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Biography
Refimprove|date=February 2008Infobox musical artist | name = The Call| image = The Call.jpg| caption = The Call in 1990, from left to right: Tom Ferrier, Scott Musick, Michael Been, and Jim Goodwin| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz , California | genre = Rock music|Rock , New wave music|new wave | years_active = 1980–2000| label = MCA Records|MCA , Mercury Records|Mercury , Elektra Records|Elektra , Fingerprint Records|Fingerprint | associated_acts =| website = URL| http://the-call-band.com/| current_members =| past_members = Michael Been Tom Ferrier Scott Musick Jim Goodwin Greg Freeman The Call was an United States|American Rock music|rock band from Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz , California active from 1980 to 2000.
Biography
The Call formed in Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been , Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. Been and Musick were originally from Oklahoma . Been was previously a member of Chicago band Aorta (band)|Aorta , and then, between 1969 and 1971, of Lovecraft, the successor band to the psychedelic rock group H.P. Lovecraft (band)|H.P. Lovecraft .cite web|title=The White Ship: The Psychedelic Voyage of H.P. Lovecraft|publisher=Nick Warburton's Rock Music. The late great Tulsa singer / vocalist Phil Seymour is generally credited with discovering The Call then known as Motion Pictures. Archive|url= http://www.nickwarburton.com/wordpress/? p=51|accessdate=2010-07-21
Beginning with their self-titled debut in 1982, the Call went on to produce a total of 10 albums by 2000. The eponymous premiere album was recorded in England, and Been later recalled that the band was in an exploratory phase at this point. Been noted in a 1988 interview, "The Call was a compassionate album, but it probably came out as anger." Peter Gabriel liked the band so much that he asked them to open for him during his 1982 " Shock the Monkey " tour.
The next album, Modern Romans , was notable for its political content. Been later stated, "There was a great deal happening politically - Grenada , Lebanon , or the government saying the Russians are evil and the Russian government probably saying the same about us. That kind of thinking inspired me to write the last lines of 'Walls Came Down'."
This was followed by Scene Beyond Dreams . Been referred to it as The Call's "metaphysical" album. With a strong poetic sense to the lyrics and a change in instrumentation, the change in sound is notable. Garth Hudson of The Band played keyboards on these first three records.
Reconciled was recorded during the summer of 1985. At this point, the band had not had a recording contract for two years, due to what Been described as "legal bickering" between The Call's former record label and their management company. However, once the deal was signed with Elektra Records , the band resumed playing and produced their most commercially successful album to date. Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds ' Jim Kerr , and Hudson and former Band mate Robbie Robertson all guested the album which was released in 1986. Several tracks from the album became hits on the Mainstream Rock Chart , and one of these tracks, "I Still Believe", appears on the soundtrack of the 1986 film The Whoopee Boys . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092210/soundtrack The Whoopee Boys Soundtrack @imdb.com Retrieved 11-7-2010. The following year, "I Still Believe" was covered by both singer / multi-instrumentalist Tim Cappello for the movie The Lost Boys and by contemporary Christian music ian Russ Taff on his 1987 in music|1987 self-titled album.
Next came the band's 1987 release Into The Woods , which Been referred to as his favorite album.Citation needed|date=August 2010 In 1989 they released Let the Day Begin , whose title track reached No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. Red Moon , which included background vocals by U2 's Bono , was released in 1990.
In 1996, Warner Bros. Records . released The Best of The Call , which featured a selection of old favorites and few new songs. Two of the songs, Us and To Feel This Way, were different versions of tracks later to be seen on Been's solo album, and in the case of "To Feel This Way", the "Light Sleeper" soundtrack as well.
In 1997 To Heaven and Back , was released by Fingerprint Records , followed by a live album, Live Under the Red Moon , in 2000. The Call disbanded that same year.
The band had a fan club called "Notified" and the information contained in their newsletters is in the file section of the http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/THE_CALL Yahoo& #33; groups list .
Al Gore used "Let the Day Begin" as his campaign song in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election and Tom Vilsack used it as his song during his brief 2008 U.S. Presidential Election campaign.
A 2009 temporary exhibition at the Oklahoma History Center about rock music in the state was called "Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit". The name of the exhibition was taken from a line in The Call's song "Oklahoma", which was also one of the ten finalists in a 2009 vote for Oklahoma's official state rock song.Gene Triplett, http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-born-rocker-michael-been-dies-in-belgium/article/3486996? custom_click=lead_story_title "Oklahoma-born rocker Michael Been dies in Belgium", The Oklahoman , August 20, 2010.Barbara Hoberock, " http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx? subjectid=12& articleid=20090302_297_0_OLHMIY145710 "Flaming Lips' 'Do You Realize? ? ' named state rock song", Tulsa World , March 2, 2009.
Michael Been died on August 19, 2010 after suffering a heart attack backstage at the Pukkelpop music festival in Hasselt , Belgium , where he was working as sound engineer for Robert Levon Been|his son's Black Rebel Motorcycle Club|band . http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/20/the.call.death/ "The Call's Been dies of heart attack", CNN.com , August 20, 2010.
Discography
The Call , 1982
Modern Romans , 1983 US No. 84
Scene Beyond Dreams , 1984 US No. 204
Reconciled , 1986 US No. 82
Into the Woods , 1987 US No. 123
Let the Day Begin , 1989 US No. 64
Red Moon (The Call album)|Red Moon , 1990
The Walls Came Down: The Best of the Mercury Years , 1991
The Best of The Call , 1997
To Heaven and Back , 1997
Live Under the Red Moon , 2000
Singles
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
Album
US
US Mod
US Main
UK
1983
"The Walls Came Down"
74
—
17
—
Modern Romans
1986
"Everywhere I Go"
—
—
38
—
Reconciled
"I Still Believe (Great Design)"
—
—
17
—
1987
"I Don't Wanna"
—
—
—
—
Into the Woods
1989
"Let the Day Begin"
51
5
1
42
Let the Day Begin
"You Run"
—
—
29
78
1990
"What's Happened to You"
—
25
39
—
Red Moon
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
References
Reflist
DEFAULTSORT:Call, The Category:Rock music groups from California Category:American New Wave musical groups Category:Musical groups from San Francisco, California Category:Musical groups established in 1980 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000
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Copyright Citations
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