Song:Never Been Any Reason
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Head East
Head East was a rock band that reached a level of success mostly through live shows. Though their albums did chart, they were never able to get that big hit single to launch them to a higher level. But they do have a loyal fanbase especially in the midwest US. Never Been Any Reason was the song that got them a record contract. The members of Head East were all students at the University Of Illinois in Champaign, IL. They were lead singer John Schlitt, guitarist Mike Somerville, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Dan Birney and drummer Steve Huston. They started out in 1968 as The TimeAtions and soon changed it to Head East. They released their debut album Flat As A Pancake on their own label in 1974. Never Been Any Reason got enough radio play to get them a record deal with A & M Records. The 1975 re-release of Flat As A Pancake eventually went Gold and Never Been A Reason reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. Never Been Any Reason got a big boost when it appeared in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused. This pattern continued on Head East's next few albums. They sold moderately well but never went to a higher level. They probably needed a power ballad to do that but that never materialized. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. After six albums, Head East had problems due to Schlitt's cocaine addiction. In 1980, they fired him and Birney and Somerville left. Schlitt recovered from his addiction and became a born again Christian. In 1985, he re-emerged as the lead singer of the Christian rock band Petra and was very successful until his 2005 retirement. Roger Boyd and Steve Huston still lead Head East today. Here's a video for Never Been Any Reason by Head East.
No comments:
Post a Comment