3 DOORS DOWN
3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band rose to international fame with their first single, “Kryptonite”, which charted in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed onto Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Since the start of their career, 3 Doors Down have sold over 20 million albums worldwide. (More from Wikipedia)
It has been a long time since a record grabbed me the way the Invisible Eyes did. I was reminded of the first time that I heard “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down (the most successful rock band from the Mississippi Gulf Coast region) on the local alternative-rock radio station WCPR: I cranked the radio up full blast after I heard the first four or five notes, and I bet I hadn't done that for at least 20 years. This was long before they got their national label contract, when they were just a local band. It is a quite a success story actually: The song was the #1 request at the radio station for 15 weeks. Word was passed around, and they were flown up for a concert at the legendary CBGB club in New York, and they were signed by Republic Records on the spot. Their debut album, The Better Life (also the name of a foundation that the band established not long after) was released in 2000 and was the 11th best selling album that year, with worldwide sales of more than 6 million copies. “Kryptonite” was released nationally and also became a big hit, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 single charts. It was exciting to follow the progress of the single and the album; the local paper, the Sun Herald would show the 3 Doors Down music on the national charts in bold print.
A year or more before all that happened, someone told me that they had recorded a CD; and I went all over the Coast looking for it, only to be told that they hadn't gotten it in, or they had sold out, or whatever. Finally – I believe it was in the Sound Shop at the mall in Gautier – I found a copy of 3 Doors Down; and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be. It is one of the true treasures of my record collection; it is not mentioned in the Wikipedia or Allmusic article on the band, and I have never seen it listed on eBay. About half of the tracks on this CD are on their debut album; I still hear the original version of “Kryptonite” on local radio once in a while.
(December 2012)
* * *
Items: 3 Doors Down
