Living Colour

Mid-tier influencer • United States • EN

Living Colour is a 2-time Grammy-award winning rock band from New York City formed in 1984. Led by guitarist Vernon Reid, the bands lineup solidified in the mid-80's w/ Corey Glover (vocals), Will Calhoun (drums) and Muzz Skillings (bass). Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, hard rock and heavy metal. Their lyrics range from the personal to the political, in some of the latter cases attacking Eurocentrism and racism in America. The band's debut album, 'Vivid,' was released in 1988 on Epic Records with a little help from Mick Jagger, who produced two songs on the their demo which wound up on the album. 'Vivid' produced by Ed Stasium, reached #6 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and was later certified double platinum by the RIAA. It featured 'Cult of Personality,' a #13 hit on the Billboard 200 Singles chart as well as the Top 40 hit, 'Glamour Boys.' 'Cult of Personality' went on to earn the band their first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Other songs from Vivid that fared well on radio and MTV were ’Open Letter (to a Landlord),’ and ‘Funny Vibe,’ a song about racism, which included a guest appearance by the rap group Public Enemy. While opening for the Rolling Stone's Steel tour, the band's wrote new material that wound up as their second full-length LP, 'Time's Up,' in August 1990, and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 all the while certifying gold, with singles like 'Type', 'Love Rears Its Ugly Head' and ‘Elvis Is Dead’. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance and featured guest appearances by Queen Latifah, Little Richard, Doug E. Fresh, and Maceo Parker. In 1991 the band released 'Biscuits' a 6-song ep filled w/ 2 new covers, B-sides and live tracks. With their diverse range in musical style, they fit perfectly on the inaugural Lollapalooza tour. Due to creative differences, Skillings left the band in the summer of 1992, only to be replaced by session veteran and Sugar Hill Gang bass player Doug Wimbish. 'Stain,' their third studio album, produced by Ron Saint Germain, was released in 1993 by Epic. Reaching #26 on the Billboard 200, the album had a much heavier and aggressive sound, containing elements of thrash metal and industrial music while receiving a Grammy nomination for 'Leave It Alone'. After a split in 1995, Living Colour returned in December 2000 with a show at the legendary (and now defunct) CBGB’s and began writing and recording 'Collideøscope'. Released in 2003, the album featured aggressive lyrics, with many of the songs written about the September 11 attacks, like 'Flying', inspired by an actual news photograph of two WTC workers escaping the chaos. Their first release on Megaforce Records, 'The Chair in the Doorway,' was issued in 2009 and reached #159 on the Billboard 200 charged by the single 'Behind The Sun' In 2013, the band celebrated the 25th anniversary of 'Vivid' w/ a world tour crossing North and South Americas, Europe, and Japan, including the Soundwave festival in Australia. The root of Living Colour's forthcoming album 'Shade' comes from a performance of Robert Johnson's ‘Preachin' Blues’ at the 100th Anniversary Birthday celebration at the legendary Apollo Theatre in New York City. 'Shade', to be released in early 2017, is "the sound of a band coming to terms with its shadows and light,' as described by Vernon Reid. 'From the blue pulpit of Robert Johnson to the mean red streets of Brooklyn... 'Shade' is the next chapter of a unique American journey.' Corey Glover views 'Shade’ as an 'homage to the blues' that links the band to their disparate roots and also includes a cover by Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Who Shot Ya?' which links to current social issues important to the Living Colour ethos.