Black Country Communion
Encyclopedia
Black Country Communion is an English
-American
rock
supergroup
featuring Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham
, Derek Sherinian
, and Joe Bonamassa
.
: King of the Blues" -event in Los Angeles
in November 2009 and decided to record together. Producer Kevin Shirley
suggested the group work with John Bonham's
son, Jason Bonham. Bonamassa did not want the band to be a power trio
, so he and the others decided to add former Dream Theater
keyboardist, Derek Sherinian, to the lineup on the recommendation of Kevin Shirley.
The band began having sessions at Shangri La Studios in Malibu, CA. According to Bonham the group were recording as early as January 2010. He claims, "I just literally went into the studio last week for two days with one person I'd done an album with before, very quickly, and then the other was a friend of my father's I got to meet later on, Joe Bonamassa and Glenn Hughes, and we're working on a new project with a working title of Black Country." The group took the name "Black Country" from the English industrial area
where both Hughes and Bonham hail from, but were forced to change their name to "Black Country Communion" after another band with the same name threatened legal action.
The band released their first album, Black Country
, on September 20, 2010, to largely positive reception. On the same day they showcased tracks from the album to a small, invite-only audience at John Henry's Ltd in London. This was their first ever live performance. They finished the year with sold out shows at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire just after Christmas.
, will be released on June 14, 2011. Hughes said that the release of the album will coincide with the band's summer 2011 tour, and that the first batch of songs for the album were already recorded.
On May 12, 2011 Glenn Hughes debuted the song Cold from the forthcoming Black Country Communion album during his solo acoustic performance at an invite-only book launch event for his autobiography at the Idea Generation Gallery in London.
On June 8, 2011, the band released the music video for the first single off the new album, "Man in the Middle". The video was directed by Davin Maske and features studio footage of the band intercut with Hughes driving around L.A. in a cherry red 1965 Ford Thunderbird.
On August 31, 2011, BCC released a trailer for an upcoming live DVD
and Blu-ray
. Titled "Live Over Europe," the DVD and the Blu-ray was released on October 24th.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
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...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
featuring Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
, Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
, and Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...
.
Formation and Black Country (2010)
Glenn Hughes has stated that he and Bonamassa had been working together for over a year when they both performed at the "Guitar CenterGuitar Center
Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world with 223 locations throughout the United States. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California....
: King of the Blues" -event in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in November 2009 and decided to record together. Producer Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley is a music producer and mixer for many artists, such as the bands Journey, Iron Maiden, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Marya Roxx, Dream Theater, Tyler Bryant, Mr. Big, and Europe.-Biography:...
suggested the group work with John Bonham's
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
son, Jason Bonham. Bonamassa did not want the band to be a power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
, so he and the others decided to add former Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
keyboardist, Derek Sherinian, to the lineup on the recommendation of Kevin Shirley.
The band began having sessions at Shangri La Studios in Malibu, CA. According to Bonham the group were recording as early as January 2010. He claims, "I just literally went into the studio last week for two days with one person I'd done an album with before, very quickly, and then the other was a friend of my father's I got to meet later on, Joe Bonamassa and Glenn Hughes, and we're working on a new project with a working title of Black Country." The group took the name "Black Country" from the English industrial area
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
where both Hughes and Bonham hail from, but were forced to change their name to "Black Country Communion" after another band with the same name threatened legal action.
The band released their first album, Black Country
Black Country (album)
Black Country is the debut release by the English-American rock supergroup Black Country Communion. The album was released in Europe on 20 September 2010, and in the US one day later.-Overview:...
, on September 20, 2010, to largely positive reception. On the same day they showcased tracks from the album to a small, invite-only audience at John Henry's Ltd in London. This was their first ever live performance. They finished the year with sold out shows at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire just after Christmas.
2 (2011–present)
In August, 2010, Glenn Hughes revealed that he was already writing the band's second album during an exclusive interview with EspyRock. “What I am doing is writing a follow up album right now for Black Country Communion; I’m writing a second album.” On March 18, 2011, it was revealed that the band's second album, simply titled 22 (Black Country Communion album)
2 is the second studio album by the English-American rock band Black Country Communion. The album was released on June 13, 2011 in Europe, and in the United States one day later.-Overview:...
, will be released on June 14, 2011. Hughes said that the release of the album will coincide with the band's summer 2011 tour, and that the first batch of songs for the album were already recorded.
On May 12, 2011 Glenn Hughes debuted the song Cold from the forthcoming Black Country Communion album during his solo acoustic performance at an invite-only book launch event for his autobiography at the Idea Generation Gallery in London.
On June 8, 2011, the band released the music video for the first single off the new album, "Man in the Middle". The video was directed by Davin Maske and features studio footage of the band intercut with Hughes driving around L.A. in a cherry red 1965 Ford Thunderbird.
On August 31, 2011, BCC released a trailer for an upcoming live DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
. Titled "Live Over Europe," the DVD and the Blu-ray was released on October 24th.
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 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... |
AUT |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
IRE Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|||||
| Black Country Black Country (album) Black Country is the debut release by the English-American rock supergroup Black Country Communion. The album was released in Europe on 20 September 2010, and in the US one day later.-Overview:... |
|
54 | 50 | 62 | 15 | 81 | 32 | — | 19 | 54 | 13 | |||
| 2 2 (Black Country Communion album) 2 is the second studio album by the English-American rock band Black Country Communion. The album was released on June 13, 2011 in Europe, and in the United States one day later.-Overview:... |
|
71 | 17 | — | 7 | 83 | 56 | 33 | 24 | 15 | 23 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "One Last Soul" | Black Country |
| 2011 | "The Outsider" | 2 |
DVDs
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Live Over Europe |
|
Band members
- Glenn Hughes – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2010–present) - Joe BonamassaJoe BonamassaJoe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...
– 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...
s, vocals, thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
(2010–present) - Jason BonhamJason BonhamJason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, backing vocals (2010–present) - Derek SherinianDerek SherinianDerek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
– 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...
(2010–present)
External links
- Official website
- Love-It-Loud.com Interview with producer Kevin Shirley
- Official Black Country Communion Fan Website