Gnarls Barkley are an American

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 '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

duo, composed of singer-songwriter

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarl ...

and producer

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

. They released their debut studio album, ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'', in 2006. It contained their hit single "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

", which peaked at number two on the

US Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was nominated at the 2007

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s for Record of the Year, and was platinum certified for shipping over 1,000,000 records. ''St. Elsewhere'' also received a nomination for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

. '' The Odd Couple'', their second studio album, was scheduled for release in April 2008, but due to a leak of the album over the internet, they decided to release it early. The album in its entirety received good reviews, but it did not have as much commercial success as their first album.

History

Background

CeeLo Green first entered the scene as part of the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

hip hop group Goodie Mob which had a large hand in the Dirty South movement of the 1990s. Green left the group after their third album in 1999 and started his solo career. That year he sang on "Do You Like the Way" along with

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

on Santana's multi-platinum ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' album. Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name

, has produced albums for a number of hip hop and rock artists, including

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (character), 2-D (Singing, vocals, Musical keyboard, keyboards), Murd ...

' '' Demon Days'', and

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing thei ...

' '' Attack & Release'', '' El Camino'', and '' Turn Blue''. He received international attention for his mash-up '' The Grey Album'', which blended the a cappella edition of Jay-Z's '' The Black Album'' with samples from

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' '' White Album''. The duo first crossed paths while Green was performing at the University of Georgia and Danger Mouse won a contest to DJ. They became musical partners and worked together on the songs that would become ''St. Elsewhere''; prior to the release of that album they collaborated on the songs "What You Sittin' On?" for

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England. Style Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...

in 2004, and "Benzie Box" from the Danger Doom album '' The Mouse and the Mask'' in 2005.

Band name

In 2006,

Sanjiv Bhattacharya Sanjiv Bhattacharya is a British journalist, based in the US. He was born in London and graduated from The University of Cambridge where he studied philosophy. His book ''Secrets and Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy'' explores the polyg ...

interviewed the duo for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and asked about where their band name came from, to which Green replied: "You ask me why we're called Gnarls Barkley and I'm asking you 'why not?'...The name Gnarls Barkley isn't anchored down. It's a drifter. A

High Plains drifter ''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger wh ...

, I might add". Danger Mouse said: "There's no story behind it...The name doesn't have anything to do with anything". Although many people believe that their name has something to do with former NBA player Charles Barkley; when Bhattacharya asked them about it, Danger Mouse replied: "Nope. It's just like everything else on this record. There was no conscious decision about stuff". According to a ''Billboard'' article: "Burton and CeeLo have been cagey about what the name of the act means, and each live performance is an opportunity to play dress-up as tennis players, astronauts and chefs, among many other get-ups. The costuming extends to photo shoots, as Burton and Cee Lo would rather impersonate characters from such films as ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 19 ...

'' or '' Wayne's World''." They also have dressed up as characters from films '' A Clockwork Orange'' and '' Napoleon Dynamite''. CeeLo Green said in an interview:

That is that electric industrial Euro soul, that's what I call it ... if I can call it anything. It truly is shapeless and formless. My style and my approach is still water, and it runs so deep. So, with that project I got a chance to be a lil' zany, of course a continuation of eccentricity, abstract and vague, and all of those wonderful things that make art exactly what it is. And that's subject to interpretation. As far as the artiste himself, it does cater to and extend the legacy of Cee Lo Green, and showcase the diversity and range and intention of Cee Lo Green. It is a great project that I'm very, very proud of.

''St. Elsewhere'' (2006–2007)

Downtown/Atlantic in the United States and Warners Bros. Records in the United Kingdom signed the band after several songs, including "

", were played for them by

's management company Waxploitation. "Crazy" was released as their first single on April 3, 2006, preceded by its release as digital download and 12"

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

single in March 2006. It gained some of its popularity due to its use on primetime

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

's television advert, and it was also made Record of the Week by

Ken Bruce Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992. Early life and career Bruce was born a ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

and Jo Whiley of BBC Radio 1 as well as being made 'Weekend Anthem' by DJ Spoony and

Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer (née Cox; born 13 December 1974) is an English broadcaster. She presented ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 from 3 April 2000 until 19 December 2003. Since January 2019 she now hosts the BBC Radio 2 drivetime show, Monday ...

