Rock On The Net: No Doubt (original) (raw)
In 1996, an alternative band called No Doubt began getting play on college and modern rock radio and eventually pop and rock stations. Within a year, the band sold millions of LPs, made the cover of Rolling Stone, got heavy play on video stations, and were nominated a few Grammy Awards. No Doubt's success appears to have happened overnight, yet the band has been looking for their big break for almost 10 years. The time also wasn't easy or pleasant for the band. Yet, today, No Doubt can claim stardom with their mix of modern rock, pop, and ska music.
No Doubt was formed in 1987 in Anaheim, California with members: John Spence, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani, and Eric Stefani. In December, 1987, John Spence committed suicide at age 18. The band persevered with Gwen as the focal point and added 2 members: Adrian Young and Tom Dumont. Gwen said of John: "When your friend dies like that and it's so unexpected it's very traumatic. I think it taught us all a big lesson in how much one person can influence so many different people." The band started to get a following with their live shows. Soon they were opening for such bands as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ziggy Marley. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers helped the band work in the studio on their first demo record.
Although No Doubt is a group, Gwen has largely become the focus of the band with their rise to stardom. Her strength and freedom during live performances captivate many fans and allow them cross-gender appeal. Tony has said: "What's cool is that because we have a female singing, Gwen gets the girls into it, lets them participate. With a lot of other bands, it's just a testosterone thing. But when you come to a No Doubt show, the audience is spread across the board. Gwen will definitely get the girls involved, give them songs that are their songs and it's their time to get boosted, be in the pit whatever. Everyone feels like they're part of it, nobody gets left out."
No Doubt signed with Interscope Records and released No Doubt. Following the release, the band toured extensively and focused on writing more songs. Although touring had gone well, sales of the LP did not, and their record company was not willing to fund another tour or LP. The band persevered and worked on their next release with their own funds.
No Doubt released Beacon Street Collection (which was re-issued in 1997). The LP was a raw expression of their sound, combing 80s punk with 90s grunge and consisting of song that weren't going to make their next release for the record company. By this point, No Doubt also lost a member when Eric Stefani left the group (to later work as an animator for The Simpsons).
No Doubt released Tragic Kingdomand the band eventually began to take off. The first single "Just A Girl" was a modest pop hit and a much bigger hit on alternative radio and video channels. The song showcased what has become No Doubt's commercial appeal: a naive-looking girl with a rough edge playing with a bunch a boys. Gwen said of the LP: "We went through some really bad times the past couple of years - personally and bandwise - and our whole way of dealing with that is humor and I think that's really apparent in the record. Even though things may have been bad, and some of the songs are sad if you really listen to them, there's still an element of humor to it all."
# 7 Singles Artist of the Year
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Just A Girl."
Tragic Kingdom was certified gold.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Spiderwebs."
Tragic Kingdom was certified 2x platinum.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Don't Speak."
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "Don't Speak" - and ended the year hitting #1 where it stayed for 7 weeks.
Tragic Kingdom was certified 5x platinum.
"Don't Speak" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Airplay chart for 16 weeks.
Tragic Kingdom topped the Billboard 200 Albums chart for 9 weeks.
# 35 Singles Artist of the Year
No Doubt were nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist.
No Doubt were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album (Tragic Kingdom).
Tragic Kingdom was certified 6x platinum.
"Don't Speak" topped the UK Singles chart for 3 weeks.
Tragic Kingdom was certified 7x platinum.
No Doubt appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Sunday Morning."
Tragic Kingdom was certified 8x platinum.
No Doubt won a MTV Video Music Awardfor Best Group Video ("Don't Speak") and was also nominated for Video of the Year.
No Doubt's next LP, Beacon Street Collection was released. The LP was a collection of older songs that didn't make it on the Tragic Kingdom set and includes a song called "Total Hate" which has vocals by Bradley Nowell, lead singer of Sublime until his overdose death in 1996.
Additional No Doubt tracks can be found on the M.O.M. (Music For Our Mother Ocean) compilation with "Sailin' On," California Ska-Quake compilation, and Skaface compilation.
Gwen could also be heard with Sublime on their LP Robbin' The Hood with "Saw Red."
