Quiet Riot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Quiet Riot | ||
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 Quiet Riot offstage
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | USA | |
| Genre(s) | Glam Metal Heavy Metal |
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| Years active | 1975 – 1980 1982 – 1989 1992 – 2003 2005 – present |
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| Label(s) | Pasha/Sony Music | |
| Associated acts |
House of Lords | |
| Members | ||
| Kevin DuBrow - vocals Alex Grossi - guitar Chuck Wright - bass guitar Frankie Banali - drums |
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Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band, whose 1983 & 1984 success contributed to launching the 1980s' glam metal scene. They were founded in 1975 by guitarist Randy Rhoads. The original lineup featured lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow, Kelly Garni (bass) and Drew Forsyth (drums). Some have guessed that the name "Quiet Riot" comes from a phrase in John Barth's 1960s novel Giles Goat-Boy and/or to be a pun on the title of "White Riot" by The Clash. However, in a radio interview given by the band in 1979 and available here, DuBrow said the band's name was born of a conversation with Richard Parfitt of British band Status Quo in which Parfitt said he'd like to name a band "Quite Right". They are ranked at number 100 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."
Quiet Riot also has one of the most famous and iconic heavy metal mascots in history. Their mascot resembles a man (sometimes lead singer Kevin DuBrow) in a metal facial mask and in a straightjacket (somewhat similar to Hannibal Lecter) which has appeared on almost every single Quiet Riot album. This mascot has been considered along-side Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead, Iron Maiden's Eddie the Head and Motörhead's "Snaggletooth" as the all-time greatest heavy metal mascots.
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[edit] History
With the original four members, they recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, which was released in Japan in 1978. Months later, bassist Kelly Garni left the band. After replacing him with Rudy Sarzo, the second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded and released in Japan in 1979.
In November 1979, after failing to release an album in the U.S., Rhoads followed his friend Dana Strum's advice and joined Ozzy Osbourne's band. DuBrow and Forsyth tried to keep the band together following Rhoads' departure. From 1980-1982 the band's name was changed to DuBrow.
Following the death of Rhoads in a plane crash on March 19, 1982, DuBrow attempted to reform Quiet Riot. None of the other original members were interested, so Tony Cavazo's brother Carlos joined as lead guitarist, Sarzo re-joined the band on bass, and Rudy's friend, drummer Frankie Banali, completed the lineup.
In September 1982, with a little help from producer Spencer Proffer, they were signed to CBS records in America. On March 11, 1983, their American debut album Metal Health was released. (Their two previous albums, QR I and QR II, have still not been released in the United States).
On August 27, 1983, Quiet Riot second single "Cum on Feel the Noize" / Run For Cover was released. Cum On Feel The Noize, a cover of the 1973 Slade hit, spent two weeks at #5 on the Billboard chart in November 1983. It was the first Heavy Metal song to make the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart(a.k.a.Pop Chart) and it was the first of a string of Slade sound-alikes recorded by the group. The success of the single helped carry "Metal Health" to the top of Billboard pop album charts, making it the first American heavy metal album to ever reach #1 in the USA.
A #1 album and a top 5 single was unheard of for a heavy metal band in 1983. The Metal Health album also displaced The Police's Synchronicity album from #1. Metal Health paved the way for a new, stronger commercial viability for heavy metal. Metal Health stayed at #1 for just a week until Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down took over the #1 spot for three weeks before being knocked off the top by Michael Jackson's Thriller, which returned to the top after a long hiatus from the U.S.summit. Metal Health's title song, which was released as a single on March 11, 1983, finally charted in early 1984 and peaked at #31. Perhaps this can be attributed to the song's appearance in the 1984 movie Footloose.
The group's follow-up, Condition Critical, was released on July 7, 1984. It was a relative disappointment, critically and commercially, selling only 3 million units. This release included yet another Slade cover (the single, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" - a UK chart topper for Slade) and numerous musical and lyrical nods to the aforementioned act; whether this was a decision made by the band or their producer is still subject to debate as evidenced in their VH1 "Behind The Music" documentary. Reportedly frustrated, DuBrow began letting newer bands on the L.A. metal scene know that their success was in part owed to the past successes of Quiet Riot.
