Song:Crazy
Album:St. Elsewhere
These days CeeLo Green is a big star as a solo artist. But he first had success with the duo Gnarls Barkley formed with DJ Danger Mouse. Crazy was a huge hit in 2006. Green is from Atlanta. His real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway. He was a member of Goodie Mob. They recorded three Gold albums in the late 90s. Green left Goodie Mob to go solo in 1999. He sang the duet Do You Like The Way with Lauryn Hill on Santana's CD Supernatural. Green recorded two albums for Arista Records but was dropped in 2004 due to poor sales. Meanwhile, Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) had just had a lot of success with the 2004 CD The Grey Album. The two first met in 1998 and Green appeared on Danger Mouse's 2003 CD Ghetto Pop Life. They decided to record an album together. The name Gnarls Barkley is a parody of NBA legend Charles Barkley. The CD St. Elsewhere was released in 2006. Crazy was the first single. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. And the album was certified Platinum. The idea for the song was they were talking about how an artist isn't taken seriously unless he's insane. The song is heavily influenced by music from spaghetti westerns. It's based on the song Last Man Standing by Gian Piero and Gianfranco Reverberi from the 1968 film Viva! Django. That kind of music is a frequent source for Danger Mouse. They also won a couple of Grammys including Best Alternative Music Album for St. Elsewhere. Danger Mouse said the whole point of Gnarls Barkley was to showcase Green's talent and make him a star. They released a second CD The Odd Couple in 2008. Since then Green has become a big solo star especially with the 2010 smash hit F*** You. Green said in 2011 that there are plans for a third Gnarls Barkley album. But these guys are so busy on other projects, one has to wonder if they will ever get around to it. Here's the video for Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.
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