THE SOUND OF MUSIC
I don't have to go any further than my hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina to find a band that should have had a lot more success than they did: The dB’s. Their fourth and last album, The Sound of Music was released in 1987 during the heyday of I.R.S. Records (R.E.M.’s label), but this one too had lackluster sales.
(January 2012)
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A group of kids from my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC formed a rock band called the dB’s; they were very talented, particularly at songwriting.
Eventually they got a record deal; the critics loved them, and they had decent record sales in England, but not much over here. Then they got another record deal, and then they got yet another record deal – the last time was with R.E.M.’s label I.R.S. Records (which stands for “International Recording Syndicate”, like the band’s name stands for “the decibels”).
That I.R.S. album, The Sound of Music was a slick pop affair that came out in 1987. The above is actually the back cover of the album. A lot of bands from the Carolinas were doing well nationally, and everyone expected that to be their breakthrough album. (Original member and ace songwriter Chris Stamey had left the band by then and was trying to establish a solo career).
(January 2013)