(also of Radio 1). In an interview with journalist Stephen Mooallem about "Crazy", Mooallem asked the duo, "Is it true that Cee-Lo recorded the vocals for "Crazy" in just one take?" to which Danger Mouse replied, "Yeah. He had the words written on paper, and what you hear on the album was the first time he ever tried singing it. He went in and gave it a shot, really just to see what it would sound like. We just kept it because it sounded great." The song was, in addition, considered by the duo to be an "independent joint venture," paid for entirely "out-of-pocket." Catapulting the two into stardom, the single was primarily responsible for their success, as they "didn't even have a formal deal in place" until the song hit No. 1. In the United Kingdom, "Crazy" became the first ever single to top the

purely on download sales as it was released online a week before it was released as a CD single. It was also the first single to top the

for nine weeks consecutively since 1994 when Wet Wet Wet's " Love Is All Around" was number one for fifteen weeks (the last song to spend exactly nine weeks on top was "Two Tribes" by

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

in 1984). It has also equaled the Queen 1975 classic "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...

", which also topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks. Gnarls Barkley announced that as the record had spent its ninth week at number one, it was to be deleted as a vinyl/CD listing from May 28, 2006, so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". "Crazy" is also the longest number-one on the UK Official Download Chart with its stay lasting eleven consecutive weeks. In late 2009 the song was voted as the best song of the decade by Rolling Stone magazine. The group released their debut album, ''

'', on April 24, 2006, in the United Kingdom and on May 9, 2006, in their native United States. For their American television debut on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musi ...

'', May 24, 2006, the band performed "Crazy". They performed along with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice o ...

, AFI, and Wolfmother at the

MTV Movie Awards 2006 The 2006 MTV Movie Awards were held on Saturday, June 3, 2006, and were hosted by Jessica Alba, with it being broadcast on June 8 on tape delay. It featured performances by Christina Aguilera, AFI and Gnarls Barkley. In addition to the below awards ...

on June 8, 2006. They were dressed as characters from the film series ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

''. Rebel Alliance pilots, Imperial officers, Stormtroopers, Chewbacca, Jango Fett,

Obi-Wan Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a ...

, with Cee-Lo singing as an unmasked Darth Vader. In October 2006, Gnarls Barkley recorded a live session for '' Live from Abbey Road'' at Abbey Road Studios. ''St. Elsewhere'' has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1,000,000 albums in the United States. A limited edition deluxe package of ''St. Elsewhere'' was released on November 7, 2006. The CD+DVD package includes a 92-page booklet, four music videos and bonus songs from live performance. ''St. Elsewhere'' was nominated for four

s in 2007 including for Record of the Year, and

, winning two of them for Best Alternate Music Album, and Best Urban/Alternate Performance for "

". "

" was featured in a couple of TV shows and movies, like The Big Short, Medium, Kick-Ass, I Think I Love My Wife, Religulous, Cold Case, How to Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Boyhood, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Gnarls Barkley in Melbourne

From January until March 2007, they toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers through the U.S. They did a collaborative short film in both the Spring of 2006 and 2007 with the international TV series ''

Kung Faux ''Kung Faux'' is an international action comedy television series and audiovisual art assemblage created by Mic Neumann, an American creator–developer showrunner, conceptual artist and multimedia entrepreneur, who remixes classic kung fu films ...

'' which airs heavily on

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Dis ...

around the world, and they also toured Australia in March and April 2007 as part of the Channel V Festival.

''The Odd Couple'' (2008)

In early March 2008, the duo's second album, '' The Odd Couple'', was leaked over the internet prompting the duo to push the release date up from April 8. In an interview with Entertainment Magazine, Danger Mouse said that he "knew it

he leak He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

was coming...every day, I expected to get a call saying it leaked, and eventually I got a call saying it leaked." On March 18, 2008, the album became available via download on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and Amazon MP3. Hard copies of the album were released on March 25. Prior to its official release, Green spoke to the album's anti-formulaic qualities, noting bluntly that "there's no formula to it," and that to expect the same wild success of ''St. Elsewhere'' is to neglect the ever-present "risk factor in any artistic endeavor." He called it something of an "act of faith" – a true, earnest attempt to create and disseminate a piece of art to those who would seek out its conception. They appeared as the musical guest on the April 12, 2008 episode of NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

.'' They were supposed to be in a

Digital Short An ''SNL'' Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. The origin of the Digital Short brand is credited to staff writer Adam McKay, who created content for the show in c ...

parodying amateur music videos according to the scrolled text but only appeared in the singing performances of the live broadcast. On November 11, 2008, they released an EP, ''Who's Gonna Save My Soul'', featuring four versions of the song which originally appeared on ''The Odd Couple'', along with a live version of "Neighbors" and a previously unreleased song, "Mystery Man." A music video for "Mystery Man" was directed by Walter Robot and premiered on

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...