No Doubt topped the Billboard Year-End Charts with the Top Hot 100 Airplay Track ("Don't Speak").
No Doubt was nominated for 2 Grammy Awardsfor Song of the Year (songwriters: Eric Stefani and Gwen Stefani) and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Don't Speak").
Tragic Kingdom was certified 10x platinum.
A new No Doubt track called "New" could be found on the soundtrack for the film Go(the track was co-produced by Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads), and Stefani talked with MTV about the band working on their next LP: "Sonically, it's a lot more organic and classic-sounding than I thought it was going to be. I thought we might branch out and try to use some new, like, pro-tools magic, but it's really, really organic..."
No Doubt began a short club tour.
The band won the Most Stylish Video award at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards and Stefani was nominated for Most Fashionable Artist (Female).
# 50 Singles Artist of the Year
The Return Of Saturn was released as the first single "Ex-Girlfriend" hit the Top 40. The LP debuted at #2 at the end of the month selling over 200,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard Internet Album Sales chart for 1 week.
The Return Of Saturn was certified platinum.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Simple Kind Of Life."
No Doubt were nominated for a VH1/Vogue Fashion Award for Most Stylish Band.
In Arizona at a No Doubt concert, 5 concert fans were injured when the crowd rushed the stage.
Rolling Stone & MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs includes "Don't Speak" at # 81.
No Doubt won a Billboard Music Video Award for FAN.tastic Video ("Simple Kind Of Life").
No Doubt won a VH1/Vogue Fashion Award for Most Stylish Video ("Ex-Girlfriend").
# 107Singles Artist of the Year
Dumont said of their next LP: "I would describe our new direction as a fusion of dancehall reggae, Euro-synth pop and victory rock... We're planning on being very adventurous and working with different producers"
No Doubt were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album (The Return Of Saturn).
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Hey Baby."
No Doubt released Rock Steady.
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "Hey Baby."
"Hey Baby" topped the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown for 4 weeks.
# 3 Singles Artist of the Year ( # 1 Group of the Year)
Rock Steady was certified platinum.
No Doubt graced the cover of Rolling Stone.
No Doubt hit #1 for 2 weeks with "Hey Baby."
No Doubt began touring.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Hella Good."
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "Hella Good."
No Doubt topped the Billboard Dance Music Club Play chart for a week with the Roger Sanchez remixes of "Hella Good."
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Underneath It All."
No Doubt's video for "Hey Baby" won 2 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video and Best Pop Video.
No Doubt ranked # 11 on VH1: 100 Sexiest Artists.
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "Underneath It All."
No Doubt was the opening act for the Rolling Stones for 2 concert dates.
Rock Steady was certified 2x platinum.
No Doubt hit #1 for a week with "Underneath It All."
Rolling Stone magazine readers picked No Doubt as Best Band.
# 25 Singles Artist of the Year
No Doubt performed at the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVII.
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Running."
No Doubt won a Grammy Awardfor Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Hey Baby"), and were nominated for Best Dance Recording ("Hella Good") and Best Pop Vocal Album (Rock Steady). The band also performed at the ceremony.
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "Running."
No Doubt won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Band.
VH1: 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years includes "Don't Speak" at # 16.
No Doubt's video for "Underneath It All" was nominated for 2 MTV Video Music Awardsfor Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography (Karsten Crah Gopinath).
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with the cover of Talk Talk's "It's My Life."
No Doubt hit the Top 10 with "It's My Life."
No Doubt released a greatest hits collection, The Singles 1992-2003 and the limited edition box set Boom Box.
Rolling Stone: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: # 316:Rock Steady, # 441: Tragic Kingdom.
# 81 Singles Artist of the Year
The Singles 1992-2003 was certified platinum.
No Doubt won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Underneath It All").
The Singles 1992-2003 was certified 2x platinum.
No Doubt teamed up with Blink-182 for a joint tour in the summer.
At the Teen Choice Awards, No Doubt won for Choice Tour of the Year (with Blink-182).
No Doubt could be heard on the compilation Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 with "Comforting Lie."
The video for "It's My Life" won 2 MTV Video Music Awardsfor Best Pop Video and Best Group Video, and was nominated forBest Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.The single "It's My Life" was certified gold.
