Wallflowers, The Biography

If you would like to share Wallflowers, The lyrics with other users of this site, please see the bottom of this page on how to submit Wallflowers, The lyrics.

Members include Mario Calire, drums; Jakob Dylan (born 1969), vocals and rhythm guitar; Rami Jaffee, keyboards; Greg Richling, bass; and Michael Ward, lead guitar. Addresses: Record company--Interscope Records, 10900 Wilshire Boulevard #1400, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

It's impossible to talk about The Wallflowers for long without addressing its direct lineage from one of the most profound, influential, and distinctive voices of late twentieth century America. The Wallflower's singer/songwriter, Jakob Dylan, is the youngest of musical and social icon Bob Dylan's five children. That fact unquestionably brought The Wallflowers premature fame and intense scrutiny--while, ironically, distracting attention from the band's music. It's a unique burden which Jakob Dylan has borne with reticence, grace, and a stubborn will to have his music

judged on its own merits--not as an echo of his rock 'n roll heritage. "Absolutely, I think the name worked against me," Dylan told Rolling Stone's Gerri Hirshey. "And I actually found some kind of power in that. I still do. I do not mope and I do not complain. I've driven my own path here, and I'm on it, and it's fine. But if people think it must be easy."

The Wallflowers self-titled debut album was released in 1992 by Virgin Records. Unfortunately, it flopped; reviews were mixed and sales were poor. For most young bands, that would be part of the learning curve. For The Wallflowers, who reluctantly occupied a spotlight which the music press and the record industry reserved for the offspring of a legend, it was devastating. "(M)ost of the band's members were 22 and weren't ready for prime time yet," Geoffrey Himes wrote in The Washington Post in 1996. "The songs had flashes of inspiration and promise, but really didn't hang together, and most of the publicity dwelt on Jakob Dylan's parentage rather than the music." Following its disappointing debut, the band was released by its record label and endured a series of personnel changes. It would be four long years before The Wallflowers released their second album, Bringing Down the Horse. The album's title, Dylan told Rolling Stone, reflects "what it felt like ... trying to make this damned thing. It was like trying to pull down a horse."

The second time around, The Wallflowers had a new lineup, a new record company, and matured songwriting. They also had all-star assistance from legendary producer (and Dylan family friend) T-Bone Burnett, Sam Phillips, Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz, Jayhawk Gary Louris, Heartbreaker guitarist Mike Campbell, and Michael Penn, who also knows a bit about working in the shadows of a famous relation, as he is the brother of actor Sean Penn. The album went double platinum, cracked the Top 10 and the MTV rotation, received favorable reviews, and two Grammy nominations, and spawned the singles "6th Avenue Heartache," "One Headlight," and "The Difference." Dylan credits Burnett with helping to bring dynamics to the songs on their latest album. The songs feature a soulful, rootsy sound bathed in organ, dobro, and pedal steel guitar.

"This time," Himes wrote, "they were ready. The folk-rock melodies are strong, the playing is clear and muscular, and the production ... frames the lyrics' storytelling imaginatively. Jakob Dylan can never escape comparisons to his dad, but his new music can stand on its own as some of the year's best." Newsweek's Karen Schoemer likened TheWallflowers' sound to that of the Counting Crows and the Jayhawks. "(T)he Wallflowers play rootless roots music: vaguely retro country-folk rock, with plenty of '60s antecedents ... but with a keen sense of modern production and sturdy hooks. In other words, they're wildly derivative, but songs like "One Headlight" and "Three Marlenas" feel so comfortably, soulfully right that you won't care."

"If there's one thing missing from Bringing Down the Horse, it's a slightly stronger sense of Jakob himself," Schoemer wrote. "His songs are full of quirky characters and wry observations, but they don't always add up to a coherent perspective.... The transcendent melodies and the band's furious precision carry him through when he's too shy to put himself on the line."

Dylan was raised by his mother, Sara Lowndes, after his parents' bitter 1977 divorce. He attended the private Windward School in Los Angeles and the School of Design in New York, where he had visions of becoming a painter. He dropped out of art school after four months, however. Ultimately, he was drawn to songwriting. "It was something I felt compelled to do," Dylan was quoted in Newsweek. "So I just started. Everybody lives under shadows. I obviously have one, but I don't pretend it's any worse than anybody else's." Dylan has been notably reticent to discuss his upbringing or his personal life. "I feel like I had a normal upbringing--I consider it normal, at least," he told People. "People have a lot worse things happen to them. The truth is, yeah, it was weird. Relatively interesting, but weird. I could write a book. But I'm not going to." In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dylan picked up the same theme: "Do I think people are curious about growing up with one of the most influential minds of the 20th Century? Of course I do," he said. "I get asked all the time, 'What was your dad like as a parent?' And I say, 'I'm 27 years old, I'm not a crackhead; I don't go on afternoon talk shows and spill.' I mean, you can probably figure it out for yourself that he did a decent job."

Dylan has said he never felt defeated by the trying events that unfolded following his first album or the long period he spent rebounding from them. "It was almost comforting at that point," he says, "I spent a year putting this group back together, writing more songs." In the end, it appears, that's what kept him going. "Jake loves playing music," says Wallflower bassist Greg Richling, a Dylan friend and bandmate since high school. "He likes writing songs. No one wants to believe it's that simple."

by Dave Wilkins

Wallflowers, The's Career

The band formed in the early 1990s and played around Los Angeles-- notably in the Kibitz Room at Canter's delicatessen. After its poorly received first album, the band was released by its record company and underwent a series of personnel changes. The Wallflowers's 1996 follow-up, Bringing Down the Horse, shattered the Billboard Top 10.

Wallflowers, The's Awards

Two Grammy nominations for the song "6th Avenue Heartache" from Bringing Down the Horse.

Famous Works

Selective Works
The Wallflowers, Virgin, 1992.
Bringing Down the Horse, Interscope, 1996.

Recent Updates

May 24, 2005: The Wallflowers' album, Rebel, Sweetheart, was released. Source: Billboard.com, www.billboard.com/bb/releases/week_5/index.jsp, May 30, 2005.

Wallflowers, The Lyrics

Feel free to share Wallflowers, The lyrics. Just click on "Add a comment…" below and paste the song name and the lyrics. However, please do not post Wallflowers, The lyrics unless you have received permission from the copyright owner. Make sure to include the name of the Wallflowers, The album along with the lyrics.