Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Encyclopedia
Big Head Todd & the Monsters is a rock
band
formed in 1986 in Colorado
. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album Sister Sweetly
going platinum in the United States. The band has developed a sizable live following especially in the Mountain States
of the United States
.
on guitar
and vocals, Brian Nevin on drum
s and vocals and Rob Squires on bass
and vocals. The trio
had attended Columbine High School
together. Mohr attended Colorado State University
in Fort Collins, Colorado
and transferred to the University of Colorado
to join Nevin and Squires. The three began touring clubs in Denver, Fort Collins, and Boulder as Big Head Todd and the Monsters in 1987. The band soon built up a following throughout Colorado and the West. They toured extensively throughout the Mountain States and West Coast of the United States in their van dubbed 'The Colonel', which was driven over 400,000 miles.
In 1989, the band formed Big Records and released their first album Another Mayberry in 1989. Midnight Radio was released the following year, and featured artwork from Chris Mars
of The Replacements. By 1993, Big Head Todd and the Monsters had developed a considerable live following across the United States. Their first live album Big Head Todd and the Monsters Live was recorded at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1993.
The group signed with Giant Records in 1993 and recorded Sister Sweetly
with Prince
associate David Z.
producing. This album went platinum and spawned three singles that made the rock charts including "Bittersweet
", "Broken Hearted Savior
", and "Circle
".
Mohr produced the next album Strategem released in 1994. It reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200
, but did not sell as well as its predecessors.
Their song "In the Morning" was featured in the 1994 film
, Blown Away
. The band contributed "Tangerine
" to the 1995 Led Zeppelin
tribute album
Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.
Jerry Harrison
, formerly of the Talking Heads
, produced the next album released in 1997. John Lee Hooker
was recording an album in the same studio and played with the band on a version of his best-known song "Boom Boom". Squires described the recording of the track on the band's website. "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio." Bernie Worrell
, formerly of P-Funk
, played some keyboards on the albums title track "Beautiful World". Corey Mauser filled out the other key parts on the album. The album spawned two hit singles on the rock charts namely "Boom Boom" and "Resignation Superman". The Live Monsters album followed in 1998.
In 2002, the group released the follow-up studio album Riviera. As Giant Records had closed its doors, the self-produced album was released through Big Records with distribution through Warner Music. Crimes of Passion was released in 2004 with Sanctuary Records
distributing it. Another live album Live at the Fillmore was released in 2004.
In 2005, the group joined the throng of Internet-based music sales by releasing the single "Blue Sky" exclusively on iTunes
. This single was written at the request of crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Discovery
for their STS-114
Return to Flight mission in 2005, the first mission after the Columbia disaster. "Blue Sky" was written and performed as a tribute to all the people involved in the American space program. The song was used as Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign song in 2008, and in the introduction of Clinton on her keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. "Blue Sky" was also performed acoustically on March 8, 2011 at Johnson Space Center as the first live version of a wake-up call to Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-133
mission.
In June 2007 BHTM recorded their annual charity show to raise money for autism research at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The recordings were sold on USB flash drives at the merchandise stands following the performance.
BHTM toured in the summer of 2008. This extended tour was in support of the July release of their 8th studio album "All The Love You Need".
In 2010 Big Head Todd and the Monsters again returned to the studio to record "Rocksteady". This featured "Beast of Burden" written by Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
, and "Smokestack Lightning" by Chester Burnett.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters returned to the studio again in 2011 to record an all new project under the name Big Head Blues Club. The album "100 Years of Robert Johnson" celebrates the songs of the late blues singer & musician Robert Johnson
. The members of Big Head Todd and the Monsters were accompanied by B.B, King, Charlie Musselwhite
, Cedric Burnside, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Hubert Sumlin
, Ruthie Foster
, and Lightnin' Malcolm. Big Head Todd and the Monsters have also played shows under the name Big Head Blues Club, and have invited some of the legends featured on the album to perform with them.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in 1986 in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album Sister Sweetly
Sister Sweetly
Sister Sweetly was the third album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records, and sold over 1,000,000 copies, going platinum...
going platinum in the United States. The band has developed a sizable live following especially in the Mountain States
Mountain States
thumb|300px|Regional definitions vary from source to source. The states shown in dark red are always included, while the striped states are usually considered part of the same region called the Mountain States....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Career
The band was formed in 1986 with Todd Park MohrTodd Park Mohr
Todd Park Mohr is the singer and guitarist for the American rock band Big Head Todd & the Monsters, as well as being the band's namesake and primary lyricist. A founding member of the band, he also occasionally provides keyboards and saxophone in addition to his duties as frontman.Todd was born...
on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and vocals, Brian Nevin on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and vocals and Rob Squires on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals. The trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
had attended Columbine High School
Columbine High School
Columbine High School or CHS is a high school in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.- History :Columbine High School opened in the fall of 1973. There was no senior class in its first year. The school's first graduating class was the class of 1975...
together. Mohr attended Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
in Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
and transferred to the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
to join Nevin and Squires. The three began touring clubs in Denver, Fort Collins, and Boulder as Big Head Todd and the Monsters in 1987. The band soon built up a following throughout Colorado and the West. They toured extensively throughout the Mountain States and West Coast of the United States in their van dubbed 'The Colonel', which was driven over 400,000 miles.
