The group traces its beginnings to 1980, when Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill, who had previously met while recording and touring with Phil Keaggy and touring with the band Petra, recruited Ty Tabor to join them. Calling themselves The Edge, the group extensively performed on the Springfield, Missouri bar and club circuit. The band specialized in Top 40 covers. By 1983, the name of the band had changed to Sneak Preview and they started to record original material. Sneak Preview released a self-titled LP with all original material in 1984.
The group relocated to Houston, Texas with the promise of a recording contract, but the deal fell through. However, it was there that the group met Sam Taylor, then vice president of ZZ Top's production company. Taylor quickly became the group's mentor and convinced them to change their name to King's X. Taylor was instrumental in helping the group secure a contract with Megaforce Records in 1987. Taylor would soon become the group's manager, producer and mentor, and was declared to be the fourth member of the group (according to some).
The group released its first album as King's X, entitled Out of the Silent Planet, in 1988. Despite being hailed by music critics, the album did not fare well commercially, peaking at #144 on the Billboard album charts. The band's 1989 sophomore release, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, fared slightly better from a commercial standpoint. Significantly, the song "Over My Head" received moderate airplay on MTV and radio. The increase in exposure would prove beneficial when the band released their third album, Faith, Hope, Love, in the fall of 1990.
Faith, Hope, Love was the group's first album to crack the US Top 100, with the help of the successful single "It's Love". The band landed a gig opening for AC/DC in the U.S. and Europe for the first half of 1991. They also toured with Living Colour, themselves near the peak of their popularity. The band was signed to major label Atlantic Records for their next release.
The band released their fourth album, King's X, in the Spring of 1992. But rising tensions with Taylor led to the group's most unfocused effort, and the album did not sell as well as Faith, Hope, Love. The only single from the album, "Black Flag" received only moderate airplay on MTV. Not long after the release of King's X, the band parted ways with Taylor. The details of the split have not been made public, but it was believed to be rather acrimonious. In the aftermath, King's X took over a year off to consider their collective future together. The band members followed other, non-musical pursuits - most notably, guitarist Ty Tabor took up semi-professionally racing motocross motorcycles.
In any case, by 1992 grunge was at the peak of its popularity and the group's trademark sound in no way resembled that of commercially successful acts such as Soundgarden or Pearl Jam (though, ironically, King's X were partly responsible for inspiring grunge; Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament once said, "King's X invented grunge"). Looking for a new sound and flavour (although not necessarily grunge), the band enlisted veteran producer Brendan O'Brien, who had recently produced Stone Temple Pilots' first album and Pearl Jam's second.
The resulting album, 1994's Dogman, showcased a much more muscular and heavy sound from the group, along with less abstract and spiritual lyrics. The record received a heavier promotional push from Atlantic and the band enjoyed a very successful tour, capped by an appearance at the Woodstock 1994 festival in August. But despite a return to the Top 100 for the group, the album failed to sell as well as Atlantic had hoped, and the label's support for the group quickly faded.
The band's third release under Atlantic, 1996's Ear Candy, would also be their last (not including a subsequent compilation) for the label. Although it sold to the band's sizeable core following, it lacked the mainstream success of previous efforts. The record was soon out of print, and it seemed that the group's chance for commercial success had come and gone.
The group moved to Metal Blade Records in 1998. Their first album for Metal Blade Records, Tape Head, signaled a new era for the band. They modified their creative methods by writing and recording the album together in the studio, rather than coming together to record songs that the individual members had written separately. Their next two albums, Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous and Manic Moonlight were created in this same way.
For their next album, Black Like Sunday, the group arranged and recorded an album full of songs that the band had regularly performed prior to releasing their first album for MegaForce Records, Out of the Silent Planet. The cover art for this album was selected from artwork submitted by fans.
Live All Over The Place was the band's final album for Metal Blade Records, and their first official live release. During the band's time with Metal Blade Records, the members of King's X (as a group and individually) have been musically prolific, releasing a number of solo albums (such as Doug Pinnick's two PoundHound albums and Emotional Animal, Ty Tabor's Naomi's Solar Pumpkin, Moonflower Lane, and Safety, and Jerry Gaskill's musically intriguing Come Somewhere,) and side projects (such as Ty Tabor's work with Platypus, Jughead, and The Jelly Jam). Doug Pinnick will be standing in for lead singer Corey Glover on Living Colour's August 2006 European tour.
The band's latest album, entitled Ogre Tones, was released in September 2005 on the InsideOut label. It was produced by famed rock producer Michael Wagener (Dokken, Extreme, Stryper, White Lion, Skid Row).
May 2008 will see the next studio release from the band, "XV", also on the InsideOut label. Production has again been handled by Michael Wagener.
King's X has in the past struggled with being identified as a Christian metal band. Many of their lyrics have a clear spiritual influence, but this comes from the individual faith of the members rather than an attempt to tap into that market in the way groups such as Stryper did. Their albums used to be marketed highly in Christian book stores, but after Pinnick announced in 1998 that he was a homosexual, their albums were removed from such places. This also caused the band to lose a large number of their Christian fans.
Ty Tabor has indicated in several interviews that King's X was not a Christian rock band.
King's X spiritually-tinged lyrics are less prominent in their later releases, though the band continues to infuse spiritual themes into their music.
