Michael "Mike" Collier Connell is an American musician best known as the leader, guitarist and primary songwriter of

The Connells ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

band from

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic

jangle pop Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...

type of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

with introspective lyrics that reflect themes and history of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

Origins

Mike and his identical twin, John, were born on March 15, 1959. In 1984, Mike Connell formed the band that bears his and younger brother David's surname, born on May 27, 1961.

History

The Connell brothers moved around in their early years, as their father was in medical school and getting a degree in cancer research at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. Mike was born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and David was born in the

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

area, while their dad was working under a family practice physician. Later, the family ended up back in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, where Mike Connell and his twin brother, John, graduated high school from First Presbyterian Day School in 1977. David, two years younger, graduated later from a different school in North Carolina. In 1978, while attending

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

, Mike Connell met fellow students Clark Eason and Wade Stooksberry (also a 1977 First Presbyterian Day School graduate). According to Stooksberry in an interview on March 6, 2008, in 1979 Eason, Connell, Stooksberry and Sammy Deet (drums) started playing publicly in a band called "Clark Eason and the Greaseguns" at nightclubs and parties in Macon. Connell and Eason were on guitar, and Eason and Stooksberry shared vocals. They wore suits and skinny ties tucked into their dress shirts, as was the style at the time. They performed mostly 1950s music and Beatles songs. After a year, Mike Connell transferred to a college in North Carolina. Tripp Crumbley took over Connell's guitar role in the band. Connell then occasionally made guest appearances with "Clark Eason and the Greaseguns" while visiting his father in Macon, until that band broke up in 1980. Mike Connell graduated from the

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1981, and received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree also from

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

in 1985. He was admitted to the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Bar in 1986. Mike now practices law (as does his twin brother, John) at a firm in North Carolina, specializing in workers' compensation law. The Connell family moved to

, where their mother was from, just in time for David to go to Broughton High School for his senior year, and to graduate in 1979. Afterwards, David went at least one year to Mercer University, where they had family connections.

The Connells

The Connells began to come together as a group in the spring of 1984. Mike was in his second year of law school and his brother David in his last semester of college, both at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. The brothers, David playing bass and Mike on guitar, rented a practice space and began working up several of Mike's songs with a friend, John Schultz playing drums. John was a junior at UNC and was from Raleigh, where the Connell brothers' home base now was located. The band tried a few singers that spring before settling on Doug MacMillan, a childhood friend of Schultz's and a swimmer at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

. George Huntley, who was a childhood friend of both brothers Mike and David, became a member of the band in 1984; on second guitar, keyboards, and vocals.

References

External links

The Connells Official Website

OneSimpleBand.Net Fan Site

The Connells MySpace Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Mike 1959 births Living people American rock musicians Duke University alumni Musicians from Raleigh, North Carolina American pop rock musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from North Carolina