Group Members:
Similar Artists:
R.E.M.,
Sugar,
Urge Overkill,
Soul Asylum,
Meat Puppets,
Squirrel Bait,
The Buck Pets,
The Breakup Society,
The Mutants ,
The Lemonheads,
Cracker,
The Young Fresh Fellows,
Tom Waits,
Volcano Suns,
The Smithereens,
Redd Kross,
The Pontiac Brothers,
The Only Ones,
Minutemen,
The Goo Goo Dolls,
Camper Van Beethoven,
Buffalo Tom,
Social Distortion,
The Hooters,
Game Theory,
American Music Club
Influenced By:
The Rolling Stones,
The Ramones,
Hüsker Dü,
Faces,
Big Star,
Johnny Thunders,
The Sex Pistols,
New York Dolls,
John Lennon,
Kiss,
Bob Dylan,
Alex Chilton
Followers:
Chris McFarland,
Gentleman ,
The Martinets,
Josh Rouse,
Peter Searcy,
Gin Blossoms,
Alcohol Funnycar,
Ass Ponys,
Superchunk,
Rocket from the Crypt,
Dramarama,
Soul Asylum,
The Goo Goo Dolls,
Buffalo Tom,
The Afghan Whigs,
Pablo,
Sam Champion,
The Ergs,
Architects,
Porchsleeper ,
Limbeck,
Buzz Zeemer,
Teenage Frames,
The Ducky Boys ,
Mulehead,
Gloritone,
Rip Dizzy ,
Roadstar,
Insanity Wave ,
Carpet People ,
Model Rockets,
Excuses ,
Lovemeknots ,
Montgomery Cliffs ,
Who Hit John ,
Hilltops,
Dipsomaniacs,
Michael Shelley,
Gingersol,
The Beatifics,
Magnatone ,
Swingset Police,
Liquor Giants,
Star 69,
Twenty Cent Crush ,
The V-Roys,
dT's ,
Heavy into Jeff,
Articles of Faith,
Truck Stop Love ,
The Rooks,
The Shame Idols,
Wilco,
Mercyland,
Todd Newman ,
Rheostatics,
Rank Strangers ,
Titanic Love Affair ,
Scott McCaughey,
Field Trip ,
The Aquanettas,
Squirrel Bait,
Happy Hate Me Nots,
The Buck Pets,
The Soft Pack ,
Motel Motel ,
Friendly Foes,
Trakan ,
Wheels on Fire,
Proud Simon,
The Henry Clay People ,
The Wide Awakes ,
Dito Montiel,
The Weight,
Cold War Kids,
Lapdancers ,
Dirt Road Logic,
The Modern Machines,
Pela,
Greg Summerlin,
The Cops,
Smoke or Fire,
American Princes,
Zykos,
Chris Tsefalas,
The Hold Steady,
Coco B's,
Against Me!,
Billionaire Boys Club,
The Enablers ,
The Fags,
True Love,
Kosher,
Grand Champeen,
Million Yen,
Tommy Womack,
Big Umbrella,
Pipe,
Dylan Hicks ,
The Holy Cows,
Pinhead Gunpowder,
Loud Lucy ,
The Presidents of the United States of America,
Johnny Rzeznik,
Silkworm,
Walt Mink,
The Odds,
Matthew Sweet,
Run Westy Run,
The Loved Ones,
The All-American Rejects,
Baby Chaos,
The On Offs,
Sparklejet,
Modena Vox ,
Wes McDonald ,
The Holy Fire,
Otasco ,
Ghost Town Deputies ,
Happiness Factor,
Epic Hero,
The Narrator,
The Heavenly States,
Knockout Drops,
Hoover's G String,
The Dent,
Maple Mars,
Weed, Inc.,
Ultimate Fakebook,
Such Sweet Thunder,
The Young Executives,
The Return,
For Stars,
Drive-By Truckers,
Swingin' Utters,
Superdrag,
You Am I,
Amy Ray,
The Figgs,
The Star Spangles,
Wolf Colonel,
Papas Fritas,
Two Cow Garage
Performed Songs By:
Formal Connection With:
- Formed: 1979, Minneapolis, MN
- Disbanded: 1991
- Genres: Rock
- Representative Albums: "Tim," "Let It Be," "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was?: The Best of the Replacements"
- Representative Songs: "Can't Hardly Wait," "Alex Chilton," "I Will Dare"
Biography
The Replacements initially formed in 1979, when Paul Westerberg joined a garage punk band formed by brothers Bob (guitar) and Tommy Stinson (bass) and drummer Chris Mars. Originally called the Impediments, the Minnesota residents changed their name to the Replacements after being banned from a local club for disorderly behavior. In their early days, they sounded quite similar to Hüsker Dü, the leaders of the Minneapolis punk scene. However, the Replacements were wilder and looser than the Hüskers and quickly became notorious for their drunken, chaotic gigs. After they built up a sizable local following the Minneapolis label Twin/Tone signed them.Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, a sloppy hardcore collection, was released in 1981 but failed to make much of an impact on the national scene. It was followed the next year by the Stink EP, which followed the same pattern as the debut. It was the band's second album, 1983's Hootenanny, that first garnered the band attention and helped build their fan base. On Hootenanny, the group started playing around with other genres, adding elements of pop, straightforward rock & roll, country, and folk, although sometimes the eclecticism was ironic.