This led to Sarzo quitting the group in 1985. (In 1987 the bassist went on to Whitesnake) The bass slot in Quiet Riot was filled by erstwhile collaborator Chuck Wright (of Giuffria). Next, the band released QRIII in 1986, another commercial failure. Fed up with DuBrow's antics, the rest of Quiet Riot fired him from his own band and replaced him with former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino. Wright was also fired and was replaced by Sean McNabb. The band released Quiet Riot in 1988, which was another failure. This 1988 album technically has the same name as their original first album with Randy Rhoads. The band fell apart after a tour that ended in Hawaii in 1989 and DuBrow fought to keep control of the name. By 1991, tempers had cooled enough for the former bandmates to communicate. DuBrow and Cavazo formed Heat, but eventually switched to Quiet Riot again and released Terrified (1993) with Banali and Kenny Hillery (d. 5 June 1996, Suicide ) (bass). Quiet Riot, with Chuck Wright again on bass, hit the road in support of 'Terrified' with Wisconsin's Slam I Am.
That same year, DuBrow released The Randy Rhoads Years featuring tracks from Quiet Riot's Columbia albums and some previously unreleased material (many of which featured newly recorded vocals). Hillary left in 1995 and committed suicide on June 5, 1996; Wright rejoined Quiet Riot to play bass. The band released Down to the Bone that same year. The following year (1996), the band released a "Greatest Hits" album, which included nothing from the original two Rhoads albums and nothing from the two 90's albums, but did have a few tracks from the 1988 Shortino album. After that, Rudy Sarzo joined up again in 1997, and the band began touring.
The tour was not successful, and the band was arrested several times; one angry fan sued DuBrow for injuries sustained during a show. The group still managed to release Alive and Well in (1999) which featured new songs and several rerecorded hits. They followed this up with Guilty Pleasures (2001).
Quiet Riot officially broke up in February 2003, and Sarzo joined Dio in the following year. However, it reunited in 2005. The line-up included DuBrow, Banali, Wright and new guitarist Alex Grossi. The band was featured on the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour 2005 tour along with Cinderella, Ratt, and FireHouse.
Kevin DuBrow has released a solo album titled In For The Kill.
As of January 2006, Chuck Wright and Alex Grossi had left the band and former L.A. Guns/Brides of Destruction guitarist Tracii Guns had joined, only to leave two weeks later under musical differences. Other recent members of Quiet Riot have included guitarists Billy Morris and Neil Citron, and bassists Tony Franklin, Sean McNabb and Wayne Carver. In an interview with rock & roll comic C.C. Banana in August 2006, Frankie Banali attempted to clarify the matter of Quiet Riot's recent rapid-fire membership rotation, indicating that both Alex and Chuck were both back in the band again.
Quiet Riot's new album was released on October 3, 2006 and is entitled Rehab. The lineup on the album is Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, Tony Franklin, & Neil Citron. Legendary singer Glenn Hughes also makes a guest vocal appearance on the album. However, as was noted above, this version of the band no longer exists.
[edit] Pop culture
- In the 2005 episode of The Simpsons entitled "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Guest Star", the band is depicted as converted to a religious band called Pious Riot. When Bart calls them "a crappy rock band from the 1940s", Kevin DuBrow responds, "We've played more state fairs than the Beatles."
Quiet Riot's track "Metal Health" is used as the title theme to the video game Showdown: Legends of Wrestling. The same song also appears in the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, while their version for Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize" is featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
[edit] Discography - Studio Albums
- 1978 Quiet Riot
- 1979 Quiet Riot II
- 1983 Metal Health
- 1984 Condition Critical
- 1986 QRIII
- 1988 Quiet Riot
- 1993 Terrified
- 1995 Down to the Bone
- 1999 Alive and Well
- 2001 Guilty Pleasures
- 2006 Rehab
[edit] Discography - Compilations
- 1993 The Randy Rhoads Years
- 1996 Greatest Hits
- 1999 Super Hits
- 2000 The Collection
- 2005 Live & Rare Volume 1
[edit] Singles
- 1977 "It's Not So Funny"
- 1979 "Slick Black Cadillac"
- 1983 "Metal Health"
- 1983 "Cum On Feel The Noize"
- 1983 "Slick Black Cadillac"
- 1984 "Mama Weer All Crazee Now"
- 1984 "Party All Night"
- 1984 "Winners Take All"
- 1984 "Bad Boy"
- 1986 "The Wild and the Young"
- 1986 "Twilight Hotel"
- 1988 "Stay With Me Tonight"
- 1993 "Little Angel"
[edit] Videos
- 1989 Live in Japan
- 1990 Bang Thy Head
- 2003 Live in The 21st Century
[edit] Music Videos
- Metal Health ( Metal Health )
- Cum On Feel The Noise ( Metal Health )
- Mamma Were All Crazy Now ( Condition Critical )
- Party All Night ( Condition Critical )
- The Wild and The Young ( QRIII )
- Twilight Hotel ( QRIII )
- Stay With Me Tonight ( Quiet Riot )
- Picking Up The Pieces ( The Randy Rhoads Years )
