Cherry Poppin' Daddies
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
band established in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter
Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...
and bassist
Dan Schmid Daniel Joseph Schmid (born November 22, 1962) is an American musician, known for his work as the bassist and co-founder of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Schmid was also part of the rock duo the Visible Men, and has worked with ...
, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30-year history, with only Perry, Schmid and trumpeter Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original founding lineup. The Daddies' music is primarily a mix of swing and
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
, contrastingly encompassing both traditional
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
-influenced variations of the genres as well as contemporary rock and
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
hybrids, characterized by a prominent
horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...
and Perry's acerbic and
innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...
-laced lyricism often concerning dark or political subject matter. While the band's earliest releases were mostly grounded in punk and
funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the ...
, their later studio albums have since incorporated elements from many diverse genres of
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
and
Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...
into their sound, including
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
,
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
and
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
. Initially drawing both acclaim and controversy as a preeminent regional band, the Daddies gained wider recognition touring nationally within the American ska scene before ultimately breaking into the musical mainstream with their 1997 swing compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot''. Released at the peak of the 1990s
swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...
, ''Zoot Suit Riot'' sold over two million copies in the United States while its eponymous single became a radio hit, launching the Daddies to the forefront of the neo-swing movement. By the end of the decade, however, interest in the swing revival had swiftly declined, along with the band's commercial popularity. The resultant failure of their subsequent album ''
Soul Caddy ''Soul Caddy'' is the fourth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on October 3, 2000 by Mojo Records. Written and recorded after the multi-platinum success of their 1997 compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot'', ''Soul Cad ...
'' contributed to an abrupt hiatus in 2000. The Daddies officially regrouped in 2002 to resume part-time touring, eventually returning to recording with the independently released '' Susquehanna'' in 2008. Their twelfth album, the swing and jazz-influenced ''At the Pink Rat'', was released in July 2024.


History


Formation

Following his high school graduation in 1981,
Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...
left his hometown of
Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...
, for
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
, to pursue
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
and a
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
degree at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
. A
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
devotee since adolescence, Perry soon became engrossed in Eugene's underground music scene, where he eventually met and befriended musician and fellow University student
Dan Schmid Daniel Joseph Schmid (born November 22, 1962) is an American musician, known for his work as the bassist and co-founder of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Schmid was also part of the rock duo the Visible Men, and has worked with ...
. Sharing similar musical ambitions and a mutual disinterest in school, the pair agreed to drop out of college together and start a band, forming the punk trio The Jazz Greats in 1983, which evolved into the
Paisley Underground Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owi ...
-styled
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
group Saint Huck, which lasted from 1984 to 1987. As the rise of
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
began to phase punk and hardcore out of the Northwest underground by the late 1980s, Perry set out to start a band that stood in defiant contrast to the shoegazing attitude of
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
, showcasing high energy dance music and Zappa-esque theatricality in an attempt to create something that an audience would react to viscerally instead of passively. Recruiting a
horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...
led by alto saxophonist Brooks Brown, Perry and Schmid formed their latest band Mr. Wiggles – named so after a
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
song – in November 1988, playing their first show in Springfield as part of a
benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...
for workers of the Nicolai door manufacturing plant, who were then engaged in a union strike. "My conception of punk", Perry told '' The Rocket'', "was doing whatever the hell you wanted as long as it had vitality and wasn't overly stupid ... something exploratory and experimental", citing influence from genre-bending bands such as
The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
and the
Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...
. In their earliest incarnation, Mr. Wiggles played punk-inflected
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
, though Perry's songwriting soon grew to draw heavily from a newfound interest in
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, swing and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
, combining punk rock and jazz arrangements in what Perry described was a desire to contemporize American roots music by infusing it with punk energy and using modernist, socially aware lyricism.


Early years (1989–1993)

In 1989, the title of Mr. Wiggles was retired when the band switched to a new name, " Cherry Poppin' Daddies", derived from jive slang the members had overheard on a vintage
race record Race records is a term for 78-rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans between the 1920s and 1940s.Oliver, Paul. "Race record". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 13 Feb. 2015. They primarily contained race music, comprising v ...
. The band played their first show as the Cherry Poppin' Daddies at the
W.O.W. Hall The W.O.W. Hall, also stylized as WOW Hall, (AKA Community Center for the Performing Arts) is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The lot was bought in 1906 by the Woodmen of the World (W.O.W.) lodge, and later in 1932 they ...
in Eugene on March 31. The Daddies sought to differentiate themselves from other Northwest rock bands of the era by having a horn section, featuring outlandish stage theatrics, and encouraging their audiences to dance. As Perry spoke of the Daddies' ideology, "It was our way of saying 'screw you' o alternative rock 'phoniness'... we wanted to have fun, outrageously have a good blast without even thinking about it". Nonetheless, by the end of 1989, the Daddies had built a strong and loyal following within Eugene's
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
, frequently selling out show and gathering critical acclaim." The Daddies recorded their first demo
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...
''4 From On High'' in July 1989, which included four tracks of
funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the ...
and punk-influenced swing. The cassette sold over 1,000 copies in the Eugene and Portland areas, enabling the band to self-produce their debut LP ''
Ferociously Stoned ''Ferociously Stoned'' is the debut album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in November 1990 on Sub Par Records. It was subsequently re-released on the Daddies' own independent label Space Age Bachelor Pad Records in 1994. C ...
'', released the following year. Fusing punk rock and jazz horns with funk grooves, ''Ferociously Stoned'' drew favorable critical comparisons to contemporaries
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
while also becoming a regional best seller. The album set a record for advance sales in Eugene's record stores and remained for over a year on '' The Rockets Northwest Top Twenty list. The album helped expand the Daddies' Northwestern touring reach to as far as Alaska and Los Angeles by 1992.