The band's lineup has not changed since its inception:
* Doug Pinnick - Vocals, bass guitar
* Ty Tabor - Vocals, guitars
* Jerry Gaskill - Drums, percussion, vocals
Discography
* Out of the Silent Planet (March 23, 1988)
* Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (June 27, 1989)
* Faith Hope Love (October 23, 1990)
* King's X (March 10, 1992)
* Dogman (January 18, 1994)
* Ear Candy (May 20, 1996)
* Best of King's X (November 11, 1997)
* Tape Head (October 20, 1998)
* Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous (May 23, 2000)
* Manic Moonlight (September 25, 2001)
* Black Like Sunday (May 20, 2003)
* Live All Over the Place (November 2, 2004)
* Ogre Tones (September 27, 2005)
* XV (May 16-20, 2008)
Billboard positions
* KING'S X - Out Of The Silent Planet Weeks on Chart: 11 Peak: #144
* KING'S X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska Weeks on Chart: 18 Peak: #123
* KING'S X - Faith Hope Love Weeks on Chart: 24 Peak: #85
* KING'S X - King's X Weeks on Chart: 3 Peak: #138
* KING'S X - Dogman Weeks on Chart: 4 Peak: #88
Happy
King's X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With an old flag, washed and raised
And the child sang, all fall down
No one heard it, not a sound
Yeah the rain came turning gray
And the jury went out to play
Doesn't matter someone said
There's tomorrow, go to bed
No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle
Down in decay
Getting over, getting older, something is different
Something is changed
I be happy, I be happy
In the jungle where the beat is strong
Nothing's shocking, loud is long
Like the middle of a dream
I was woken when I screamed
I could never go back to that old prison of my youth
Move forward, someone said, you can make it
Watch your head
No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle
Down in decay
Getting over, getting older, something is different
Something is changed
I be happy, I be happy
When your world come crashing down
And there ain't nothing you can do about it
And when everybody's done your wrong
And you're feeling all toe down
Now thing kingdom of everything is within
And to love yourself is not a sin
And if there's a light inside, it'll shine
And if there's a light inside, it'll shine
No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle
Down in decay
Getting over, getting older, something is different
Something is changed
I be happy, I be happy
The lyrics to King's X's song Happy seem to reflect a sense of finding happiness within oneself despite the chaos of the world around us. The rain on Independence Day is a strong symbolic image, as it represents a time of national celebration and freedom, yet it's overshadowed by the rain - a symbol of sadness and gloom. The verse "No one heard it, not a sound" seems to signify the idea that amidst all the patriotic fervor, the child's voice -perhaps a metaphor for innocence- went unheard, ignored.
The lyrics then shift to the "jungle," which could mean either the literal jungle, or the concrete jungle of a city. The beats are strong, and the feeling is chaotic - the perfect metaphor for life in the world. However, despite all of this, the singer insists that they will be happy. The lines "When your world comes crashing down, And there ain't nothing you can do about it," call out to the chaos and turmoil that surrounds us in our everyday lives.
The chorus, with its repetition of "No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle/ Down in decay/ Getting over, getting older, something is different/ Something is changed" seems to indicate a sense of resignation to the chaos of life, but rather than leaning into the drama and trauma of it all, the singer chooses to focus on the change that has come about as a result of all this decay. In the end, the lyrics seem to be focused on the idea of embracing the changes that come our way, being happy with what we have, and loving ourselves in the face of difficulties.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, the rain came independence day
The rain started pouring on Independence Day
With an old flag, washed and raised
An old flag was washed and hoisted amidst the rain
And the child sang, all fall down
A child sang a song while everything else fell apart
No one heard it, not a sound
Nobody paid attention to the child's song
Yeah the rain came turning gray
The rain started turning everything grey
And the jury went out to play
The jury started enjoying themselves instead of being serious
Doesn't matter someone said
Someone said it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things
There's tomorrow, go to bed
You can rest and face the future tomorrow
No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle
There's no drama or trauma in a quiet and isolated place
Down in decay
In a place that is falling apart
Getting over, getting older, something is different
As time passes, something changes and you get over things
Something is changed
Something is different or altered in some way
I be happy, I be happy
I will be happy
In the jungle where the beat is strong
In the lively and rhythmical jungle
Nothing's shocking, loud is long
The loudness of the jungle is not disturbing or surprising
Like the middle of a dream
Similar to a dream-like state
I was woken when I screamed
I woke up when I screamed
I could never go back to that old prison of my youth
I cannot return to my old and restrictive ways
Move forward, someone said, you can make it
Someone encouraged me to move on with confidence
Watch your head
Be careful and cautious
When your world come crashing down
When everything in your life falls apart
And there ain't nothing you can do about it
When you feel powerless to fix the situation
And when everybody's done your wrong
When you feel everyone has treated you unfairly
And you're feeling all toe down
When you feel defeated and low
Now thing kingdom of everything is within
You possess everything you need within yourself
And to love yourself is not a sin
It's not wrong to care for yourself
And if there's a light inside, it'll shine
If you have inner strength or positivity, it will show outwardly
And if there's a light inside, it'll shine
If you have inner strength or positivity, it will show outwardly
No drama, no trauma, down in the jungle
There's no drama or trauma in a quiet and isolated place
Down in decay
In a place that is falling apart
Getting over, getting older, something is different
As time passes, something changes and you get over things
Something is changed
Something is different or altered in some way
I be happy, I be happy
I will be happy
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
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