Big Mountain Biography
Much like UB40, American reggae band Big Mountain brought a very commercialized version of Jamaican music to the American mainstream when their cover of Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way" reached the Top Ten in early 1994. To the band's credit, though, their three albums contain reggae roots music combined with only several R&B-ish covers, and the lineup includes two Jamaicans with excellent credentials: rhythm guitarist Tony Chin and drummer Santa Davis -- both of whom played with the Peter Tosh band and the Soul Syndicate.
Big Mountain was originally formed in San Diego as the Rainbow Warriors. After several years of dizzying lineups and two name changes -- first to Shiloh and finally to Big Mountain -- the group centralized around vocalist/guitarist Quino, with rhythm guitarist Jerome Cruz, drummers Gregory Blakney and Lance Rhodes, keyboard player Manfred Reinke, and bassist Lynn Copeland. That lineup released Wake Up on the Quality label in 1992 and charted "Touch My Light" early the following year. The single reached number 51 in America, but only one year later Big Mountain began to experiment with several different guitarists. After several changes, Tony Chin became available and joined Quino and Copeland with new additions Santa Davis, James McWhinney (percussion) and keyboard players Billy Stoll and Michael Hyde. During sessions for their second album, movie producer Ron Fair approached Big Mountain about recording a cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way" for his upcoming movie Reality Bites. Included on the soundtrack and the group's 1994 Unity album, the single reached number six in the U.S. and became a worldwide hit.
Despite Big Mountain's success on the commercial pop charts, most of the reggae community remained faithful to the band; the group headlined two consecutive Reggae Sunsplash festivals in Jamaica during massive world tours that crisscrossed Europe, North and South America, Asia and Indonesia. Third album Resistance was released in 1995, followed two years later by Free Up. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Anakwad Biography: Anakwad (Anakwad Frank Montano) is a Native American from Wisconsin, USA. He is a member of the Ojibwe tribe. He is the son of a musician and began honing his own musical talents fairly early on....
Meco Biography: Producer and studio musician Meco marked a confluence of the two dominant pop-culture preoccupations of the late '70s, shooting to fame on the heels of a chart-topping disco rendition of the theme to...
Tarja Biography: Best known as the female vocalist for Finnish gothic/symphonic metal act Nightwish, Tarja (full name Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen) was born on August 17, 1977, in Kitee, Finland. Her prowess as a...
Switchblade symphony Biography: San Francisco's Switchblade Symphony formed in 1989, when vocalist Tina Root and composer Susan Wallace were introduced by mutual friends in the local goth music scene. Frustrated with the musical...
Mustard plug Biography: Since forming in 1991, Mustard Plug has established itself as one of the hardest-working independent bands. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based group, with the help of its label, the California indie...
Big d and the kids table Biography: The Boston ensemble Big D and the Kids Table brought on their fast-paced style of ska-punk upon their debut in 1995. But like most ska bands, a revolving lineup frequented for the next three years as...
Stephanie Biography: Singer who starred in Broadway Wiz. W/ hits "What 'Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin'," "The Medicine Song," "I Feel Good All Over.", All Music...
Ascii disko Biography: Ascii Disko is the project of multi-instrumentalist/DJ Kat D.D. Rokk. Formerly of Slown and also a member of Venus Vegas, in Ascii Disko he crafts a mix of rock and electronica inspired...