Controversies and censorship

Cherry Poppin' Daddies' early performances often included flamboyant costumes,
go-go dancers Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo, located in the town of Juan-les-Pins. The bar's n ...
, phallic stage scenery, prop-heavy skits, or choreographed dance numbers. Perry—then performing under his
mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...
stage persona of "MC Large Drink"—would regularly engage in absurdist
shock rock Shock rock is the combination of rock music or heavy metal music with highly theatrical live performances emphasizing shock value. Performances may include violent or provocative behavior from the artists, the use of attention-grabbing imagery ...
stunts, such as mock
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
and
flag burning A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...
. One of the band's stage props was known as the "Dildorado" or "The Dildozer", a riding lawnmower modified to look like a human penis that mimicked
ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. ...
by shooting colorful fluids from its tip. The band attracted controversy from
Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
groups, who condemned the band's performances as pornographic, citing their name and sexually charged lyricism as a promotion of
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
and
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
. Perry disputed such claims, defending the controversial elements as misinterpreted satire. In what ''Eugene Weekly'' called "the most hotly discussed topic in the local music scene" and "the Eugene flash point for the growing national debate on
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
nd
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
", the Daddies experienced controversy which nearly ended their burgeoning career. Vigilante protest groups habitually tore down or defaced the band's posters and sought
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
s against venues that would book the group and even newspapers which gave them a positive review. The Daddies' concerts routinely became sites of organized
picketing Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pi ...
and, on one occasion, a
bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threats ...
. The band members themselves were frequent recipients of
hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...
, threats and physical harassment: once, Perry claimed, an irate protester threw a cup of hot coffee in his face as he was walking down the street. The Daddies initially refused to change their name on the grounds of
artistic freedom Artistic freedom (or freedom of artistic expression) can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Gener ...
, but a number of venues refused to book them due to the negative publicity. The band was temporarily banned from the W.O.W. Hall, where they had previously served as
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
. The group later bowed to community pressure, and performed under the name "The Daddies", "The Bad Daddies," and similar variations within Eugene, but performed under their original name while touring elsewhere. As the Daddies retired the theatrical elements from their later live shows, the controversies surrounding the band waned and they returned to using their full name everywhere. Some minor complaints resurfaced during their mainstream success in the late 1990s.


National touring and independent success (1994–1996)

Throughout the early 1990s, the Daddies continued to remain a reliably popular and profitable draw in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California club circuit. Despite earning critical accolades from the local music press, including winning ''
SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...
''s title of "Best Unsigned Band" in 1994, the Daddies struggled to achieve wider recognition and distribution. Following a number of changes in their member and managerial lineups, the group embarked on their first national tour in the fall of 1994, which was highlighted by a set at the
CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
festival and convention in New York City. Upon returning to Eugene without any advantageous deals, the Daddies instead bought and constructed their own independent
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
and recording studio, Space Age Bachelor Pad Records, where they self-produced and self-recorded their second studio album, ''
Rapid City Muscle Car ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' is the second studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in 1994 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Overview ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' was structured around the Daddies' desire to create a sty ...
'', which was released in December 1994. Described by Perry as "an idea album" and "very
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
", ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' was a distinct departure from the upbeat dance music vibe of ''Ferociously Stoned'', showcasing a diverse range of disparate genres including
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
,
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
,
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and
lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
. While Perry has retrospectively cited ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' as his personal favorite Daddies album, he revealed in a 1995 interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' that the album sold "okay" but ultimately didn't surpass sales of ''Ferociously Stoned''. The Daddies began dedicating themselves to full-time touring in 1995, playing over 200 shows across two or three national tours per year, including spots at prominent music festivals such as
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. As the band gradually built fanbases and markets around the country, they began attracting interest from several high-profile record labels, among which reportedly included
Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
and producers including
Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...
and
Terry Ellis Terry Lynn Ellis (born September 5, 1963) is an American singer. She is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop vocal group En Vogue which formed in 1989. Biography Early life Born in Houston, her father was a truck driver and her mother ...
. However, when the suggestion or stipulation was made that the Daddies stick to one genre, Perry invariably rejected these offers, not wanting any outside influences controlling the band's sound. In a similar mindset, not wishing to be pigeon-holed into any specific scene or genre, Perry at first refused to tour with ska bands, though after a highly successful and well-received tour with
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
ska band
Let's Go Bowling Let's Go Bowling is an American third wave ska band from Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest cit ...
, he acquiesced, and the Daddies eventually carved out a lucrative niche within the national ska scene, forming regular touring partnerships with the likes of
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...
,
Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...
and
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...
. While the mainstream's growing focus on punk and ska by the mid-1990s presented the Daddies with further commercial opportunities, Perry still insisted foremost on maintaining complete creative control of the band. In February 1996, the Daddies released their third self-produced studio album on Space Age Bachelor Pad, ''
Kids on the Street ''Kids on the Street'' is the third studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in 1996 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Overview By 1996, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies had established themselves as a staple of the West Co ...
''. Another musical departure from their previous record, ''Kids on the Street'' was mostly a reflection of the band's growing punk and ska influences, eschewing the Daddies' trademark brassy funk and swing in favor of guitar-driven rock, punk and ska, as well as stylistic detours into jazz and country. Distributed by noted indie label
Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...
, ''Kids on the Street'' wound up becoming the Daddies' most successful release at the time, staying on '' The Rocket''s Retail Sales Top Twenty for over seven months and even working its way onto ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s Alternative Charts.


''Zoot Suit Riot'' and major label years (1997–1999)