In 1989, the band formed Big Records and released their first album Another Mayberry in 1989. Midnight Radio was released the following year, and featured artwork from Chris Mars
Chris Mars
Chris Mars is an American artist and musician. He was the drummer for seminal Minneapolis, Minnesota alternative rock band The Replacements and later joined informal supergroup Golden Smog before launching a solo career. He is also a painter, and has more or less left music behind to concentrate...
of The Replacements. By 1993, Big Head Todd and the Monsters had developed a considerable live following across the United States. Their first live album Big Head Todd and the Monsters Live was recorded at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1993.
The group signed with Giant Records in 1993 and recorded Sister Sweetly
Sister Sweetly
Sister Sweetly was the third album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records, and sold over 1,000,000 copies, going platinum...
with Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
associate David Z.
David Z.
David Z is a music producer, engineer, mixer, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota who currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He is most well known for his long-standing work with Prince, but has also contributed to award winning albums by Etta James, Billy Idol, BoDeans, Buddy Guy, Neneh...
producing. This album went platinum and spawned three singles that made the rock charts including "Bittersweet
Bittersweet (Big Head Todd song)
"Bittersweet" was the debut single from Boulder, Colorado based rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters' third album and major label debut Sister Sweetly, which eventually went platinum...
", "Broken Hearted Savior
Broken Hearted Savior
"Broken Hearted Savior" is the most successful song by American rock band Big Head Todd & the Monsters. It was released as the second single off of their major label debut album Sister Sweetly in 1993, reaching number nine on the US Mainstream Rock charts...
", and "Circle
Circle (Big Head Todd song)
"Circle" was the third single from Boulder, Colorado based rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters' major label debut album Sister Sweetly, which eventually went platinum...
".
Mohr produced the next album Strategem released in 1994. It reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, but did not sell as well as its predecessors.
Their song "In the Morning" was featured in the 1994 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Blown Away
Blown Away (1994 film)
Blown Away is a 1994 action film starring Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins.-Plot:Ryan Gaerity , an Irish terrorist, escapes from his cell in a castle prison in Northern Ireland....
. The band contributed "Tangerine
Tangerine (Led Zeppelin song)
"Tangerine" is a folk rock song composed by Jimmy Page and performed by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on their 1970 album Led Zeppelin III....
" to the 1995 Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
, formerly of the Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, produced the next album released in 1997. John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
was recording an album in the same studio and played with the band on a version of his best-known song "Boom Boom". Squires described the recording of the track on the band's website. "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio." Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
, formerly of P-Funk
P-Funk
P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed...
, played some keyboards on the albums title track "Beautiful World". Corey Mauser filled out the other key parts on the album. The album spawned two hit singles on the rock charts namely "Boom Boom" and "Resignation Superman". The Live Monsters album followed in 1998.
In 2002, the group released the follow-up studio album Riviera. As Giant Records had closed its doors, the self-produced album was released through Big Records with distribution through Warner Music. Crimes of Passion was released in 2004 with Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
distributing it. Another live album Live at the Fillmore was released in 2004.
In 2005, the group joined the throng of Internet-based music sales by releasing the single "Blue Sky" exclusively on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. This single was written at the request of crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
for their STS-114
STS-114
-Original crew:This mission was to carry the Expedition 7 crew to the ISS and bring home the Expedition 6 crew. The original crew was to be:-Mission highlights:...
Return to Flight mission in 2005, the first mission after the Columbia disaster. "Blue Sky" was written and performed as a tribute to all the people involved in the American space program. The song was used as Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign song in 2008, and in the introduction of Clinton on her keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. "Blue Sky" was also performed acoustically on March 8, 2011 at Johnson Space Center as the first live version of a wake-up call to Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-133
STS-133
STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011...
mission.
In June 2007 BHTM recorded their annual charity show to raise money for autism research at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The recordings were sold on USB flash drives at the merchandise stands following the performance.
BHTM toured in the summer of 2008. This extended tour was in support of the July release of their 8th studio album "All The Love You Need".
