| Description: | Formed in 1988 in New York City, in 1990 the Spin Doctors were signed to Epic Records/Sony Music by a&r executive Frankie LaRocka. The band's Epic debut EP Up For Grabs was recorded live at Wetlands in Lower Manhattan and released in January 1991. (In 1992, these EP tracks were remixed and supplemented by additional live recordings to form the album Homebelly Groove.)
In August 1991, the Spin Doctors released their full-length debut album Pocket Full Of Kryptonite, co-produced by Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka. Relentless touring and a wave of positive press kept the album alive into the next year, when sales began to increase dramatically. …Kryptonite was certified gold in September 1992 and received an additional boost from the band's October appearance on "Saturday Night Live." Reaching the one million mark in January 1993, …Kryptonite entered the Billboard Top Ten one month later.
By June 1993, the album was triple platinum and had breached the Top Five among Billboard Pop Albums while spinning off two major hit singles: "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and the No. 1 Rock radio song of 1993, "Two Princes." Ultimately, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite sold over five million copies in the US and another five million overseas.
"[Their] popularity is based on universal rock & roll virtues," said Rolling Stone, which put the band on the cover of its January 7, 1993 issue. "The Doctors aren't trying to blaze new trails-they know we've been down this way with the Stones, Curtis Mayfield, and a few of their other touchstones. But the proof-plenty of it-is in the party."
In June 1994, the Spin Doctors released their second Epic album, Turn It Upside Down. Once again co-produced by Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka, the album featured new originals like "Biscuit Head," "Bags Of Dirt," and "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast." The band set out on a three-month headlining tour, and played to immense crowds at the Woodstock and Glastonbury festivals. |