By late 1996, ska had broken through into the American mainstream as one of the most popular forms of alternative music, catapulting such major label bands as Reel Big Fish and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones into the national spotlight. The Daddies, however, without the support of a record label, were ultimately left on the fringes of commercial visibility. Although ''Kids on the Street'' had sold well for an independent release, the band had continuing difficulty securing press and distribution outside of the Northwest, while the pressure of full-time touring was inevitably becoming both a personal and financial strain on the members. The Daddies experienced at least fifteen lineup changes from 1996 to 1997, including the departure of original keyboardist Chris Azorr and co-founder Dan Schmid, leaving only Perry and trumpeter Dana Heitman as the sole remnants of the original lineup. Feeling they had finally hit a
glass ceiling A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
as an independent band, Perry said the Daddies were left with one of two options at this time: either sign to a label or break up. Despite primarily playing ska tours during this turbulent period of their career, the Daddies suddenly began attracting a sizable and enthusiastic audience for their swing music, owing heavily to the coincident public interest in the formerly underground
swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...
movement due in part to the success of the 1996 film '' Swingers''. Although the Daddies had occasionally played shows with notable swing revival bands like
Royal Crown Revue Royal Crown Revue was a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They have been credited with starting the swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop danc ...
, they were not largely associated with the scene or subculture; when fans regularly began approaching the band's merchandise table asking which of their albums contained the most swing songs, the Daddies realized they lacked an album fully representing their swing side, prompting the band's manager to convince them to compile all of their swing songs onto one CD until they could afford to make a new album, using their available finances to record several bonus tracks for inclusion. The result, '' Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies'', became an unexpectedly popular item as the band went on tour, reportedly selling as many as 4,000 copies a week through their Northwest distributors. While stopped in Los Angeles during another tour together, Reel Big Fish arranged a meeting between their label
Mojo Records Mojo Records was a California-based record label founded in 1995 by producer Jay Rifkin. It became a joint venture with Universal Records in 1996 and then sold to the Zomba Group in 2001, who placed it under their subsidiary Jive Records. ...
and the Daddies in the hopes of helping the band obtain a
distribution deal A distribution deal (also known as distribution contract or distribution agreement) is a legal agreement between one party and another, to handle distribution of a product. There are various forms of distribution deals. There are exclusive and ...
for ''Zoot Suit Riot''. Following negotiations between Perry and Mojo, however, the label instead signed the Daddies to a two-album
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
. ''Zoot Suit Riot'' was licensed and reissued by Mojo and given national distribution in July 1997, less than four months after its original release.


Mainstream breakthrough

As swing music steadily gained commercial momentum throughout 1997, sales of ''Zoot Suit Riot'' increased dramatically; by December, Mojo was moving 12,000 units per week. In January 1998, the label informed the Daddies of their decision to push the album's
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
as a major single and distribute it among mainstream radio stations. The Daddies, who were beginning work on their next studio album, ardently protested this move, believing that a swing song would never receive airplay and were concerned that the band would end up having to recoup the marketing costs. Mojo nevertheless persisted, and much to the band's surprise, "Zoot Suit Riot" soon found regular rotation on stations such as Los Angeles' influential
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 sta ...
, helping establish swing music in the mainstream and leading to its eventual commercial breakthrough, with the Daddies at the forefront. By mid-1998, the Daddies had emerged as one of the most successful bands of the swing revival: after climbing to number one on ''Billboards
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
, ''Zoot Suit Riot'' became the first album of the swing revival to crack the Top 40 on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 17 and spending an ultimate total of 53 weeks on the charts. In June 1998, the album had sold 500,000 copies in the United States, going on to surpass sales of 1.4 million by August.RIAA – Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 9, 2010
Suddenly finding themselves in hot demand, the Daddies immediately started touring again. Spending the majority of 1998 and 1999 on the road, the band were now playing close to 300 shows a year, carrying out both headlining and supporting tours of the United States while traveling internationally as one of the headliners on the 1998
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
beside Rancid,
NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
and
Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...
. By this time, the group's touring conditions had greatly improved, thus enticing Dan Schmid – who had originally left the band due to health concerns – to return as the Daddies' bassist at Perry's request. Although the Daddies were experiencing commercial success under the guise of swing revivalists, having been declared the "leaders" of the movement by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', the band openly contested being labeled a
retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...
act at the exclusion of their dominant ska and punk influences and modernist lyricism. While still vocal supporters of both the swing revival and its bands, the Daddies adamantly tried to disassociate themselves from the swing scene and in particular its
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...
-based mentality: Perry explained to ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' in July 1998, "it's not our mission to be a swing band. I'm not a guy from the '40s. That's why we play ska and use heavy guitars", noting elsewhere "I can't fully take us out of the retro classification, but we harp on the fact that we're contemporary music". Thusly, the Daddies avoided touring with swing bands, selecting
Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...
group
Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...
and ska/soul band
The Pietasters The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia. History In 1990, Stephen Jackson and Chris Watt met at Virginia Tech, through mutual friend Tal Bayer, who was a ...
as support on their first headlining U.S. tour, and opening for Argentine rock band
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (, ) is an Argentine musical group from Buenos Aires. Their music fuses ska with Latin rock and various other styles. Background and style Formed in 1985, they released their first album, ''Bares y Fondas'' (Bars and ...
on their 1998 North American tour. At one point, the Daddies attempted to arrange a tour with Primus which never materialized; said Perry, "I know there are people who come to our shows who'd like nothing more than for us to play swing 24/7 ... there are plenty of bands who want to be swing bands and swing bands only. We're trying to find the audience who'll let us write songs and just be who we are". During the height of the Daddies' popularity, Perry found the band's mainstream notoriety was causing an alienating effect on his personal life, claiming it to have negatively changed his relationships with friends and even subjected him to occasional heckling from strangers who recognized him in public. He would later recall, "It's a total cliché, but
ame #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
doesn't make you happy. There's a lot missing. Success has given people the right to yell at me on the street, but I don't really feel like it's given me any dignity". Already feeling burnt out from the Daddies' constant touring, Perry's frustration was only exacerbated by the media's persistent dismissal of the Daddies as a retro novelty act, though he later claimed to have felt pressured to maintain the image due to audience and media expectations. When the band began to face criticism and accusations of
selling out To "sell out" is to compromise one's integrity, morality, Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, or Principle#As moral law, principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or power. In terms of music or art, selling out is associated w ...
from their Northwest fanbase, the Daddies fought to further push themselves away from their mainstream typecasting: in a 1999 interview, responding to their place in the swing scene, Perry retorted " e'llunapologetically play ska right in the face of people who want to hear swing". ''Zoot Suit Riot'' had sold over two million copies in the United States by the time the swing revival's mainstream popularity had declined, finally slipping off the charts in January 2000. With their touring schedule finally coming to a close, the Daddies commenced work on their next studio album.