Everything In Time (B-Sides, Rarities, Remixes) was released.No Doubt was # 52 on the Top Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years chart.
No Doubt was nominated for a Grammy Awardfor Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("It's My Life") and Stefani was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("What You Waiting For?"). Gwen performed at the ceremony.
The single "It's My Life" was certified platinum.
Entertainment Weekly: 100 Best Albums of the Last 25 Years included Rock Steady at # 71.
# 82Singles Artist of the Year
No Doubt hit the Top 40 with "Settle Down."
No Doubt released Push & Shove.
No DoubtReleased: March, 1992 Tracks: "BND" - "Let's Get Back" - "Ache" - "Get On The Ball" - "Move On" - "Sad For Me" - "Doormat" - "Big City Train" - "Trapped In A Box" - "Sometimes" - "Sinking" - "A Little Something Refreshing" - "Paulina" - "Brand New Day" | |
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iTunes Amazon.mp3 | Tragic KingdomReleased: October, 1995 US: 10x Platinum Billboard peak: # 1 (for 9 weeks) Entertainment Weekly: C+ Tracks: "Spiderwebs" - "Excuse Me Mr." - "Just A Girl" - "Happy Now?" - "Different People" - "Hey You" - "The Climb" - "Sixteen" - "Sunday Morning" - "Don't Speak" - "You Can Do It" - "World Go 'Round" - "End It On This" - "Tragic Kingdom" |
Beacon Street CollectionReleased: October, 1997 Entertainment Weekly: D Tracks: "Open The Gate" - "Blue In The Face" - "Total Hate '95" - "Stricken" - "Greener Pastures" - "By The Way" - "Snakes" - "That's Just Me" - "Squeal" - "Doghouse" | |
The Return Of SaturnReleased: April, 2000 US: Platinum Billboard peak: # 2 Rolling Stone: - Entertainment Weekly: B Tracks: "Ex-Girlfriend" - "Simple Kind Of Life" - "Bathwater" - "Six Feet Under" - "Magic's In The Makeup" - "Artificial Sweetener" - "Marry Me" - "New" - "Too Late" - "Comforting Lie" - "Suspension Without Suspense" - "Staring Problem" - "Home Now" - "Dark Blue" | |
Amazon.mp3 | Rock SteadyReleased: December, 2001 US: 2x Platinum Billboard peak: # 9 Rolling Stone: - Entertainment Weekly: B+ Tracks: "Rock Steady (Intro)" - "Hella Good" - "Hey Baby" - "Making Out" - "Underneath It All" - "Detective" - "Don't Let Me Down" - "Start The Fire" - "Running" - "Platinum Blonde" - "In My Head" - "Waiting Room" - "Rock Steady" |
Amazon.mp3 | The Singles 1992-2003Released: November, 2003 US: 2x Platinum Billboard peak: # 2 Entertainment Weekly: B+ Tracks: "Just A Girl" - "It's My Life" - "Hey Baby" - "Bathwater" - "Sunday Morning" - "Hella Good" - "New" - "Underneath It All" - "Excuse Me Mr." - "Running" - "Spiderwebs" - "Simple Kind Of Life" - "Don't Speak" - "Ex-Girlfriend" - "Trapped In A Box" |
Everything In Time (B-Sides, Rarities, Remixes)Released: October, 2004 Billboard peak: # 182 Tracks: "Big Distraction" - "Leftovers" - "Under Construction" - "Beauty Contest" - "Full Circle" - "Cellophane Boy" - "Everything In Time" - "You're So Foxy" - "Panic" - "New Friend" - "Everything In Time" (London) - "Sailin' On" - "Oi To The World" - "I Throw My Toys Around" - "New & Approved" (New Remix) - "Real Love Survives" (Rock Steady Remix) - "Rock Steady Vibe" (Rock Steady Remix) | |
iTunes Amazon.mp3 | Push & Shove Released: September, 2012 Billboard peak: # 3 Tracks: "Settle Down" - "Looking Hot" - "One More Summer" - "Push & Shove" - "Easy" - "Gravity" - "Undercover" - "Undone" - "Sparkle" - "Heaven" - "Dreaming The Same Dream" |
Note: Song title and position links lead you to the song's Top 40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top 40) and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often including track listings and sound samples). |
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