This article is about a band. For a basketball player whose name inspired this band, see
Lucious Jackson.
Luscious Jackson is an alternative/pop-rock group formed in 1991. They are named after former Philadelphia
76ers pro basketball player Lucious Brown "Luke"
Jackson.
The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (vocals, bass), Gabrielle
"Gabby" Glaser (vocals, guitar), Kate Schellenbach (drums) and Vivian Trimble (keyboards, vocals). The band played nearly every instrument heard on their records, and with
the exception of a few non-LP cover songs wrote all of their own material, the majority
penned by vocalists Jill Cunniff and/or Gabby Glaser.
Between 1993 and 2000 they released one EP, three full length LPs and ten singles on the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal record label. Their biggest hit-—and only
Billboard Top 40 entry—-is "Naked Eye" (#36,
March 22, 1997). Other notable singles include "Here", "CitySong
(NY State Of The World)", "Under Your Skin" and "Ladyfingers".
Vivian Trimble left the group in 1998, and in 2000 (after releasing one album as a trio) the group officially announced the
break up of Luscious Jackson.
February 2007 saw the release of Luscious Jackson's "greatest hits" compilation, and in
the Fall of 2006 the band announced that they have reunited and are to begin work on a new children's album.
History
In 1991, Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser created the first Luscious Jackson demo with tip money
from their restaurant jobs. Their first live performance was opening for Beastie Boys and
Cypress Hill at the now-defunct Building in lower New York
City. The Beastie Boys asked Luscious Jackson to be the first band on their Grand Royal label.
Former Beastie Boys band member Kate Schellenbach soon joined the band on drums, and Vivian Trimble took keyboard and backing
vocal duties.
Three tracks from the original Luscious Jackson demo and four new songs were released in 1992 as the In Search Of Manny
EP. "Let Yourself Get Down" and "Daughters Of The Kaos" were issued as promotional singles. A video was also filmed for the ISOM
track "Daughter's of the Kaos".
After previewing two new recordings from their forthcoming album on the promotional Daughters Of The Kaos EP, Luscious Jackson
released their first full length LP for the Grand Royal label, Natural
Ingredients (1994). The album spawned three minor hits with "CitySong (NY State Of The World)," "Deep Shag" and
"Here", the latter featured in the Alicia Silverstone film Clueless. In addition, all three singles had music videos which could be seen on MTV.
Throughout 1994 and 1995 Luscious Jackson were seemingly everywhere. They took part in the Lollapalooza tour and were the musical guest on numerous television
shows including Saturday Night Live, Viva
Variety and MTV's 120 Minutes. They were also featured in a fashion
segment on MTV's House of Style with Cindy
Crawford and on the Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete and Pete in the episode titled "Dance Fever". The band
performed "Angel," "Satellite," "Pele Merengue," and "Here" at Little Pete's first junior high dance.
While on tour in 1995, Trimble and Cunniff recorded a collection of mellow, acoustic driven songs under the name Kostars titled Klassics With A "K". The album was released in 1996 and featured contributions by Kate
and Gabby as well as Gene and Dean Ween of Ween and was produced by Josephine Wiggs, bass player
of The Breeders.
The time between 1996 and 1997 were Luscious Jackson's most commercially successful period. While promoting the release of
their second full-length album Fever In, Fever Out, they scored their first Billboard Top 40 Hit "Naked Eye". Two follow
up singles were released, "Under Your Skin" and "Why Do I Lie?" which was featured in the Gus Van
Sant film Good Will Hunting.
During this time Luscious Jackson "Nice Duds" fan club members were treated to an exclusive 10 track CD album of demos and
live rarities titled Tip Top Starlets, now a highly sought after rarity.
Luscious Jackson were featured in an ad campaign for The
Gap throughout 1998 and 1999. Their Christmas ad "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It
Snow!" was voted the most popular of the campaign in TV Guide.
Tired of touring and wanting to pursue other musical projects, Vivian Trimble left Luscious Jackson. Two years later Vivian
Trimble and Josephine Wiggs (formerly of The Breeders) released an album under the name
Dusty Trails.
Returning to 1999, Luscious Jackson (recording as a trio) released their third full-length LP Electric Honey. The
single "Ladyfingers" was a moderate success with the video put into heavy rotation on VH1. A second
single "Nervous Breakthrough" was issued without a music video or commercial single release. Plans for a third single from
Electric Honey "Devotion" were scrapped as interest in the album wanes, though a radio/single remix was prepared.
In 2000 Luscious Jackson officially announced they would no longer be recording or touring. This seemed to be the final
chapter for the band.
In 2006, after a "break up" lasting more than six years, Luscious Jackson announced plans to reunite to record a new album of
songs for children. In February 2007 they released a Greatest Hits album on the Capitol label, covering their recordings for Grand Royal between 1992-1999.
On February 20, 2007, vocalist/bassist Jill Cunniff
released her first solo album, City Beach, on The Militia Group label.
On June 26, 2007, vocalist/guitarist Gabby Glaser released her
debut solo album, Gimme Splash on Latchkey Records.
Discography
Albums
Special Releases
- Daughters Of The Kaos [Promotional EP] (1993)
- Tip Top Starlets [Exclusive 'Nice Duds' Fan Club Release] (1997)
Singles
The following songs were issued as singles commercially and/or promotionally (to radio/clubs). Many of these songs had
accompanying music videos (see Promotional Films below)
- Let Yourself Get Down (Edit)
- Daughters Of The Kaos
- CitySong (NY State Of The World) (Radio Re-mix)
- Deep Shag (Sunny Ray Mix)
- Here (Squirmel Mix)
- Naked Eye (Radio Edit)
- Under Your Skin [Single Version remixed by Tchad Blake, uncredited on label]
- Why Do I Lie? (Remix)
- Ladyfingers (Guitar Up Version)
- Nervous Breakthrough (Single Version)
B-Sides & Non-LP Tracks
The following are recordings—commercially available or confirmed unreleased—that do not appear on proper Luscious Jackson
albums. The majority were issued on various artist compilations, film soundtracks or on one of Luscious Jackson's many single
releases.
- Radiating (from the 'CitySong' single)
- Daddy (from the 'Deep Shag' single)
- Queen Of Bliss (from the 'Here' single)
- 69 Année Érotique (from the compilation 'Ain’t Nothin’ But A She Thing')
- Banana’s Box (from the 'Naked Eye' single)
- Foster’s Lover (from the 'Naked Eye' single)
- Roses Fade (from the soundtrack to the film 'The Saint')
- Love Is Here (from the soundtrack to the film 'A Life Less Ordinary')
- Love That’s Real Suite (from the soundtrack to the film 'Half-Baked')
- I’ve Got A Crush On You (from the compilation 'Red Hot + Rhapsody')
- Gridlock (from the 'Ladyfingers' single)
- To Sir With Love (from the 'Ladyfingers' single)
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (from the 'Nervous Breakthrough' single and the promotional 'Capitol Chestnuts'
compilation)
- Down To Earth (from the soundtrack to the film 'Titan A.E.')
- Stone Fox (unreleased song; featured in GAP commercial)
- Ursuline (unreleased song; 1997)
- We Got Next (unreleased song; 1997)
- Joy Rider (unreleased song; 1998)
- Mum’s The Word (unreleased song; presumably from 1999)
Side & Solo Projects
Promotional Films
- Life Of Leisure
- Daughters Of The Kaos
- CitySong
- Deep Shag
- Here
- 69 Année Érotique
- Naked Eye
- Under Your Skin
- Ladyfingers
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
- No Preservatives
See also
External links
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