Concrete Blonde was an American rock band from Hollywood, California. They were active from 1982 to 1994 and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, then from 2010 to 2012.
They were best known for their album Bloodletting (1990), its top-20 single "Joey", and Johnette Napolitano's distinctive vocal style.
members: Johnette Napolitano, James Mankey, Paul Thompson
formed in: Los Angeles
labels: I.R.S. Records
genres: alternative rock
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Singer-songwriter and bassist Johnette Napolitano first formed a group with former Sparks bassist James Mankey on guitar in Los Angeles in 1982. Their first recording was the song "Heart Attack," released under the band name Dreamers on the compilation album The D.I.Y. Album (1982). The track was co-produced by James and his brother Earle Mankey, who also programmed the drums. Joined by drummer Michael Murphy, they became Dream 6 and released an eponymous extended play on the independent label Happy Hermit in 1983 (released in France in 1985 by Madrigal). When they signed with I.R.S. Records in 1986, their labelmate Michael Stipe suggested the name Concrete Blonde, describing the contrast between their hard rock music and introspective...
Underlined songs have their story further down.
"Caroline" is a song from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in September 1990 as the third single from their third studio album Bloodletting. The song was written by Johnette Napolitano, and produced by Concrete Blonde and Chris Tsangarides.
The song reached number 23 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Mike Boehm, writing for the Los Angeles Times, described "Caroline" as "a mysterious, gorgeously evocative song that recalls Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon'." In a review of Bloodletting', Marc D. Allan of The Indianapolis Star wrote, "'Caroline' is a good example of the band's strengths. Napolitano's lush vocals, combined with Mankey's eerie guitar, create a subtle but powerful piece of pop." In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the song's lyrics as "addressing a departed friend".
The song's music video was directed by Rupert Nadeau and produced by Liz Wartenberg. It achieved medium rotation on MTV.
"Tomorrow Wendy" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Andy Prieboy. Released in 1990 as the lead single from his first solo album ...Upon My Wicked Son, Prieboy recorded the song as a duet with Johnette Napolitano.
In 1990, Napolitano would also record the song with her band Concrete Blonde for their third studio album Bloodletting.
"Tomorrow Wendy" was inspired by the suicide of a woman who Prieboy had known from a young age when they were both growing up in East Chicago, Indiana. Wendy later turned to prostitution and drugs, and when she was diagnosed with HIV, she decided to die by suicide by taking a heroin overdose rather than go on to die of an AIDS-related disease. Prieboy told the Los Angeles Times in 1991, "Wendy was the type that just bided her time, took drugs, and took what was offered to her. [Her suicide] was the one big [time] in her life when she took charge. Basically, the song is a conversation she's having with the mirror. These are the feelings of rage that Wendy felt."
Prieboy recorded "Tomorrow Wendy" for his first solo album ...Upon My Wicked Son. He felt the song needed a woman's voice in addition to his own and contacted Napolitano, who agreed to provide vocals on the track. Napolitano recalled in 1990, "Andy called me to sing 'Tomorrow Wendy' with him, and I did it, and as I listened to it and listened to it and listened to it I thought, 'This is really important, and the words are incredible'."
The song's music video was directed by Thomas Mignone and produced by Darci A. Oitman for DOOM Inc. The footage of Prieboy and Napolitano performing the song was shot in Hollywood, whereas the street scenes were shot on location in Hammond, East Chicago and Calumet City. Initially it was intended to shoot the entire video in Hollywood, with Prieboy showing Mignone sketches of the sort of industrial and street scenes he wanted in the video based on his memories of the Calumet Region. Prieboy then suggested that he and the film crew fly out to shoot the footage on location.
Upon its release, Andrew Mueller of Melody Maker described "Tomorrow Wendy" as an "uncharacteristically restrained lament for a wearied prostitute as she contemplates death". He added, "Prieboy seems to fancy reinventing himself as a street-level songwriter type with dirt under his nails and holes in his trousers and all that type of thing. The reasonably good news is that, on this evidence, his attempts to do so could well be highly listenable." Trouser Press, however, in a review of ...Upon My Wicked Son, called it "a totally stupid number about mortality."
"Heal It Up" is a song from American rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in 1993 as the second single from their fifth studio album Mexican Moon. The song was written by Johnette Napolitano, and produced by Concrete Blonde and Sean Freehill.
The song's music video was directed by Jane Williams. It reached number 46 on the Billboard Video Monitor list for MTV for the week ending December 12, 1993, which recorded the top 50 most played clips on the channel.
On its release, Music & Media wrote, "Slowly building into a crescendo, not unlike Simple Minds in their golden years, Napolitano tells a tormented tale of lost souls in need of healing. Wait for the cinematic bridge." In a retrospective on the music of 1993, Don Mayhew of The Fresno Bee picked "Heal It Up" as one of his song selections and commented, "The best bellow of the year goes to Napolitano, who whispers, stomps and soars through this."