Hootenanny set the stage for Let It Be, the band's critical and artistic breakthrough. Released in 1984, Let It Be showed that the band had successfully expanded their musical reach and that Westerberg had grown considerably as a songwriter; he was now capable of pop like "I Will Dare," full-throttle rock & roll, and introspective ballads like "Answering Machine." Critics and fellow musicians were quick to praise the band, and they developed a large underground following. The buzz was large enough to convince Sire to sign the band in 1985.
The Replacements' first major-label album, Tim, was scheduled to be produced by Westerberg's idol, Alex Chilton, but the sessions fell through; the album was produced by former Ramone Tommy Erdelyi. Upon its release in 1985, Tim garnered rave reviews that equalled those for Let It Be. Though the band was poised for a popular breakthrough, they were unsure about making the leap into the mainstream. As a result, they never let themselves live up to their full potential. The Replacements landed a spot on Saturday Night Live, but they were roaring drunk throughout their performances and Westerberg said "f*ck" on the air. Their concerts had became notorious for such drunken, sloppy behavior. Frequently, the band was barely able to stand up, let alone play, and when they did play, they often didn't finish their songs. The Replacements also refused to make accessible videos -- the video for "Bastards of Young" featured nothing but a stereo system, playing the song -- thereby cutting themselves off from the mass exposure MTV could have granted them.
After the tour for Tim, Bob Stinson was fired from the band, allegedly for his drug and alcohol addictions. The Replacements recorded their next album as a trio in Memphis, TN, with former Big Star producer Jim Dickinson. The resulting album, Pleased to Meet Me, was more streamlined than their previous recordings. Again, the reviews were uniformly excellent upon its spring 1987 release, but the band didn't earn many new fans. During the tour for Pleased to Meet Me, guitarist Slim Dunlap filled the vacant lead guitarist spot and he became a full-time member after the tour.
Two years later, the band returned in the spring of 1989 with Don't Tell a Soul, the Replacements' last bid for a mainstream audience. The bandmembers had cleaned up, admitting that their years of drug and alcohol abuse were behind them, and were now willing to play the promotional game. Don't Tell a Soul boasted a polished, radio-ready production and the group shot MTV-friendly videos, beginning with the single "I'll Be You." Initially, the approach worked -- "I'll Be You" became a number one album rock track, crossing over to number 51 on the pop charts. However, Don't Tell a Soul never really took off and failed to establish the band as a major commercial force.
Defeated from the lackluster performance of Don't Tell a Soul, Paul Westerberg planned on recording a solo album, but Sire rejected the idea. Consequently, the next Replacements album, All Shook Down, was a solo Westerberg record in all but name. Recorded with a cast of session musicians as well as the band, All Shook Down was a stripped-down, largely acoustic affair that hinted at the turmoil within the band. Chris Mars left shortly after its fall 1990 release, claiming that Westerberg had assumed control of the band; he would launch a solo career two years later. The Replacements toured in support of All Shook Down, with Steve Foley, formerly of the Minneapolis-based Things Fall Down, as their new drummer. Neither the tour nor the album were successful, and the Replacements quietly disbanded in the summer of 1991.
Tommy Stinson formed Bash & Pop the following year; in 1995, he formed a new band called Perfect. Dunlap released a solo album in 1993. Bob Stinson died February 15, 1995, from a drug overdose. Westerberg began a solo career slowly, releasing two songs on the Singles ("Dyslexic Heart," "Waiting for Somebody") soundtrack in 1992; he also scored the film. He released his debut solo album, 14 Songs, in the summer of 1993 to mixed reviews. Paul Westerberg's second solo album, Eventually, was released in the spring of 1996. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
