G. Love & Special Sauce is an American

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

band from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" sound that encompasses

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

, hip hop, rock and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love, Jeffrey Clemens on drums, and Jim Prescott on bass.

History

The band formed in January 1993, when Dutton was performing at a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

bar, The Tam O'Shanter. Here he met drummer Jeffrey Clemens. Dutton and Clemens began working as a duo, and were joined a few months later by bassist Jim Prescott, and became the house band at The Plough and Stars in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. In 1994, they released their self-titled debut album on

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

. On the strength of the single "Cold Beverage", due in part to the song's rotation on

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

, the album nearly went

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. Trying to capitalize on the success of the album, the group subsequently toured heavily, eventually landing a spot on the

H.O.R.D.E. Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands, charities, a ...

tour. In 1995, they released their follow-up album ''

Coast to Coast Motel ''Coast to Coast Motel'' is the second album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 1995. Critical reception The ''Dallas Observer'' called ''Coast to Coast Motel'' "almost completely stripped of the hip-hop that so pleasantly tempered the stra ...

''. Although it did not sell as well as the first album, it is considered by many critics as the stronger of the two. On tour following the release of the second album, the group nearly broke up, due to disagreements about the group's finances. Deciding on a hiatus the three members went their separate ways, working on various side projects. By October 1997, the group had reconciled their differences and released their third album, ''

Yeah, It's That Easy ''Yeah, It's That Easy'' is the third album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 1997. Dr. John contributed to the album. "Stepping Stones" was a minor modern rock radio hit. Critical reception ''Entertainment Weekly'' thought that "songs lik ...

'', which along with their own work, showcased their collaboration with several other bands and musicians, including All Fellas Band, Philly Cartel, King's Court, and

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

. This soul-influenced album was more similar to their debut album than their previous release. Soon after G. Love & Special Sauce set out on another world tour, returning to Philadelphia in 1999 for the release of their fourth album, ''

Philadelphonic ''Philadelphonic'' is the fourth album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 1999. Critical reception ''Spin'' wrote that the album's "beach-bound grooves are well-trodden." ''Entertainment Weekly'' called it "sleeker and more streamlined tha ...

''. ''Philadelphonic'' was followed up with ''

Electric Mile ''Electric Mile'' (2001) is the fifth album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 2001. Track listing All tracks by G. Love except where noted. #"Unified" (G. Love, RAS) – 3:07 #"Praise Up" – 3:43 #"Night of the Living Dead" (Jeff Cleme ...

'' in 2001, an album that shows the wide-ranging influences of the trio, incorporating hip-hop,

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 m ...

psychedelica ''Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly'' and ''Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk'' are two ''otome'' visual novel video games developed by Otomate. They were published for PlayStation Vita by Idea Factory in Japan in 2015 and 2016, and by Aksys Game ...

, and

in equal and ambitious measure. Ever the road band, ''Mile'' was followed by extensive touring. During this time they performed as the

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 ...

for

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

's show ''Turn Ben Stein On'', which ran from 1999–2001.

In summer 2005, the band featured in an advertisement for the launch of

Coca-Cola Zero Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a diet cola produced by The Coca-Cola Company. In some countries, it is sold as Coca-Cola No Sugar. The drink was introduced in 2005 as Coca-Cola Zero as a new no-calorie cola. In 2017, the formula was modified and the n ...

, featuring the group's own unique version of the noted

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

advertising song "

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song that originated as the jingle "True Love and Apple Pie", by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten ...

". On June 24, 2008, '' Superhero Brother'' was released. On January 15, 2009, G. Love announced on the band's website that

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Jimi "Jazz" Prescott is no longer a member of the band. On January 21, 2014, G. Love posted a release containing the announcement of the album ''Sugar'', and stating that Jimi Prescott had returned to the band. In 2014

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

released a commercial featuring "Come Up Man".

Solo albums

G. Love has released three solo albums. His first, '' The Hustle'', was the first G. Love release under Jack Johnson's

Brushfire Records Brushfire Records is a record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson (musician), Jack Johnson. Formerly known as ''The Moonshine Conspiracy Records'', the label was founded to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a company owned by Johns ...

banner. Johnson had been a guest on the Special Sauce album ''Philadelphonic''. G. Love performed a series of shows in 2004 with Jack Johnson and fellow Brushfire Records artist

Donavon Frankenreiter Donavon Frankenreiter (born December 10, 1972) is an American musician and surfer. His debut self-titled album was released in 2004 on Brushfire Records through Universal Music. Career Frankenreiter was born in Downey, California, United Sta ...

