The Shirts are a
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
-based
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 ...
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 ...
band, which was formed in 1975. The band's early existence (1975 to 1981) was closely linked with
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
, a music club in the
Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...
, but it reformed with many of the early members in 2003 and is currently active.
History
The CBGB years, 1975–1981
The Shirts had their roots in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where Robert Racioppo and Artie Lamonica had been playing together on and off as early as 1970. Members of the band were gradually added (including lead singer
Annie Golden), and guitarist Ronnie Ardito in the next three years.
The band got its name when Racioppo, having just broken up his existing band, asserted his desire to form a new one, and his indifference to its name: "call it anything ... shirts ... pants ... shoes ... The Shirts!" The newly named band, eventually including nine musicians, played covers at small venues in New York until, in 1975, they went to a show at
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
featuring
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
and were inspired to play there using only their original material.
The Shirts auditioned for CBGB owner
Hilly Kristal
Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the iconic New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute.
Early years
Kristal was bor ...
which resulted in the band being hired, first to open for other bands (including
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and the
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talkin ...](_blank)
), then to play as the headliner band. As the band honed their skills and developed new songs, they played at such other local venues as
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...
. Like many of the bands championed by Kristal, their sound was actually more pop and dance-oriented than the "art bands" that became famous in association with CBGB.
Although little interest was initially shown in the band by American record labels, The Shirts were featured on a double compilation album featuring the major bands of the CBGB scene in the mid-70s, ''Live at CBGBs''. However, Nick Mobbs at
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
(who had signed the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
to the label) signed the band to EMI's
Harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
label in the fall of 1977, and assigned Mike Thorne (who had also worked on Sex Pistols albums) to produce their first album. Largely for corporate purposes, the band was signed by EMI in conjunction with its US subsidiary label,
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, which had initially passed on signing the band. This formality would eventually have a significant impact on the band's early history.
The first album, THE SHIRTS, was recorded in London (while lead singer Golden commuted back to the US to shoot
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968.
Forman ...
’s
screen version of ''
Hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
'') and released in 1978, and became popular in Europe.
The single "Tell Me Your Plans" charting in the top five in the Netherlands. The band went on to tour Europe opening for
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
, at his request.
Thorne chose to record the band's second album, STREET LIGHT SHINE (1979),
at Mediasound Studio in New York City. The resulting sound was much more eclectic than their debut album, and the album was again a financial and critical success in Europe, the single "Laugh and Walk Away" again charting high in the Netherlands. However, breakthrough in the US market continued to elude the band.
For the third album, Capitol Records made a deal with EMI in which the band would be signed solely to Capitol. Now under Capitol's management rather than Thorne's, recording went poorly and the resulting album, INNER SLEEVE (1980),
was not properly supported by the label, only 10,000 copies being pressed. It was a signal failure for the band, and although they continued playing for another two years, the large band (nine members at its height) had been reduced to four players, and essentially broke up in 1981.
Reunions and reformation, 1994 to present
The band members, some of whom had stayed in the music business, reunited twice in the 1990s to play benefits for CBGB, which periodically suffered tax issues. Efforts were made to reform the band, which included early auditions with Golden, who had established a career in film, TV and on stage ("Orange Is The New Black"), and two other female singers, Caren Messing and Kathy McCloskey, who had worked with Racioppo in another band. Golden ultimately decided not to join the reformed band, and Messing and McCloskey together took the female lead. The reformed band first played for the public at CBGB in May 2003, and continue to perform periodically.
In 2006, The Shirts recorded and released their first album in over 25 years at the studio Thorne had opened. It was titled, ONLY THE DEAD KNOW BROOKLYN. In 2010, The Shirts released THE TIGER MUST JUMP on Rottentoof Records.
As of 2014, both Racioppo and Lamonica have spin off projects. Racioppo formed 'Bob of The Shirts', with Bob on bass, John Amato on guitars and keyboards, James Rosenthal on guitars and Beth Arielle on drums. They released their first album, TOWNIE, on Rottentotoof Records. Artie Lamonica formed 'Rome 56', whose recordings are online.
Discography
Albums
*''The Shirts'' (1978)
*''Street Light Shine'' (1979)
*''Inner Sleeve'' (1980)
*''Only the Dead Know Brooklyn'' (2006)
*''The Tiger Must Jump'' (2010)
*Bob of The Shirts – ''Townie'' (2014)
Singles
* "Tell Me Your Plans" b/w "Cyrinda" (1978) UK :
Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
HAR 5165
* "Running Through the Night" b/w "Lonely Android" (1978) UK : Harvest Records HAR 5170
* "Reduced to a Whisper" b/w "The Story Goes" (1978) NL : Harvest Records 5C 006-06910
* "Out on the Ropes" b/w "Maybe, Maybe Not" (1979) UK : Harvest Records HAR 5190
* "Can't Cry Anymore" b/w "I'm in Love Again" (1979) USA :
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
4750
* "Laugh and Walk Away" b/w "Triangulum" (1980) UK : Harvest Records HAR 5195
* "One Last Chance" b/w "Too Much Trouble" (1980) UK : Capitol Records CL 16161
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirts, The
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups from New York City
American power pop groups
Capitol Records artists
Harvest Records artists