''Soul Caddy'' and mainstream decline (2000)

In the fall of 1999, the Daddies returned to the studio to record their fourth album, ''
Soul Caddy ''Soul Caddy'' is the fourth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on October 3, 2000 by Mojo Records. Written and recorded after the multi-platinum success of their 1997 compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot'', ''Soul Cad ...
''. A loose concept album reflecting Perry's disillusionment over the cultural zeitgeist and his experience with fame - as he described it, a "bittersweet" record about "being alienated and hoping to connect" - ''Soul Caddy'' marked a continuation of the band's musically varied format, intended to introduce a truer perspective of the Daddies' sound and personality to both their swing-based fans and a wider audience. Drawing from the rock and pop of the 1960s and 1970s, ''Soul Caddy'' interwove swing and ska with
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
and funk. Despite allowing the Daddies creative control over its production, Mojo's response to ''Soul Caddy'' was considered tepid at best. Claiming that the new material was not like "the Cherry Poppin' Daddies people know and love", the label did little to promote neither the album nor its glam-styled single " Diamond Light Boogie", at one point releasing the latter without the band's name on it, allegedly due to hesitancy over marketing a rock single from a band primarily known for swing music. With virtually no publicity behind it, ''Soul Caddy'' was quietly released in October 2000. Met by a public largely unaware of the Daddies' eclectic background, ''Soul Caddy'' was received negatively by both fans and critics, one of the more prevalent criticisms being its lack of swing tracks. Some reviewers chastised the band for what was being seen as an abandonment of their swing "roots" in favor of a trendier sound, while a few criticized the Daddies' entire musical aesthetic — UGO's ''Hip Online'' stated bluntly, "covering five or six genres on one album is just insane". The ''
Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...
'' placed ''Soul Caddy'' on their list of the 10 worst albums of 2000, the reviewer wondering what made a swing band "think it could get away with an album of recycled psychedelic pop". Despite some moderate critical praise including a glowing review from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, who called the album's "impressively surprising" array of sounds "refreshing coming from a band who was assumed to be generic retro swing", ''Soul Caddy'' failed to achieve the chart success or commercial attention of its predecessor. The Daddies' accompanying national tour fared just as poorly, showing a marked decline in attendance while audiences reacted unfavorably towards the band's decreased focus on playing swing music. Speaking retrospectively in a 2002 interview, Perry recalled "we went out on tour and most people saw us as a swing band because of the success of ''Zoot Suit Riot''...we felt this tension to be something we weren't". Facing low ticket sales and their own dissatisfaction over the tour's outcome, the Daddies brought their scheduled tour to an early close, reaching a mutual decision upon taking an indefinite hiatus in December 2000. "A lot of it was just fatigue", Perry explained, "We'd be on the road for a long time and we had no life outside of Cherry Poppin' Daddies. I think everybody was interested in doing other things". The Daddies were released from Mojo shortly thereafter, though guitarist Jason Moss would later comment that the band were kicked "to the curb" after ''Soul Caddy''s poor commercial performance.


Hiatus and limited touring (2001–2006)

With nearly a decade of full-time band activity come to a rest, the Daddies parted ways to pursue other musical endeavors, remaining active in various local bands. Most notably, Perry and Moss started the theatrical
glam punk Glam punk is a music genre that began in the early to mid-1970s and incorporates elements of proto-punk and glam rock. The genre was pioneered by the New York Dolls, who influenced the formation of other New York City groups the Stilettos, the ...
group White Hot Odyssey, releasing an album on
Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...
in 2004 before disbanding the following year, while Schmid and keyboardist
Dustin Lanker Dustin Ross Lanker (born October 7, 1976) is an American keyboardist, known for his work as a member of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and the ska punk band the Mad Caddies, as well as the singer-songwriter for the rock trio The ...
formed the piano rock trio The Visible Men, recording two studio albums and touring extensively until their own disbandment in 2007. Around this time, Schmid also toured as bassist for
Pixies Pixies may refer to: * Plural of Pixie * Pixies (band) The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...
frontman
Black Francis Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...
band, recording on his 2007 album '' Bluefinger'' as well as recording on
Pete Yorn Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...
s Francis-produced self-titled album in 2010. Lanker later joined California ska punk band the
Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging g ...
as a touring member, eventually becoming a permanent member in 2013. Drummer Tim Donahue, after a stint with The Visible Men, worked as a
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
, recording on albums for artists including
TobyMac Kevin Michael McKeehan (born October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. Widely regarded as one of the most ...
and
Shawn McDonald Shawn Michael McDonald (born September 4, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an a ...
and playing in
Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
s band for his 2001 European tour. Over the next few years, all Daddies activity was put on further hold as the members returned to their family lives and full-time jobs, while Perry chose to resume his education at the University of Oregon, graduating in 2004 with a B.S. in
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
. In February 2002, after over a year without playing, the Daddies ended their hiatus by headlining at The Festival at Sandpoint in
Sandpoint, Idaho Sandpoint is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 9,777 as of the 2022 United States census, census. Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest pr ...
, which was followed by a series of sporadic appearances at various music festivals throughout the Northwest. Despite the sudden resurgence of activity, the band resolutely announced no future plans for recording new material or undertaking any extensive tours. Favoring a change of pace from their formerly intensive touring habits, the Daddies began scheduling their performances entirely around the band members' desire and personal availability, playing as few as eight to ten shows a year and limiting their appearances largely to Northwest shows or commissions for one-off "swingin' hits" concerts at various festivals and venues across the United States.


''Susquehanna'' and return to independent label (2006–2009)

Following four years of relative inactivity as the band maintained their relaxed touring pace, Perry began writing material for a new Daddies album in early 2006, claiming to have come to the realization of a cathartic reliance on songwriting. In an April 2006 radio interview, he confirmed that the band was in preparation to record a new studio album, noting that the music would cover new territory for the Daddies, drawing heavily on
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
elements. Throughout the fall of 2006, the band carried out several small tours throughout the United States, where much of this new material was debuted. Self-produced and recorded in Eugene during the summer of 2007, the Daddies' fifth album, '' Susquehanna'', was released via digital download exclusively through the band's website in February 2008, receiving a limited CD release several months later. Taking the shape of a narrative concept album which Perry detailed as a portrait of "various relationships in decay", ''Susquehanna'' featured prominent strains of
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
-influenced music, incorporating flourishes of
flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
,
Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...
and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
into the band's traditional fare of swing and ska. While its low-profile DIY release went mostly unnoticed by the mainstream media, response from internet-based publications ranged from mixed to positive, with reviewers once again polarized over the album's eclectic blend of genres. The Daddies embarked on another full-length tour in support of ''Susquehanna'' in mid-2008, followed by a headline tour of Europe, their first visit to the continent since 1998. In July 2009, the Daddies announced having signed to independent label
Rock Ridge Music Rock Ridge Music is an independent record label and artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, it has signed, managed, and/or promoted artists including Reel Big Fish, Sister Hazel, Rachel Platten, Matthew Perryma ...
for the release and national distribution of two albums, a re-issue of ''Susquehanna'' and '' Skaboy JFK: The Skankin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies'', a compilation of the band's ska material culled from their first five albums. Perry explained that fans had been suggesting the concept of a ska collection for years, and that such an album might help show a different side of the Daddies than the "swing band" persona they're generally recognized for. ''Skaboy JFK'' was released in September 2009 to a largely positive critical reception, followed by further touring into 2010, taking the Daddies back across Europe and the United States, as well as appearing alongside
Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...
and
The Black Seeds The Black Seeds are a reggae inspired musical group from Wellington, New Zealand.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)The Black Seeds, rooted in reggae, '' Jamaica Observer'', 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013 Their rocksteady song "O ...
at the 11th Victoria Ska Fest in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, where the band played the first all-ska set of their career.