Third studio album (2013–present)

In 2013, Green stated they would be releasing a third album sometime in the future. In late 2017, Green stated "We have already started on a new

narls Barkley Gnarls Barkley are an American soul duo, composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contained their hit single " Crazy", which peaked at number two ...

album, we're halfway in and we have some overtures from the other projects that may not have stood the test of time, we don't know yet." In July 2020, he revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown happened as he was working on this third effort.

Discography

* ''

'' (2006) * '' The Odd Couple'' (2008)

Awards

;BET Awards , - , rowspan="3" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, , "Crazy" , , Video of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2" , Gnarls Barkley , , Best New Artist , , , - , Best Group , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, , Gnarls Barkley , , Best Group , , ;Brit Awards , - , rowspan="3" ,

, , ''St. Elsewhere'' , , International Album , , , - , rowspan="2" , Gnarls Barkley , , International Breakthrough Act , , , - , International Group , , ;Grammy Awards , - , rowspan="4" ,

, , rowspan="2" , ''St. Elsewhere'' , ,

, , , - , Best Alternative Music Album , , , - , rowspan="2" , "Crazy" , , Record of the Year , , , - ,

Best Urban/Alternative Performance The Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality urban/alternative performance ...

, , , - ,

, , "Gone Daddy Gone" , ,

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

, , , - , rowspan="3" , 2009 , , "Going On" , , Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , , - , "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" , ,

, , , - , ''The Odd Couple'' , , Best Alternative Music Album , , ;MTV Europe Music Awards , - , rowspan="3" , 2006 , , Gnarls Barkley , , Future Sound , , , - , rowspan="2" , "Crazy" , , Best Song , , , - , Best Video , , ;MTV Video Music Awards , - , rowspan="3" , 2006 , , rowspan="3" , "Crazy" , , Best Group Video , , , - ,

Best Direction The MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction is an award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and the director of the music video. From 1984 to 2006, the full name of the award was Best Direction in a Video, and in 2007, it was briefly rename ...

, , , - ,

Best Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

, , , - ,

, , "Smiley Face" , ,

, , , - , rowspan="2" ,

, , rowspan="2" , "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" , ,

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

, , , - ,

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

, , , - , rowspan="3" , 2009 , , rowspan="3" , "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" , ,

Breakthrough Video Breakthrough or break through may refer to: Arts Books * ''Break Through'' (book), a 2007 book about environmentalism by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger * ''Break Through'' (play), a 2011 episodic play portraying scenes from LGBT life * ...

, , , - ,

Best Visual Effects This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

, , , - ,

, , ;MTVU Woodie Awards , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , , Gnarls Barkley , , Left Field Woodie , , , - , "Crazy" , , Best Video Woodie - Animated , , , - ,

, , "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" , , Best Video Woodie , , ;NAACP Image Awards , - , rowspan="2" ,

, , Gnarls Barkley , , Outstanding Duo or Group , , , - , "Crazy" , , Outstanding Song , , ;Q Awards , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , , "Crazy" , , Best Track , , , - , "Smiley Face" , , Best Video , , ;Soul Train Music Awards , - , rowspan="2" ,

, , ''St. Elsewhere'' , , Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo , , , - , "Crazy" , , Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo , , ;Teen Choice Awards , - , rowspan="2" , 2006 , , Gnarls Barkley , , Choice Music: Male Breakout Artist , , , - , "Crazy" , , Choice Music: Summer Song , , * 2009 Rolling Stone 100 Best Songs of the Decade – No. 1 "Crazy"

References

External links

* {{Authority control Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 2003 Atlantic Records artists Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American musical groups American musical duos American soul musical groups Alternative rock groups from Georgia (U.S. state) MTV Europe Music Award winners Downtown Records artists 2003 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

Background

Band name

''St. Elsewhere'' (2006–2007)

''The Odd Couple'' (2008)

Third studio album (2013–present)

Discography

Awards

See also

References

External links