History

Collective Soul is one of the most diverse, yet most underrated bands in the modern rock era. Not much is known about this band that is hard to dislike. Collective Soul makes very spiritual music, with very good hooks. 'Rock your socks off' or 'melt your heart away' are the most simplistic ways of describing their music. Growing up in Stockbridge, Georgia, Ed Roland lived in a Christian home. Music and radio were denied by his parents. After high school Ed went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He returned shortly thereafter to work in a studio learning to produce music. He then started up the band Collective Soul, which comprised of Ross Childress (lead guitar), Dean Roland (rhythm guitar), Will Turpin (bass) and Shane Evans (drums). Years and years of rejections almost forced the band to quit, until radio stations in the southeast expressed interest in "Shine". They signed with Atlantic Records in 1994 who released their first album "Hints, Allegation's and Things Left Unsaid". It was a complete success, earning double platinum certification status and the 1994 Billboard Rock Album of the Year. They went on major tours with Aerosmith and Van Halen. 1995 came, and soon Collective Soul had to hear from the critics that they were only a one hit wonder. They went to the studio and recorded their second album, self-titled "Collective Soul". What happened after that?  The supposed "one hit wonder" produced four radio #1 rock hits. "The World I Know", "December", "Gel", and "Where The River Flows". "Collective Soul" went on to be certified triple platinum and "December" became Billboard's #1 rock song of the year. Collective Soul was also headlining their own tours for the next 2 years. After almost 3 years of success and high publicity, Collective Soul became involved in a lawsuit with their former manager. Almost penniless, the members of Collective Soul went to a cabin in Stockbridge to record their third album "Disciplined Breakdown". A lot of the songs were inspired from the lawsuit. Even though album sales were slow, they put out 2 more #1 hits, "Precious Declaration" and "Listen". "Disciplined Breakdown" finally earned platinum status after 4 years. In 1998, Collective Soul once again went into the studio. They were hard at work to prove they still had the magic of the first two albums. Near the end of 1998, they released "Run" from the "Varsity Blues" soundtrack, which became a major hit, reaching as high as #2 on Billboard's rock hits chart. Early in 1999, they released their fourth album "Dosage". The first release from "Dosage" was "Heavy". "Heavy" broke a long Metallica record for the most radio plays in one week and spent a record breaking 14 weeks at #1 on the rock charts. "Heavy" also became Collective Soul's eighth #1 song which is more than any other rock band in the 90's. "Dosage" was certified platinum the following year. The year after "Dosage" was released, Collective Soul went into the studio to record their fifth album. Since they did not want to feel the same stress they experienced during the making of the "Dosage" album, they chose a more relaxed atmosphere and had fun. They even had a contest on the radio station, 99X, in Atlanta, GA to name the album. The name that won was "Blender". Before the release of "Blender" in October of 2000, the first single "Why Pt.2" was already getting heavy airplay. This led to the album reaching gold certification a few months later. "Blender" was a new sound for fans to enjoy. It had a very new, unique sound combining techno and sound effects. Collective Soul still kept a true sound though, with slow acoustic songs and even a soulful duet in "Perfect Day" with Elton John, the musician Ed Roland had admired growing up. In March of 2001 they took a trip to Morocco and played an all-acoustic set, which was put out on video entitiled "Music In High Places - Collective Soul In Morocco". In August of 2001, Ed Roland announced that the lead guitarist, Ross Childress would be leaving the band. To finish the tour he was replaced by Joel Kosche of the Atlanta band "Steep".  The tour was eventually cut short by the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001. On September 18th, Collective Soul released their 6th album called "7even Year Itch", a greatest hits collection of songs dating back to 1994. This album fulfilled their obligation with Atlantic Records, and soon thereafter they asked to be lifted from the contract. At their last concert in Atlanta, GA, (a benefit concert for the firefighters of New York and the Red Cross) Ed announced they were taking a long, well deserved break, but vowed they would be back with their best music to date! back to main