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1992 - May: the Black Crowes ”The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion”
By the time they released The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, their second studio album, The Black Crowes were already a popular band. This album would continue their dominance, achieving a record four album rock number one hits, and debuted at the number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart as well. The Black Crowes were originally an Atlanta band during a time when hair bands were on the way down and grunge was on its way up. Their Southern rock and blues rock style seemed to hit a sweet spot with fans.
The name of the album is taken from the title of an 1835 shape note hymnal compiled by Baptist song leader William Walker.
Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson were joined in the band by Johnny Colt on bass, Steve Gorman on drums, and newcomer Marc Ford on guitar who replaced Jeff Cease. Keyboardist Eddie Harsch was also added at this time and would later be named as a full band member.
The Black Crowes have sold more than 30 million albums, and Melody Maker magazine calls them “The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World.” Though only Chris and Rich Robinson remain from the original band, the Black Crowes continue to tour and record as of 2023.
Lynch takes us on a journey down this blues rock album path.
Sting Me
The opening track on the album was also the second commercial single released. It has a female vocal backing that hearkens back to southern gospel choirs. The lyrics are about a girl that keeps breaking the singer's heart, or it could also be about heroin use. The Black Crowes were vocal proponents of legalization for recreational drugs.
Black Moon Creeping
Fuzzy guitar distortion and harmonica drive this deep cut. The lyrics are about people keeping secrets, and it has a little darker, funky edge. “What you got buried in your back yard? What secret do you sleep with when the black moon come?”
Remedy
This is the big hit from the album, which reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard album rock tracks chart. It is about freedom, and was written in response to the war on drugs.
ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:
Theme song from the late night variety show “The Tonight Show”
Johnny Carson would take a final bow this month on his iconic late night show, to be replaced by Jay Leno.
STAFF PICKS:
The Wild Life by Slaughter
Rob leads off the staff picks with a hair metal anthem. This is from Slaughter's second album of the same name. The band gets its name from its founder and front man Mark Slaughter. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts. Slaughter had five studio albums and three live albums.
Temple of Love by The Sisters of Mercy
Wayne rocks out with a song re-released in 1992, and originally performed in 1983. The Sisters of Mercy are from the UK underground scene, and this is their biggest hit, though it did not do well in the States. The name of the group comes from a Leonard Cohen song.
The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by XTC
British post punk band XTC dropped this song on their 12th studio album, Nonsuch. It went to number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. XTC founter Andy Partridge was inspired to write this song after watching a carved jack o'-lantern that he had put on his fence post decay over time. The Crash Test Dummies would cover this song in 1994's comedy film “Dumb and Dumber.”
Cats in the Cradle by Ugly Kid Joe
Lynch features a cover of a song originally done by Harry Chapin in 1974. The Ugly Kid Joe version made it to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about a father who doesn't make time for his son as he grows up, and reaps what he sews when the son doesn't have time for the father as an adult.
NOVELTYTRACK:
Summer Song by Joe Satriani
Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani had a huge hit with this instrumental from his "Extremist" album.
Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?”
NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.
Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock-worthy memes we can share.
Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!
**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.
View all episodes
By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch
4.9
4747 ratings
By the time they released The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, their second studio album, The Black Crowes were already a popular band. This album would continue their dominance, achieving a record four album rock number one hits, and debuted at the number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart as well. The Black Crowes were originally an Atlanta band during a time when hair bands were on the way down and grunge was on its way up. Their Southern rock and blues rock style seemed to hit a sweet spot with fans.
The name of the album is taken from the title of an 1835 shape note hymnal compiled by Baptist song leader William Walker.
Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson were joined in the band by Johnny Colt on bass, Steve Gorman on drums, and newcomer Marc Ford on guitar who replaced Jeff Cease. Keyboardist Eddie Harsch was also added at this time and would later be named as a full band member.
The Black Crowes have sold more than 30 million albums, and Melody Maker magazine calls them “The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World.” Though only Chris and Rich Robinson remain from the original band, the Black Crowes continue to tour and record as of 2023.
Lynch takes us on a journey down this blues rock album path.
Sting Me
The opening track on the album was also the second commercial single released. It has a female vocal backing that hearkens back to southern gospel choirs. The lyrics are about a girl that keeps breaking the singer's heart, or it could also be about heroin use. The Black Crowes were vocal proponents of legalization for recreational drugs.
Black Moon Creeping
Fuzzy guitar distortion and harmonica drive this deep cut. The lyrics are about people keeping secrets, and it has a little darker, funky edge. “What you got buried in your back yard? What secret do you sleep with when the black moon come?”
Remedy
This is the big hit from the album, which reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard album rock tracks chart. It is about freedom, and was written in response to the war on drugs.
ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:
Theme song from the late night variety show “The Tonight Show”
Johnny Carson would take a final bow this month on his iconic late night show, to be replaced by Jay Leno.
STAFF PICKS:
The Wild Life by Slaughter
Rob leads off the staff picks with a hair metal anthem. This is from Slaughter's second album of the same name. The band gets its name from its founder and front man Mark Slaughter. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts. Slaughter had five studio albums and three live albums.
Temple of Love by The Sisters of Mercy
Wayne rocks out with a song re-released in 1992, and originally performed in 1983. The Sisters of Mercy are from the UK underground scene, and this is their biggest hit, though it did not do well in the States. The name of the group comes from a Leonard Cohen song.
The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by XTC
British post punk band XTC dropped this song on their 12th studio album, Nonsuch. It went to number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. XTC founter Andy Partridge was inspired to write this song after watching a carved jack o'-lantern that he had put on his fence post decay over time. The Crash Test Dummies would cover this song in 1994's comedy film “Dumb and Dumber.”
Cats in the Cradle by Ugly Kid Joe
Lynch features a cover of a song originally done by Harry Chapin in 1974. The Ugly Kid Joe version made it to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about a father who doesn't make time for his son as he grows up, and reaps what he sews when the son doesn't have time for the father as an adult.
NOVELTYTRACK:
Summer Song by Joe Satriani
Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani had a huge hit with this instrumental from his "Extremist" album.
Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?”
NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.
Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock-worthy memes we can share.
Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!
**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.
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