In 2010 Big Head Todd and the Monsters again returned to the studio to record "Rocksteady". This featured "Beast of Burden" written by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, and "Smokestack Lightning" by Chester Burnett.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters returned to the studio again in 2011 to record an all new project under the name Big Head Blues Club. The album "100 Years of Robert Johnson" celebrates the songs of the late blues singer & musician Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
. The members of Big Head Todd and the Monsters were accompanied by B.B, King, Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
, Cedric Burnside, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
, Ruthie Foster
Ruthie Foster
Ruthie Foster is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music.Foster is from Gause, Texas and comes from a family of gospel singers. She studied music at McLennan Community College and then worked in the US Navy, where she started performing. Her debut was released in 1997 and she has...
, and Lightnin' Malcolm. Big Head Todd and the Monsters have also played shows under the name Big Head Blues Club, and have invited some of the legends featured on the album to perform with them.
Line up
- Todd Park MohrTodd Park MohrTodd Park Mohr is the singer and guitarist for the American rock band Big Head Todd & the Monsters, as well as being the band's namesake and primary lyricist. A founding member of the band, he also occasionally provides keyboards and saxophone in addition to his duties as frontman.Todd was born...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Brian Nevin – drums, percussion, vocals
- Rob Squires – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Jeremy Lawton – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, vocals
Discography
- Another Mayberry 1989
- Midnight Radio 1990
- Sister SweetlySister SweetlySister Sweetly was the third album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records, and sold over 1,000,000 copies, going platinum...
1993 - Strategem 1994
- Beautiful WorldBeautiful World (Big Head Todd album)Beautiful World is the fifth album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters and their third with Giant Records. Released in 1997, the album produced two hit singles— "Resignation Superman" and their cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom"—as well as the fan favorites "Tower" and "Please...
1997 - Live Monsters 1998
- Riviera 2002
- Crimes of Passion 2004
- Live at the Fillmore 2004
- From The Archives 2007
- All The Love You Need 2007
- Rocksteady 2010
- 100 Years of Robert Johnson 2011
Charting albums
The following albums have charted on the Billboard album charts:- Sister SweetlySister SweetlySister Sweetly was the third album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records, and sold over 1,000,000 copies, going platinum...
- No. 1 Billboard Heatseeker, No. 117 Billboard Album Chart 1993 - Strategem - No. 30 Billboard Album Chart 1994
- Beautiful WorldBeautiful World (Big Head Todd album)Beautiful World is the fifth album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters and their third with Giant Records. Released in 1997, the album produced two hit singles— "Resignation Superman" and their cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom"—as well as the fan favorites "Tower" and "Please...
- No. 54 Billboard Album Chart 1997 - Riviera - No. 166 Billboard Album Chart No. 2 Internet Chart
- Crimes of Passion No. 253 Internet albums
Charting singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 1993 | "Bittersweet Bittersweet (Big Head Todd song) "Bittersweet" was the debut single from Boulder, Colorado based rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters' third album and major label debut Sister Sweetly, which eventually went platinum... " |
- | 14 | Sister Sweetly Sister Sweetly Sister Sweetly was the third album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, released in 1993. It was the band's first album with Giant Records, and sold over 1,000,000 copies, going platinum... |
| "Broken Hearted Savior Broken Hearted Savior "Broken Hearted Savior" is the most successful song by American rock band Big Head Todd & the Monsters. It was released as the second single off of their major label debut album Sister Sweetly in 1993, reaching number nine on the US Mainstream Rock charts... " |
- | 9 | ||
| "Circle Circle (Big Head Todd song) "Circle" was the third single from Boulder, Colorado based rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters' major label debut album Sister Sweetly, which eventually went platinum... " |
- | 21 | ||
| 1997 | "Resignation Superman Resignation Superman "Resignation Superman" is the first track and first single released from Colorado rock band Big Head Todd & the Monsters' album Beautiful World... " |
38 | 13 | Beautiful World Beautiful World (Big Head Todd album) Beautiful World is the fifth album by Colorado rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters and their third with Giant Records. Released in 1997, the album produced two hit singles— "Resignation Superman" and their cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom"—as well as the fan favorites "Tower" and "Please... |
| 1998 | "Boom Boom" | - | 29 |
Other appearances
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Tangerine Tangerine (Led Zeppelin song) "Tangerine" is a folk rock song composed by Jimmy Page and performed by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on their 1970 album Led Zeppelin III.... " |
Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin |
External links
- Official Site of Big Head Todd & the Monsters
- [ Allmusic.com Big Head Todd and The Monsters ]
- Podcast.net with downloadable Big Head Todd & the Monsters tunes
- Todd Park Mohr's philosophy podcasts on Podcast.net
- Big Head Todd and the Monsters collection at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
's live music archive - Feature interview with Todd Mohr from HonestTune.com