The Afghan Whigs were a soul-influenced American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. While they achieved moderate success in the 1990s Rolling Stone described the band as spending "the bulk of their career on the brink of stardom" they "never quite broke beyond a substantial legion of devotees enamored of their thinly veiled sleaze."
Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), John Curley (bass), and Steve Earle (drums not to be confused with country musician Steve Earle) formed the band in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1986.
In 1988, they released their debut album Big Top Halloween on their own Ultrasuede label. The band signed to Sub Pop of Seattle in 1989. The Afghan Whigs were the first non-Northwestern U.S. band to record for the Sub Pop label.
In 1990, their first Sub Pop release Up in It was released. It featured a blistering pace and yowling, effects-heavy guitars on tracks like "White Trash Party". The album was followed by a limited edition single released by No.6 Records under the name "The Ornament". They added two guitarists who left soon after the release.
With the 1992 album Congregation and a limited covers EP, Uptown Avondale, the band adopted what would become their signature soul-influenced sound.
Soon The Afghan Whigs signed to a major label, Elektra Records, and in 1993 released another album, Gentlemen. Although the singles “Debonair” and “Gentlemen” were fairly popular, the album failed to launch the band into the mainstream.
Posts
0 comments