The Big Surprise is the debut full-length album by American rock band The Elms

The Elms (band)

The Elms were an American rock and roll band known for their breed of rootsy, blues-based rock, with the essence of the music of the 60's and 70's. Although the band had been in existence since 2000, 2001 saw the release of their first full-length album, with the first musical contribution from...

. The album was released on May 22, 2001 on Sparrow Records/EMI.
Singles from the album were "Hey Hey" (#4 U.S. CHR) and "Lifeboat" (#11 U.S. CHR). One music video was filmed for the album, for lead single "Hey Hey." The video premiered on MTV2's "120 Minutes" on May 5, 2002.

The Big Surprise was nominated for two Dove Awards in 2002 in the categories of Best Modern Rock/Alternative Recorded Album and Best Modern Rock/Alternative Recorded Song ("Hey Hey").

Track listing

1. Hey, Hey
2. Here's My Hand
3. Who Got the Meaning?
4. The Buzzing Won't Stop!
5. A Minute to Ourselves
6. The Big Surprise
7. Lifeboat
8. You Get Me Every Time
9. You're Glowing
10. Real Men Cry

Recording

Recording sessions for The Big Surprise were conducted throughout 2000 at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and at Treasure Isle Recorders in Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel

The Elms

• Owen Thomas - vocals, guitar, songwriting
• Christopher Thomas - drums, percussion
• Thomas Daugherty - guitar
• Keith Lee Miller - bass guitar

Additional

• Brent Milligan
  Brent Milligan
  Brent Milligan is an Grammy Award-nominated, American record producer and session bass guitar player currently residing in Nashville, TN. He was born in Baton Rouge, LA, and moved to Nashville after graduating from Louisiana State University in 1992...
  
  - producer, bass guitar, keyboards
• John Hampton - engineer
• Jason Latshaw - engineer
• The Love Sponges Quartet - strings
• Michael Castille - trumpet
• Joe Baldridge - mix engineer
• Chuck Zwicky - mix engineer
• Richard Dodd - mastering engineer
• Kristin Barlowe - photography