Songoftheday 6/23/20 - Chill, light on my sight as my ego becomes, a funky child with some words on my tongue...
from the album 311 (1995)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #37 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 6
Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band 311, who came together in the late 1980s in Omaha, Nebraska led by singer/guitarist Eric Hexum. Named for the police code for indecent exposure, the band released a few indie records before getting signed to Capricorn Records imprint on Warner Brothers. Their debut album Music was released in 1993, spinning off their first radio hit with "Do You Right", which went to #27 on Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio chart. The following year, the band put out their sophomore effort, Grassroots, and true to its name, even though the disc didn't get any singles on the radio, because of their extensive touring and buzz was their first to make the Billboard 200 sales chart at #193.
In 1995, Hexum, along with drummer Chad Sexton, bass player P-Nut, guitarist Tim Mahoney, and DJ S.A. Martinez (yes, they were one of the first hard rock bands to incorporate a DJ to "scratch" in their official lineup), returned with their self-titled third release on Capricorn. Lead single "Don't Stay Home" did OK on rock radio, nearly matching their debut by peaking at #29 on the Alternative Rock chart. But it was the second release that would become their big break. "Down", written by Hexum and Martinez, and produced by Ron Saint Germain, was a slice of reggae mixed with a harder rock base than the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and with MTV on board, gave them their biggest song of their career, with Martinez rapping to Hexum singing the chorus...
Since "Down" wasn't released as a commercial physical "single", it was unable to place on Billboard's official Hot 100 pop chart. However, the song got another mainstream airplay to spend a month and a half in the top-40 of the Airplay portion of the tally in September of 1996. The track spent a month (four weeks) at #1 on the Alternative Rock radio chart, while crossing over to the Mainstream Rock list at #19. Internationally, the single just missed the top-40 in Australia at #41, while stopping at #60 in Canada. The 311 album, released in July of 1995, would go on to top out at #12, eventually selling over three million copies.
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Here's 311 performing live on Letterman to promote the single in 1996...
...and at an MTV "Choose or Lose" concert that same year...
and a gig for the Guitar Center in 2014...
Up tomorrow: Ohio rappers talk about a soap opera, perhaps.
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