, and the trio also found time to issue a live EP. His solo albums include: *''The Hustle'' (Brushfire Records – 2004) #100 US *''

Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

'' (Brushfire Records – 2006) #39 US *'' Fixin' to Die'' (Brushfire Records – 2011) #36 US

Musical style

The band's music encompasses

, hip hop,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

Philadelphia soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

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 ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

Members

Current

* Garrett Dutton as "

G. Love Garrett Dutton (born October 3, 1972), better known as G. Love, is an American singer, rapper and musician best known as the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce. Biography Dutton, the son of a banking lawyer, was born in the Soci ...

" –

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

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

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

(1993–present) * Jeffrey Clemens as "Houseman" –

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

, vocals (1993–present) * Jim Prescott as "Jimi Jazz" –

string bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

(1993–2009, 2014–present)

Former

* Mark Boyce –

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

(2006–2011) * Timo Shanko –

(2009–2013)

Tech credits

* Randy Grosclaude – lighting designer for ''The Hustle'' tour

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:200 bottom:120 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1993 till:12/31/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1993 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1993 Colors = id:v value:red legend:Vocals id:h value:yellow legend:Harmonica id:g value:green legend:Guitar id:b value:blue legend:String_bass id:k value:purple legend:Keyboards id:d value:orange legend:Drums id:alb value:black legend:G._Love_&_Special_Sauce_albums id:solo value:gray(0.4) legend:G._Love_solo_albums LineData = layer:back at:05/10/1994 color:alb at:09/19/1995 color:alb at:10/28/1997 color:alb at:08/03/1999 color:alb at:04/24/2001 color:alb at:08/24/2004 color:solo at:08/01/2006 color:solo at:06/24/2008 color:alb at:03/02/2011 color:solo at:04/24/2014 color:alb at:10/30/2015 color:alb PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Garrett "G. Love" Dutton from:start till:end color:v bar:Garrett "G. Love" Dutton from:start till:end color:h width:7 bar:Garrett "G. Love" Dutton from:start till:end color:g width:3 bar:Jeffrey "The Houseman" Clemens from:start till:end color:d bar:Jeffrey "The Houseman" Clemens from:start till:end color:v width:3 bar:Jim "Jimi Jazz" Prescott from:05/01/1993 till:01/15/2009 color:b bar:Jim "Jimi Jazz" Prescott from:01/21/2014 till:end color:b bar:Timo Shanko from:01/16/2009 till:01/20/2014 color:b bar:Mark Boyce from:01/01/2006 till:09/01/2011 color:k

Discography

Studio albums – with Special Sauce

* '' G. Love and Special Sauce'' (

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

– 1994) #32 Heatseekers * ''

'' (Okeh – 1995) #122 US #3 Heatseekers * ''

'' (Okeh – 1997) #120 US #3 Heatseekers * ''

'' (

550 Music 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building, ...

– 1999) #113 US #1 Heatseekers * ''

'' (550 Music – 2001) #138 US #4 Heatseekers * '' Superhero Brother'' (

– 2008) #63 US * ''Sugar'' (Brushfire Records – 2014) #49 US * ''Love Saves the Day'' (Brushfire Records – October 30, 2015) * ''The Juice'' (Philadelphonic Records – January 17, 2020)

Studio albums – solo

* '' The Hustle'' (Brushfire Records – 2004) #100 US * ''

'' (Brushfire Records – 2006) #39 US * ''Fixin' to Die'' (Brushfire Records – 2011) #36 US

Bootlegs, demos or outtake albums

* ''Back in the Day'' (1993) * ''In the Kings Court'' (1996/1998) * ''Oh Yeah'' (1998) olo* ''G. Love Has Gone Country'' (1998) * ''Rappin' Blues EP'' (1999) * ''Front Porch Loungin (2000) * ''

Long Way Down ''Long Way Down'' is a television series and book documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2007 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from John o' Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to Cape Town in South A ...

'' (Philadelphonic Records – 2009)

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of G. Love and Special Sauce'' (Sony – 2002) * ''Playlist: The Very Best of G. Love & Special Sauce (The Okeh Years)'' (Epic/Legacy – 2013)

Live albums

* ''A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce'' CD/DVD (2007) * ''Live at Boulder Theater'' 2xLP Limited Edition(2019)

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Philadelphonic.com

G. Love & Special Sauce collection
at the

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

's live music archive
Timo Shanko's website

Cadillac ATS commercial featuring Come Up Man

Garrett sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:G. Love and Special Sauce American blues musical groups American rock music groups American soul musical groups Brushfire Records artists Hip hop groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Okeh Records artists