''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' (2010–2013)

Shortly after the release of ''Skaboy JFK'', Perry already began announcing plans for the Daddies' next studio album, revealing the band would be returning to swing music for their first all-swing album since ''Zoot Suit Riot''. Initial production on the album, titled ''
White Teeth, Black Thoughts ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' is the sixth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on July 16, 2013, on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Following the predominant world music slant of 2008's ''Susquehanna (album), Susq ...
'', began in March 2011, though lasted infrequently throughout the year as the Daddies continued to carry out several more successful international tours, including two separate sold-out tours of Australia in 2011 and 2012. During this time, the band experienced major changes within their touring lineup after longtime keyboardist Dustin Lanker departed the group in 2012, prompting the Daddies to decide to continue touring without a live keyboardist. Several months later, trombonist Joe Freuen was added to the band, marking the first time the Daddies had ever included a full-time trombone player in their official lineup. In mid-2012, Perry finally elaborated on the production status of the new album, revealing that the band had written enough material to release ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' as a
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...
, consisting of the main all-swing album and a bonus disc of "
Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...
"-influenced rock songs in styles including
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, bluegrass and
western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...
, the latter disc featuring guest appearances from accordionist
Buckwheat Zydeco Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music gro ...
on a
zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...
song and former
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...
guitarist
Zoot Horn Rollo Bill Harkleroad (born January 8, 1949), known professionally as Zoot Horn Rollo, is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. In 2003, he was ranked No. 62 in a ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...
on a
psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
track. On June 20, 2012, the Daddies launched a
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...
campaign to help finance the final stages of the album's production, successfully reaching its target on August 14 and continuing to collect pledges into the following year, ultimately raising 133% of its goal. Preceded by the release of two singles and music videos for the songs " I Love American Music" and "The Babooch", ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' was released independently on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records on July 16, 2013. Following the low-key DIY release and promotion of ''Susquehanna'' and ''Skaboy JFK'', the Daddies worked to heavily publicize ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', receiving coverage by major news outlets including ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', while the band later appeared on the
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
-owned
KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...
program ''
Good Day L.A. ''Good Day L.A.'' is an American morning television news and entertainment program airing on KTTV (channel 11), a Fox owned-and-operated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corp ...
'' to perform "I Love American Music", their first major television appearance since the 1990s. Despite not experiencing any chart success, the album received generally positive critical reviews, and the Daddies carried out a brief fifteen-city tour of the United States during the summer. In January 2014, it was announced that the
Eugene Ballet Eugene Ballet is an American ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon. A resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, it performs a repertoire of full-length classical ballets, contemporary pieces, and operates a ballet academy. F ...
had collaborated with the Daddies for production entitled ''Zoot Suit Riot'', a dance show set to the music of and featuring live accompaniment from the band, featuring choreographed dance routines set to thirteen of the Daddies' songs, ranging from their biggest swing hits to their lesser-known rock, pop and psychedelic songs. ''Zoot Suit Riot'' played at Eugene's
Hult Center for the Performing Arts The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon. The Hult Center is located downtown on Willamette Street between 6th & 7th Avenues, adjacent to the Graduate Eugene (previously Hilton Eugene) and Conference ...
on April 12 and 13, 2014.


Cover albums and ''Zoot Suit Riot: 20th Anniversary Edition'' (2014–2018)

During the initial writing and recording period of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', the Daddies began playing select shows billed as "The Cherry Poppin' Daddies Salute the Music of the
Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...
", playing an equal mix of the band's own swing songs as well as covers of songs popularized by the "Rat Pack" of
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and
Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...
In a July 2013 interview with ''Billboard'' magazine, Perry revealed that the band had concurrently recorded a
tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...
featuring these songs and would be releasing it after touring behind ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts''. '' Please Return the Evening — the Cherry Poppin' Daddies Salute the Music of the Rat Pack!'' was released on July 29, 2014, promoted by music videos for the album's covers of the Sinatra staples " Come Fly with Me" and "
Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...
". The following December, Perry expressed plans on the Daddies' official
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page to further explore the band's swing and jazz influences with another cover album, this time centered on the hot jazz of the
Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a 20th-century nightclub in New York City. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1936, then briefly in the midtown Theater District until 1940. The club operated during the United States' era of P ...
era of the 1920s and 1930s. Production on what would eventually be entitled ''
The Boop-A-Doo ''The Boop-A-Doo'' is the eighth studio album and tenth album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on January 22, 2016 by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. The second in a planned trilogy of cover albums intende ...
'' began in Spring 2015 in Eugene, utilizing vintage recording techniques as well as the use of pre-1940s instruments to achieve an authentic jazz-era sound. ''The Boop-A-Doo'' was released on January 22, 2016, promoted by a music video for the 1930
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...
/
Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was the American lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". He was also a composer, poet and vocalist. Biograph ...
song "That Lindy Hop", directed by Perry. Initially, the Daddies announced that ''Please Return the Evening'' and ''The Boop-A-Doo'' would comprise two parts of a planned trilogy of cover albums designed to showcase the band's swing and jazz influences. Although Perry revealed in a November 2016 interview that the Daddies' third volume of cover songs would focus on either
western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...
or a
Babs Gonzales Babs Gonzales (October 27, 1919 – January 23, 1980), born Lee Brown, was an American bebop vocalist, poet, and self-published author. His books portrayed the jazz world that many black musicians struggled in, portraying disk jockeys, club o ...
/"
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
"-style
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
, as of March 2019, there have been no further updates on the status of this album. During this period, Perry was also occupied with the task of remixing and remastering the Daddies' ''Zoot Suit Riot'' compilation, having re-obtained the rights from Jive Records in 2014. Speaking on the project, he lamented that production of ''Zoot Suit Riot'' had been rushed and that only first takes had been used, noting that there could have been "2 or 3 more" takes of the songs "if we had known the future back in 1996", noting "after 25 years
f the band F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
I would like to make the record sound a little better". ''Zoot Suit Riot: The 20th Anniversary Edition'' was released on CD and vinyl on January 13, 2017, featuring five bonus live tracks recorded during the band's 1998 tours. In promotion of the album's re-release, the Daddies played select dates throughout the country, performing the album in its entirety.


