125th Anniversary of the Knoxville News Sentinel
The 1990s began with a Knoxville rock band gaining a national buzz and ended with a Knoxville country artist reaching the edge of superstardom.
In the late 1980s, the members of the JudyBats were just another band made up of mostly University of Tennessee students hanging flyers around town for their local shows. Then things began to take off with the group (singer Jeff Heiskell, guitarists Ed Winters and Johnny Sughrue, keyboardist/violinist Peggy Hambright, bassist Tim Stutz and drummer Terry Casper) and the act began packing the house at the legendary and short-lived clubs Ella Guru's and Planet Earth. The rest of the nation caught on in 1991 when the band released its debut album, "Native Son," on Sire Records and the songs "Don't Drop the Baby" and the album's title cut began showing up on college radio and MTV. Yet, the band's sweet sound ran counter the burgeoning grunge movement that had become the new rock favorite.
The band's line-up fluctuated. Stutz and Hambright dropped out after the group's second album. Hambright went on to co-found Magpies bakery. The group's 1993 album "Pain Makes You Beautiful" gave the band more chart success, but after the 1994 release of "Full-Empty," the band was mostly a fond memory. Heiskell and Sughrue revived the group briefly in 2000 and Heiskell has since self-released solo discs.
While the The Judybats were winding down, Superdrag was getting ready to spring. The band formed when The Used's drummer John Davis switched to guitar and lead vocals, guitarist Tom Pappas switched to bass, Brandon Fisher changed from rhythm to lead guitar, and Don Coffey Jr. joined as drummer. The group's edgy power pop made the jump from independent labels to Elektra with the 1996 album "Regretfully Yours," which featured the MTV favorite "Sucked Out." The band's follow-up disc was the expansive and psychedelic "A Head Trip in Every Key," which delighted fans and confounded the record label. The next release found the group back on an independent label (Arena Rock) and shortly after the release of the album "Last Call for Vitriol," in 2003, the group went on a four-year hiatus. During those years the band's reputation grew and the original line-up reunited in 2007 for a successful national tour and recorded the album "Industry Giants."
Nick Raskulinecz, late of the Knoxville band Hypertribe, who produced some of Superdrag's music, moved on to become one of music's top producer, most notably producing the Foo Fighters, Deftones and Marilyn Manson.
Photo by Joe Howell // Buy this photo
While some of Knoxville's acts actually became more popular nationally than they were locally (Superdrag among them), The V-Roys were hometown heroes of the first order. The band actually began as the Viceroys with singer-songwriters Scott Miller and John Paul Keith, bassist Paxton Sellers and drummer Jeff Bills. In contrast to the flannel and ragged jeans that dominated rock, The Viceroys wore suits and ties and delivered a brand of classic rock 'n' roll that had a hint of vintage country. Before the group recorded its first album, Keith jumped ship and Bills' West Tennessee buddy Mic Harrison (whose song "Sooner or Later" the band was already covering) came on board. The group members rechristened the band the V-Roys to avoid legal tangles with another band with that name and the band's debut album was dubbed "Just Add Ice" in recognition of the change. The group's second album, "All About Town," was distributed through Warner Bros. Records, but the group officially disbanded with the conclusion of a Tennessee Theatre show on New Year's Eve on 1999.
Knoxville expatriate Ashley Cleveland, who split time between Knoxville and California growing up, and cut her musical teeth performing at Cumberland Avenue clubs, landed her first Grammy in the Best Rock Gospel category in 1996 for her album "Lesson of Love." She has since repeated the feat twice, being the only three-time winner in the category.
A band flew under the radar during the decade, Kristian Bush and Andrew Hyra formed the group Billy Pilgrim in 1990. The group moved to Atlanta and was signed to Atlantic Records. Though the band found little success, Bush later moved to Nashville and co-founded the group Sugarland in 2002. Now the group is one of country music's biggest.
Yet, the Knoxville country music success story of the 1990s is Kenny Chesney.
In 1994, Gibbs High and East Tennessee State University graduate Kenny Chesney released his first album, "In My Wildest Dreams," on Capricorn Records. The album sold approximately 10,000 copies before Capricorn ceased its country music division and let Chesney out of his contract. Capricorn might have done well to keep going just for Chesney. Immediately upon leaving the label Chesney signed with BNA Records and began having hits. His fourth album, 1997's "I Will Stand," included Chesney's first No. 1, "She's Got It All." By the end of the decade, Chesney would have enough hits to release a "Greatest Hits" album and be well on the way to becoming the biggest country star in the nation.