The Rockfords were 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 formed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, in 1999 by

Carrie Akre Carrie Akre (born September 24, 1966) is an American singer best known for her work with Seattle underground bands Hammerbox and Goodness. Since Goodness disbanded in 1998, she has contributed vocals to the project band The Rockfords (which in ...

, Chris Friel, and Danny Newcomb of Goodness,

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready wa ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

, and Rick Friel of Jodie Watts. The group served as a side project for its members, who had already tasted success with their respective bands.

History

Chris Friel, Rick Friel, Danny Newcomb, and

were originally members of the band Shadow during the mid-1980s in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Ruhlmann, William. "

The Rockfords The Rockfords were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1999 by Carrie Akre, Chris Friel, and Danny Newcomb of Goodness, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Rick Friel of Jodie Watts. The group served as a side project for it ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved on January 31, 2009. After a couple of attempts at breaking into the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

music scene, the group broke up and the band members went their separate ways. McCready would go on to co-form

in 1990 and Chris Friel and Danny Newcomb would go on to be a part of the band Goodness. Sometime as early as June 20, 1998, Chris Friel and Danny Newcomb of Goodness would invite McCready to play with Goodness onstage prior to a Pearl Jam set. They soon decided afterward to put a band together with Rick Friel and Goodness vocalist

. They named themselves The Rockfords, after one of McCready's favorite TV shows ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

''. The band's debut album, ''

'', was released on February 1, 2000, through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Produced by

John Goodmanson John Goodmanson (born 1968) is an American recording engineer and indie rock record producer. He is best known for producing multiple albums by Bikini Kill, Blonde Redhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Los Campesinos!, and Sleater-Kinney. Selected dis ...

, it featured vocalist/guitarist Nancy Wilson (of

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

) contributing guest vocals on the track "Riverwide". Theresa E. LaVeck of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the album a "compelling, if uneven, collaborative effort". The band members would go back to their regular work for some time after playing at least five shows together in the Seattle area in 2000. In 2003, the band got together again, playing several more shows around Seattle and writing several new songs. A live album, '' Live Seattle, WA 12/13/03'', was released in 2003 through Kufala Recordings. An EP containing the new songs, '' Waiting...'' (again produced by Goodmanson), was released in 2004. In 2021 the band secured the rights to their debut album, and it was re-released on digital platforms in January 2022.

Band members

Carrie Akre - Ballard Seafood Fest 2019 - 04

– vocals *Chris Friel – drums *Rick Friel – bass *

– guitar *Danny Newcomb – guitar

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockfords Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) Epic Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Seattle Musical quintets 1999 establishments in Washington (state)