''Bigger Life'' (2019–present)

While the Daddies dedicated most of the 2010s to playing and recording swing and jazz music, Perry first revealed in a 2014 interview with ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' that he had started writing new non-swing songs for the next original Daddies album, describing his ambitions of making a "
psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
/ Zappa/''
American Idiot ''American Idiot'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004, by Reprise Records. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo in collaboration with the group. Recording sessions for ''American ...
''/
R. Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...
type record that paints a picture of the American socio political scene", emphasizing his desire to experiment with rockabilly and
roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...
. Over the next four years, Perry gave sporadic updates on Twitter and in interviews on the development of this new album of originals, describing it in 2016 as "a little like ''Ferociously Stoned 2''", featuring a primary emphasis on rock and funk, and then later in 2017 as "swing-ska-rockabilly-psychobilly". Production on the album began in late 2017, and on May 8, 2018, Perry announced on Twitter that the mixing process had begun on the finished product, now titled ''
Bigger Life ''Bigger Life'' is the ninth studio album and eleventh album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, independently released on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records on June 14, 2019. Following three successive swing and jazz alb ...
''. On March 12, 2019, the Daddies premiered the first single and music video from ''Bigger Life'' on their YouTube channel, a ska punk song entitled "Gym Rat", later followed by two additional singles and music videos for the songs "Diesel PunX", a rockabilly-styled song influenced by the science fiction sub-genre of
dieselpunk Dieselpunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction similar to steampunk or cyberpunk that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmod ...
, and the
Celtic punk Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. Celtic punk bands often play traditional Celtic folk songs, contemporary/political folk songs, and original compositions.P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Guides, 2 ...
/
folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in t ...
-influenced "Yankee Pride". ''Bigger Life'' was released on CD and vinyl on June 14, which was celebrated with a show at Eugene's W.O.W. Hall the same day, where the Daddies debuted a new stage show focusing exclusively on the band's repertoire of ska and ska-punk songs, a set they continued to perform at select shows and festivals, including the 2019 Victoria Ska Fest. The Daddies had been scheduled to perform as part of the Supernova International Ska Festival located in Virginia in June 2020, though the festival was ultimately canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On January 31, 2020, the Daddies released the standalone single "Faux Nice, Mock Fancy", a glam rock-styled song recorded during the ''Bigger Life'' sessions. In a Facebook post announcing the single, Perry detailed that he planned to release various unreleased songs as singles throughout the year as he started work on new material. This started with the single and video release of "Platform Shoes", another glam rock-styled song from the deluxe edition of ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'', in mid-March and a cover of Canadian rock band
The Kings The Kings are a Canadian rock band formed in 1977 in Oakville, Ontario. They are best known for their 1980 song "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide", which was a hit in the United States and Canada. Recording history The Kings were formed in ...
1980 hit "Switchin' to Glide" in mid-May. In an October 2022 interview, Perry revealed that he had spent much of the pandemic writing three albums worth of original material, including an all-swing album, a ska-pop-funk album and a psychobilly album. On July 13, 2023, the Daddies premiered the first single from an upcoming untitled album, "Lowdown Appreciator". On November 30, the band premiered another new single, "Kings of Swing", which was accompanied by the unveiling of the new album's title - ''At the Pink Rat'', its album art and a projected release date of July 26, 2024.


Musical style and lyricism

The Daddies are generally classified as a swing and/or
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
band by the media, and their music is largely composed of various interpretations of both genres, ranging from traditional jazz and
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
-influenced forms to modernized rock and punk
fusions Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
. During their commercial breakthrough in the 1990s, critics conceived terms such as "punk swing", "power swing" and "big band punk rock" to describe the Daddies' unique approach to these fusions, mixing "the propulsion of swing beats and rabbit-punch bursts of brass with grimy rebel-rock guitars to give the jumpin' jive sound a much-needed facelift". ''
The Pacific Northwest Inlander ''Inlander'', officially ''The Pacific Northwest Inlander'', is a free weekly newspaper published in Spokane, Washington, and circulated throughout the Inland Northwest, covering local news and culture. It is published in print and online every ...
'' wrote of this style in 1994, "atop the swing of the band's jazz you can hear strains of
Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...
, crumbs of barrelhouse rhythm and blues, snippets of ska, and huge whiffs of in-your-face punk rock", likening the Daddies to "
Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...
-meets-
Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...
, or the
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
Orchestra pumped up on steroids and caffeine". The Daddies themselves used to facetiously classify their music as "swing-core", exemplified by the fast
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
s and frequent use of
guitar distortion Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...
in their swing material, as well as " third wave swing", owing to their prominent ska influence. In recent years, however, Perry has dismissed attempts to apply labels to the Daddies' music, often casually describing them in vaguer terms as "a rock band with horns" or "a dance band that uses jazz a bit". Perry has compared the Daddies' style of musical eclecticism with that of
Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...
,
Mink DeVille Mink DeVille was a Rock music, rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York City, New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in th ...
and
Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...
, while also citing major influence from
The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
and
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
, as well as from
Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical ...
,
Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...
and Duke Ellington on his composing and arrangements. Alongside the constants of swing, ska, and on earlier recordings, funk, each of the Daddies' studio albums feature a collective assortment of varied and often diametrically opposed genres of music. Some of the musical styles the band has experimented with include
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
,
flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
,
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
,
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
,
jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...
,
lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
,
psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...
,
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
,
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
,
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
,
soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Government * Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), a former public body of the United Kingdom * Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA), a South African government unit established to combat gender-based violence ...
,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...
and
zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...
. As opposed to playing fusions, the Daddies perform each genre separately, contrasting one style against another so that the album's musical texture continually changes. Perry has explained that the group's " detournement" of using vastly different genres is both a means for band experimentation and evolution beyond their typically swing and ska-oriented live shows, as well as an artistic choice, lending each song a distinctive musical personality and using certain genres to effectively fit – or ironically contradict – the tone of the lyrics.


