Songoftheday 6/22/19 - Your friends they stand around they watch you crumble as you fall to the ground...

"Far Behind" - Candlebox
from the album Candlebox (1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 15

Today's song of the day comes from the rock band Candlebox, who came together in the grunge scene in Seattle, Washington in the early 1990. Featuring lead singer Kevin Martin, lead guitarist Peter Klett, bass player Bardi Martin, and drummer Scott Mercado, they were one of the first signed acts to Madonna's "vanity" record label Maverick, the band released their self-titled debut album in the summer of 1993. The lead single "Change" was a decent hit on rock radio, peaking at #18 on the Mainstream Rock radio format chart in Billboard magazine. That was followed by "You", which claimed their first top ten hit on that list at #6, while landing the band their first charting hit on the American pop Hot 100 chart at #78. It would be on their third try that would have the band claim their biggest success.

"Far Behind", written by the entire band who produced the track with Kelly Gray, was a midtempo grunge nugget that was partly inspired by the leader of another Seattle grunge artist, Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, who died from drug overdose in 1990. The emotional sentiment of the lyrics touched the general public, who carried the song onto mainstream radio...

"Far Behind" became Candlebox's first and only top-40 pop hit in America in October of 1994. The song climbed to #4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, and even crossed over to #7 on their Modern Rock format list. Internationally, the single was a minor hit in the UK at #93. A fourth single from Candlebox, the power-ballad "Cover Me", missed the pop chart, but got to #8 on the Mainstream Rock chart at #23 on the Modern Rock list.

The band returned in 1995 with their sophomore effort Lucy. The first single from the set, "Simple Lessons", went to #5 on the Mainstream Rock and ##12 on the Modern Rock charts, but since the song wasn't released commercially in the U.S., it didn't make the Hot 100, and even stalled down at #60 on their Hot 100 Airplay list. They lost their drummer Mercado, who was replaced by former Pearl Jam member Dave Krusen for their third record Happy Pills which arrived in 1998. While lead track "It's Alright" scored the band their biggest Mainstream Rock radio hit, spending six weeks at #2, by that time grunge (and in effect them) were ignored by pop radio. And though two more songs made the top-20, Krusen and Bardi Martin left, but their replacements (including Shannon Larkin of Ugly Kid Joe) didn't even last long enough before the group split up in 2000.

On the release of a best-of collection, the Martins, Mercado, and Klett reunited to tour. However after that, Bardi Martin left the music biz, to be replaced on bass and vocals by Adam Kury, also adding a second rhythm guitarist to the mix with Sean Hennesy. With that five-piece lineup Candlebox released their fourth album Into The Sun independently. The record reached the sales top-40 at #32, while single "Stand" climbed to #15 on the Mainstream Rock tally. Kevin Martin and Sean Hennesy formed the side-project the Gracious Few, who scored a pair of hits on the Mainstream Rock chart, while Mercado and Klett nightjobbed with Lotus Crush. The fivesome reunited for a second indie album Love Stories and Other Musings, before Hennesy, Mercado and Klett left again. Adding on guitarist Brian Quinn and Island Styles, and rehiring Krusen on drums, the band released their most recent studio album Disappearing In Airports in 2016. From it the song "Vexatious" went to #33 on the Mainstream Rock chart. In 2018, the original lineup reunited to tour performing the entire debut album.

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Here's the band appearing on Letterman to promote the single...