, and have invited some of the legends featured on the album to perform with them. They performed in the Denver Broncos

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

Championship Parade and in Indianapolis at the Vogue on February 9, 2016, using the Instagram hashtag #denver2indy to celebrate the dual event. On November 3, 2017 the band released its 11th studio album, ''New World Arisin''.

Lineup

*Jeremy Lawton –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Todd Park Mohr Todd Park Mohr (born October 19, 1965) is the singer and guitarist for the American rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, as well as being their namesake and primary lyricist. A founding member of the band, he also occasionally provides keyb ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

*Brian Nevin–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Rob Squires –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Touring: * Hazel Miller –

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1989) *'' Midnight Radio'' (1990) *''

'' (1993) *'' Strategem'' (1994) *'' Beautiful World'' (1997) *''Riviera'' (2002) *''Crimes of Passion'' (2004) *''All the Love You Need'' (2007) *''

Rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

'' (2010) *''100 Years of Robert Johnson'' (2011) redited to artist Big Head Blues Club*''Black Beehive'' (2014) *''Way Down Inside: Songs of Willie Dixon'' (2016) redited to artist Big Head Blues Club*''New World Arisin (2017)

Live albums

*''Live Monsters'' (1998) *''Live at the Fillmore'' (2004) *''Red Rocks'' (2009) *''Live at Red Rocks'' (2015) *''Live at the Belly Up'' (2020) *''We're Gonna Play It Anyway- Red Rocks 2020'' (2020)

Compilation albums

*''From the Archives'' (2007) uttakes album

Charting albums

The following albums have charted on the ''Billboard'' album charts: *''

'' – No. 1 ''Billboard'' Heatseeker; No. 117 ''Billboard'' 200 *''Strategem'' – No. 30 ''Billboard'' 200 *'' Beautiful World'' – No. 54 ''Billboard'' 200 *''Riviera'' – No. 166 ''Billboard'' 200; No. 2 Internet Albums *''Crimes of Passion'' – No. 253 Internet Albums

Charting singles

Other appearances

References

External links

*
Big Head Todd and the Monsters collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive
Feature interview with Todd Mohr from HonestTune.com
{{Authority control NCIS: New Orleans American alternative rock groups American blues rock musical groups American country rock groups Rock music groups from Colorado Columbine High School alumni Jam bands Giant Records (Warner) artists Musical groups established in 1986 Culture of Boulder, Colorado University of Colorado alumni 1986 establishments in Colorado