Lyrical

Steve Perry is the Daddies' sole lyricist, and writes the majority of his songs in a fictional
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...
format he credits as being influenced by
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
,
Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
and
Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...
, often told about or through the unreliable perspective of downtrodden characters struggling against adversity. Recurring themes in the Daddies' lyrics include sex, death,
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
life,
class consciousness In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that persons hold regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their common class interests. According to Karl Marx, class consciousness is an awa ...
,
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
, family dysfunction,
loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived or actual isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism that motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perc ...
and
social alienation Social alienation is a person's feeling of disconnection from a group whether friends, family, or wider society with which the individual has an affiliation. Such alienation has been described as "a condition in social relationships reflected b ...
, frequently utilizing humor and
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
. Perry often incorporates commentary on contemporary
American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...
into his music, such as addressing issues relating to the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
on ''
White Teeth, Black Thoughts ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' is the sixth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on July 16, 2013, on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Following the predominant world music slant of 2008's ''Susquehanna (album), Susq ...
'' (2013) and exploring themes of race and class during the
First presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...
on ''
Bigger Life ''Bigger Life'' is the ninth studio album and eleventh album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, independently released on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records on June 14, 2019. Following three successive swing and jazz alb ...
'' (2019). ''
The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...
'' has described Perry's lyrics as "ribald ndoften despairing", "[probing] the underbelly of society, stabbing at oppressors such as ... the pressure to conform", while ''The New York Times'' has lauded them as "vivid poetry" containing "an inventiveness missing from most of the other swing bands' lyrics". The Daddies have often been criticized for their seeming juxtaposition of lurid subject matter and profanity with jazz and swing music, though Perry has defended the band's predilection towards "darker" lyricism and visuals, calling to attention his interest in the era's film noir and avant-garde artistic movements. A prominent example of this includes the two Zoot Suit Riot (song)#Music videos, music videos for the Daddies' hit single "Zoot Suit Riot", which – in addition to being written about the Zoot Suit Riots, 1943 race riots – both featured pervasive surrealism, surrealist imagery inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel, specifically his 1929 short ''Un Chien Andalou''. "We wanted to be darker, weirder and stranger", Perry stated in a 2012 interview, "and unfortunately, with other [swing] bands it was 'Back then everyone dressed nice and was nice'. That's not true. You don't know anything about that era at all". Most of the Daddies' studio albums are written to varying extents as concept albums, featuring either recurring lyrical themes or an abstract narrative. According to Perry, this lyrical interconnectedness is intended as means of providing an album with threads of thematic stability against wildly varying musical styles.


Reception, criticism and influence

In their native Oregon, the Daddies have been called "a Northwest institution", having been inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2009. ''
The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...
'' has credited the band with shaping Eugene's alternative musical culture in the 1990s, while ''Eugene Weekly'' added likewise, "when some people think of the Northwest music scene, they think of
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
. If you're a Eugenean, however, you might think of swing, thanks to [the] Cherry Poppin' Daddies". Seattle's '' The Rocket'' commented on the band's influence in 1997, stating "[t]he Daddies were busting out the swing before the Squirrel Nut Zippers, stirring cocktails before Combustible Edison and skating the ska before Sublime (band), Sublime ... the band shakes out an incredible variety of sounds with peerless verve and polish." Together with the controversies surrounding the early years of their career, the band have also attracted a fair amount of professional criticism in their home state. ''The Portland Mercury'' have been frequent detractors of the Daddies, deriding them as "at best, an edgeless recycle of a rather particular musical fashion movement; at worst, a self-conscious parody of the genre they purport to love", while the ''Willamette Week'', in an article detailing the band's polarizing reception, described the negative consensus of the Daddies as "an annoying white-boy funk rock band who, seeing the opportunity, milked the swing revival for all it was worth". Jazz critic and author Scott Yanow vociferously criticized the band as the choice "whipping boy for the Retro Swing movement" in his 2000 book ''Swing!'', writing them off as "a punk rock band who has chosen to masquerade as Swing, at least until a better fad comes along", spotlighting the Daddies' "mediocre" rhythm section and profane lyricism as a case for making them "a band to avoid". The Daddies are more widely recognized, however, as one of the first bands to revive swing music in the musical mainstream, helping spearhead the
swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...
of the late 1990s which paved the way for the larger successes of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Although the Daddies have been cited as an influence on
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
bands the
Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging g ...
and Spring Heeled Jack U.S., ''
SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...
'' once claimed the group has "never gotten the accolades it deserves" for their eclectic funk-ska repertoire. The ''Phoenix New Times'' expressed similar sentiments, listing the "woefully unsung" Daddies as among the bands that defined the Northwest's "alternative to alternative rock, alternative", "[delivering] rock with more complexity than three-chord guitar riffs and social critique without heavy-handed cynicism". In a 2008 retrospective feature posted on Rolling Stone, RollingStone.coms The Capri Lounge, a blog run by the editors of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine, the Daddies were declared as "one of the most misunderstood bands of the nineties".


