"Cailin" is a song by the

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-based

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band

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles " ...

from their 1998 album ''

''. Though it was not released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, it became the band's first song to chart, reaching number 28 on ''Billboard'''s

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart.

Background

The song is named after singer Scott Russo's

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, about whom he penned the lyrics. According to Ex-Guitarist, Rob Brewer, the song was almost not released to radio, as the label wasn’t interested in promoting another single from the album, after three previous ones failed to chart. In an interview with

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, Brewer explained:

"We were kind of expecting the worst. They said, 'We're going to keep you guys, but we're not going to really work the album anymore. We want you to go back and do another one.' And that was kind of a bummer, because we had always thought that 'Cailin' would be a good radio song".

The band's then manager, Bill Silva, then arranged to get the single played on influential West Coast alternative-rock stations, including

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

, where it quickly became a favorite with listeners.

Personnel

Band

*Scott Russo -

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*Steve Morris -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

*Rob Brewer -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

*Wade Youman -

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 ...

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Additional musicians

*Micah Albao -

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Rick Parashar Rakesh "Rick" Parashar (December 13, 1963 – August 14, 2014) was an American record producer, recording engineer and musician. Along with his brother Raj, he founded London Bridge Studio in Seattle, Washington, in 1985. During his career he wo ...

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, tambura, percussion *Geoff Turner - DJ *Erik Aho - additional guitar

Production

*Rick Parashar –

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, mixing *Jon Plum – assistant producer, engineer, and mixing *Geoff Ott – second engineer *George Marino – mastering

References

{{authority control 1997 songs Unwritten Law songs Song recordings produced by Rick Parashar