The Remingtons
Encyclopedia
The Remingtons was an American country music
group founded by Jimmy Griffin
, Richard Mainegra, and Rick Yancey, all of whom played guitar
and sang. All three members were previously members of soft rock
groups: Griffin was previously a member of Bread
, while Mainegra and Yancey had previously been part of another soft-rock group called Cymarron
. Yancey left in 1992 and was replaced by Denny Henson. The band recorded two albums for BNA Entertainment (now BNA Records
), and charted five country singles, including the #10 "A Long Time Ago
."
, Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey. Griffin was a founding member of the soft rock
group Bread
, and both Mainegra and Yancey previously recorded in Cymarron
, another soft rock band. Griffin also recorded in 1990 as one-third of Black Tie
, which also comprised former solo singer Billy Swan
and former Eagles member Randy Meisner
.
The Remingtons signed to BNA Entertainment (now BNA Records
) in 1991. The trio's debut album, Blue Frontier
, was released that year. It accounted for three straight Top 40 hits on the Billboard
country charts, including the #10 "A Long Time Ago
." Yancey was replaced in 1992 by Denny Henson, shortly before the group released its second album, 1993's Aim for the Heart
. This album, composed largely of cover songs, saw both of its singles miss Top 40. The Remingtons subsequently disbanded after its release.
Griffin and Yancey, along with Ronnie Guilbeau of The Flying Burrito Brothers formed GYG (Griffin, Yancey, Guilbeau) in 2001. They recorded only one album and performed in and around the Nashville area until Griffin was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2005.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
group founded by Jimmy Griffin
Jimmy Griffin
James Arthur Griffin was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter with the 1970s rock band Bread.-Early life:An Academy Award winning songwriter, Griffin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His musical training began when his parents signed him up for accordion lessons...
, Richard Mainegra, and Rick Yancey, all of whom played 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 sang. All three members were previously members of soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
groups: Griffin was previously a member of Bread
Bread (band)
Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock....
, while Mainegra and Yancey had previously been part of another soft-rock group called Cymarron
Cymarron
Cymarron was an American soft rock band from the 1970s, most famous for their song "Rings" - a number 17 hit in 1971 . "Rings" was also the first single release on Columbia's Entrance label. Cymarron was composed of Rick Yancey, Sherrill Parks, and Richard Mainegra...
. Yancey left in 1992 and was replaced by Denny Henson. The band recorded two albums for BNA Entertainment (now BNA Records
BNA Records
BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, is a label group that shares ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, BNA features country music acts on its roster...
), and charted five country singles, including the #10 "A Long Time Ago
A Long Time Ago
"A Long Time Ago" is the title of a song written by Richard Mainegra and recorded by American country music group The Remingtons. It was released in 1991 as the first single from their debut album, Blue Frontier. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January...
."
Biography
The Remingtons was founded in 1991 by singers Jimmy GriffinJimmy Griffin
James Arthur Griffin was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter with the 1970s rock band Bread.-Early life:An Academy Award winning songwriter, Griffin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His musical training began when his parents signed him up for accordion lessons...
, Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey. Griffin was a founding member of the soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
group Bread
Bread (band)
Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock....
, and both Mainegra and Yancey previously recorded in Cymarron
Cymarron
Cymarron was an American soft rock band from the 1970s, most famous for their song "Rings" - a number 17 hit in 1971 . "Rings" was also the first single release on Columbia's Entrance label. Cymarron was composed of Rick Yancey, Sherrill Parks, and Richard Mainegra...
, another soft rock band. Griffin also recorded in 1990 as one-third of Black Tie
Black Tie (band)
Black Tie was an American country rock supergroup composed of Jimmy Griffin, Randy Meisner and Billy Swan. The group's first album, When the Night Falls, was released in December 1990 by Bench Records...
, which also comprised former solo singer Billy Swan
Billy Swan
Billy Lance Swan is an American songwriter and singer, best known for his 1974 single, "I Can Help".-Life:Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As a child, he learned drums, piano and guitar, and began writing songs...
and former Eagles member Randy Meisner
Randy Meisner
Randy Herman Meisner is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles...
.
The Remingtons signed to BNA Entertainment (now BNA Records
BNA Records
BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, is a label group that shares ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, BNA features country music acts on its roster...
) in 1991. The trio's debut album, Blue Frontier
Blue Frontier
Blue Frontier is the debut album from the American country music trio The Remingtons, a vocal group composed of former Bread vocalist Jimmy Griffin, as well as former Cymarron members Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey...
, was released that year. It accounted for three straight Top 40 hits on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts, including the #10 "A Long Time Ago
A Long Time Ago
"A Long Time Ago" is the title of a song written by Richard Mainegra and recorded by American country music group The Remingtons. It was released in 1991 as the first single from their debut album, Blue Frontier. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January...
." Yancey was replaced in 1992 by Denny Henson, shortly before the group released its second album, 1993's Aim for the Heart
Aim for the Heart
Aim for the Heart is the second and final album from the American country music trio The Remingtons. Released in April 1993 on BNA Entertainment , the album produced two singles on the Billboard country singles charts: "Nobody Loves You When You're Free" at #52 and "Wall Around Her Heart" at #69...
. This album, composed largely of cover songs, saw both of its singles miss Top 40. The Remingtons subsequently disbanded after its release.
Griffin and Yancey, along with Ronnie Guilbeau of The Flying Burrito Brothers formed GYG (Griffin, Yancey, Guilbeau) in 2001. They recorded only one album and performed in and around the Nashville area until Griffin was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2005.
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
||
| Blue Frontier Blue Frontier Blue Frontier is the debut album from the American country music trio The Remingtons, a vocal group composed of former Bread vocalist Jimmy Griffin, as well as former Cymarron members Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey... |
|
55 | 23 | 18 |
| Aim for the Heart Aim for the Heart Aim for the Heart is the second and final album from the American country music trio The Remingtons. Released in April 1993 on BNA Entertainment , the album produced two singles on the Billboard country singles charts: "Nobody Loves You When You're Free" at #52 and "Wall Around Her Heart" at #69... |
|
— | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
|||
| 1991 | "A Long Time Ago A Long Time Ago "A Long Time Ago" is the title of a song written by Richard Mainegra and recorded by American country music group The Remingtons. It was released in 1991 as the first single from their debut album, Blue Frontier. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January... " |
10 | 18 | Blue Frontier |
| 1992 | "I Could Love You (With My Eyes Closed)" | 33 | 35 | |
| "Two-Timin' Me" | 18 | 34 | ||
| 1993 | "Nobody Loves You When You're Free" | 52 | 85 | Aim for the Heart |
| "Wall Around Her Heart" | 69 | 91 | ||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "A Long Time Ago" | Gustavo Garzon |
| 1992 | "I Could Love You (With My Eyes Closed)" | Steve Boyle |
| 1993 | "Nobody Loves You When You're Free" | |
| "Wall Around Her Heart" |