Band name

The Daddies have also retained a more ignominious recognition for their off-color band name which has persisted beyond the initial controversies which pegged the band's early years. The Daddies frequently appear on lists of the worst band names of all time, including those by ''Pitchfork Media, Pitchfork'', the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', the ''Toronto Sun'', and VH1, the last of which called it "quite possibly the most offensive band name ever, made all the more ridiculous by the fact that these outwardly bragging virgin-sexers had a completely innocuous mainstream hit song". A 2009 issue of ''Blender (magazine), Blender'' magazine placed the Daddies in third place in a bracket (tournament), bracket chart of the worst band names, while in 2013, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' included the Daddies on their list of "The Thirteen Dumbest Band Names in Rock History", noting that the incestuous interpretation of the name is "the last thing anyone wants to visualize while listening to music". Steve Perry has expressed ambivalence about the name's controversy, conceding it's "probably the most heinous name in the history of rock" though also trying to contextualize it within the band's roots in the 1980s Northwest punk rock scene: in a 2020 interview, he explained "it's a lot harder to understand the name now that the counter-cultural mentality has faded, but in that time, the idea was you wanted to choose a band name that would attract other punk rock kids and keep others at bay". In a 2000 interview, he further detailed the contrast between the Daddies' name and their unexpected breakthrough into the wider cultural mainstream, saying "Pop culture is trying to offend no one. We didn't come out of that; we came from the loyal opposition. We came out of the punk movement. How can I deny that? I started this band a long time ago, and we just used [the name]. We didn't know that in 10 years we'd turn into some sort of happy, peppy, feel-good things." Although Perry has occasionally voiced regret over not having changed the Daddies' name early in their career, he has more recently come to embrace the controversy around the name as his "Holden Caulfield red hunting hat - a badge of honor", dismissing critics who choose to demonize the name based on literal interpretation than the jazz-era African American Vernacular English, jive slang it drew from as "outrage addicts".


Band members


Current members

*
Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...
(MC Large Drink) – lead vocalist, lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1989–present) *
Dan Schmid Daniel Joseph Schmid (born November 22, 1962) is an American musician, known for his work as the bassist and co-founder of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Schmid was also part of the rock duo the Visible Men, and has worked with ...
(Dang Oulette) – bass guitar, bass (1989–1996, 1998–present) * Dana Heitman – trumpet (1989–present) * Willie Matheis – tenor saxophone, bari saxophone (2010–present) * Zak Johnson – lead guitar, banjo, Backing vocalist, backing vocals (2015–present)


Former members

* Tim Arnold – drums (1989-1990) * James Gossard – lead guitar (1989–1990) * John Fohl – lead guitar (1990–1992) * James Phillips – tenor saxophone (1989–1992, 1996) (deceased, 1961–2011) * Brooks Brown – alto saxophone (1989–1994) * Adrian P. Baxter – tenor saxophone (1993–1996) * Adam Glogauer – drums (1996) * Sean Oldham – drums (1996) * Jason Palmer – drums (1996) (2009 – studio recordings) * Brian West – drums (1990–1996) (deceased, 1966–2018) * Chris Azorr – keyboard instrument, keyboards (1990–1997) * Rex Trimm – alto saxophone (1996–1997) * Hans Wagner – drums (1996–1997) * Naiya Cominos – bass (1995–1996) * Darren Cassidy – bass (1996–1998) * Johnny Goetchius – keyboards (1998–2000) * Ian Early – alto saxophone (1997–2006) * Tim Donahue – drums (1997–2008) * Sean Flannery – tenor saxophone (1996–2008) * Jesse Cloninger – tenor saxophone (2008–2010) * Jason Moss – guitar (1992–2010) *
Dustin Lanker Dustin Ross Lanker (born October 7, 1976) is an American keyboardist, known for his work as a member of the ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and the ska punk band the Mad Caddies, as well as the singer-songwriter for the rock trio The ...
– keyboards, backing vocals (1997–1998, 2000–2012) * Kevin Congleton – drums (2008–2013) * Joe Manis – alto and baritone saxophones (2006–2013) * William Seiji Marsh – lead guitar, backing vocals (2010–2014) * Chris Ward – lead guitar, banjo, backing vocals (2014–2024) * Paul Owen – drums (2013–2017) * Andy Page – alto saxophone, clarinet (2013–2019) * Joe Freuen – trombone (2012–2019) * Oscar Watson III- drums * Josh Hettwer – alto saxophone (2016–2023) * Matt Hettwer – trombone, keyboard instrument, keyboards (2019–2023)


Timeline


Discography

Studio albums * ''
Ferociously Stoned ''Ferociously Stoned'' is the debut album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in November 1990 on Sub Par Records. It was subsequently re-released on the Daddies' own independent label Space Age Bachelor Pad Records in 1994. C ...
'' (1990) * ''
Rapid City Muscle Car ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' is the second studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in 1994 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Overview ''Rapid City Muscle Car'' was structured around the Daddies' desire to create a sty ...
'' (1994) * ''
Kids on the Street ''Kids on the Street'' is the third studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released in 1996 on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Overview By 1996, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies had established themselves as a staple of the West Co ...
'' (1996) * ''
Soul Caddy ''Soul Caddy'' is the fourth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on October 3, 2000 by Mojo Records. Written and recorded after the multi-platinum success of their 1997 compilation '' Zoot Suit Riot'', ''Soul Cad ...
'' (2000) * '' Susquehanna'' (2008) * ''
White Teeth, Black Thoughts ''White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' is the sixth studio album by American band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on July 16, 2013, on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Following the predominant world music slant of 2008's ''Susquehanna (album), Susq ...
'' (2013) * ''Please Return the Evening'' (2014) * ''
The Boop-A-Doo ''The Boop-A-Doo'' is the eighth studio album and tenth album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on January 22, 2016 by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. The second in a planned trilogy of cover albums intende ...
'' (2016) * ''
Bigger Life ''Bigger Life'' is the ninth studio album and eleventh album overall by American ska- swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, independently released on Space Age Bachelor Pad Records on June 14, 2019. Following three successive swing and jazz alb ...
'' (2019) * ''At the Pink Rat'' (2024) Compilations * '' Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies'' (1997) * '' Skaboy JFK: The Skankin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies'' (2009)


References


External links


The Official Cherry Poppin' Daddies website

Cherry Poppin' Daddies
at
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1989 American ska musical groups American ska punk musical groups American swing musical groups American funk rock musical groups Rock music groups from Oregon Swing revival ensembles Third-wave ska groups Musical groups from Eugene, Oregon 1989 establishments in Oregon 2000 disestablishments in Oregon Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups reestablished in 2002 Obscenity controversies in music Rock Ridge Music artists Naming controversies