
Old 97's 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 Wale ...
band from
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Formed in 1992,
they have released thirteen studio albums, two full
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
s, shared split duty on another, and they have one live album. Their most recent release is titled ''American Primitive''.
Old 97's were pioneers of the
alt-country
Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
movement during the mid-to-late 1990s, then they developed more of a
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
style in the 2000s.
Lead vocalist and primary songwriter
Rhett Miller has described the band's style as "loud
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
". The band's name is in reference to the
Wreck of the Old 97.
Career
Initially a popular Dallas bar band, Old 97's toured the country after releasing their first album, 1994's ''
Hitchhike to Rhome
''Hitchhike to Rhome'' is the first studio album by American country/rock band Old 97's, released in 1994. The title comes from the song "Stoned", and refers to Rhome, Texas.
The lyrics make numerous references to the band's Dallas, Texas, en ...
'' and 1995's split EP release ''Stoned / Garage Sale'' with fellow Dallas band Funland on
Idol Records. In Chicago, they caught the attention of
Bloodshot Records and were signed to record their next album. 1995's ''
Wreck Your Life'' brought them to the attention of
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
,
[ who hoped that alt-country could be a new post-]grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
trend. Lead singer Rhett Miller, born in Austin, later lived in New York City and Los Angeles. Many of the band's songs include local Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
references, with references to New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago appearing as well.
Most songs are written and sung by Miller, with bassist Murry Hammond picking up the vocals on one or two tracks per album. Hammond also handled a number of country covers, especially in the band's earlier years. Hammond also performs gospel at his local church. The band's 2004 album '' Drag It Up'' also includes a song written and sung by guitarist Ken Bethea, "Coahuila."
In 2005, ''Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'' magazine ranked the band's then most successful single, 1999's "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)", as the 176th greatest song "since you were born."
Their music has been featured in a number of films and TV series, including '' The Break-Up'' ("Salome", "Melt Show", "Timebomb"), '' Clay Pigeons'' ("Timebomb"), '' Slither'' ("The New Kid"), '' Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' ("Big Brown Eyes"), '' Ed'' ("Question", "King of All the World"), '' Scrubs'' ("Question"), ''Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...
'' ("Adelaide", "Four-Leaf Clover", "The New Kid") and ''Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
'' ("Question"). With respect to ''The Break-Up'', a key scene toward the end of the film takes place at an Old 97's concert. In the season 2 episode "Tango and Smash", of the series ''FUBAR
Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associa ...
'', the Old 97's appear as a random unnamed house band at a fancy restaurant in Tallinn who are asked if they might know the oldie "Dance With Me"though they are only able to closely replicate the Old 97's (effectively playing a remix of their own song) for a lengthy dance scene between two of the series leads.
Rhett Miller has recorded seven solo studio albums and one live album, with 2002's '' The Instigator'' receiving substantial airplay on alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...
-oriented radio stations. He toured with Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz and for being the lead singer of Crowded House. He was also a member of Fleetwood Mac from 2018 ...
in 2004. Miller's second major commercial album, '' The Believer'', was released in February 2006. Murry Hammond's solo album, ''I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm on My Way'', was released April 21, 2008.
Old 97's have been heralded as a great live band, although they claim never to rehearse their act. They included five live songs as a bonus disc on ''Satellite Rides'', and released a live double CD set recorded at historic Gruene Hall in 2005, '' Alive & Wired''.
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus.
History
Founded ...
released '' Hit by a Train: The Best of Old 97's'', an eighteen-track compilation of songs from the band's beginnings through 2001, featuring liner notes and an essay by rock critic Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
.
Satellite Riders is a faux "tribute band"—it is actually an alias the band performs under when contractual obligations prevent them from using the Old 97's name. The Ranchero Brothers is the name used when only Rhett and Murry Hammond perform. The recording of "Timebomb" from the live album '' Alive & Wired'' was made available for download along with other alt-country songs for the music video games ''Rock Band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
'' and ''Rock Band 2
''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...
''.
Their next studio project, ''The Grand Theatre'', was released in two volumes. The first, '' The Grand Theatre, Volume One'', was released on October 12, 2010. The second, '' The Grand Theatre, Volume Two'', was released on July 5, 2011.
In 2013, the band released an EP containing two tracks with vocals by country music legend Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
entitled '' Old 97's & Waylon Jennings''. Rhett Miller called the previously unreleased tunes with Jennings "the band's 'holy grail.'"
The band's tenth studio album, '' Most Messed Up'', was released April 29, 2014, by ATO Records
ATO Records (or According to Our Records) is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was established in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw.
ATO's roster includes My Morning Jacket, Brittany Howard, ...
and was their best-selling album to date, reaching #30 on the Billboard 200.
Their next two releases on ATO Records were ''Graveyard Whistling'', their 11th studio album, released February 24, 2017, and ''Love the Holidays'', an album of mostly original Christmas songs, released November 16, 2018.
ATO Records released the band's next studio album, aptly named ''Twelfth'', on August 21, 2020. The twelve tracks were produced by Vance Powell, who produced ''Graveyard Whistling''. Old 97's noted that the recording sessions in Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
started on the night of a deadly tornado outbreak
A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...
and right before the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
hit.
The band members portrayed the alien rock band Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen in '' The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'', singing the original song "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" and their 2018 song "Here It Is Christmastime," the latter with Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Bacon made his featu ...
singing lead.
Band members
Current members
* Rhett Miller – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1992–present)
* Murry Hammond – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1992–present)
* Ken Bethea – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals (1992–present)
* Philip Peeples – drums, backing vocals (1992–present)
Studio substitutes
* Clark Vogeler – lead guitar (1994)
* Alan Wooley – lead guitar (1994)
Touring substitutes
* Fred Armisen – drums (2017)
* Jason Garner – drums (2017)
Discography
Albums
Singles
DVDs
* 2005: ''Old 97's Live
Old 97's Live is a live DVD released by country music, country/rock music, rock band Old 97's on January 25, 2005. It was recorded March 2004 at the Troubadour on Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles, California. It contains songs from their entire ...
'' (New West Records)
References
External links
Old 97's Official web site
Official Rhett Miller Website
Hit By A Train, Fansite
July 2009 Interview
with ''L.A.Record''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old 97s
1993 establishments in Texas
American alternative country groups
American power pop groups
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups from Dallas
New West Records artists
Bloodshot Records artists
Elektra Records artists
ATO Records artists