Guitarist Mike Connell formed the band in 1984, along with his brother David Connell on bass, Doug MacMillan on vocals, and future filmmaker John Schultz on drums. This initial four-person line-up was quickly supplemented by the addition of George Huntley on second guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Around the same time, former Johnny Quest drummer Peele Wimberley replaced Schultz, finalizing the "classic" line-up of the band.
From the beginning of the group, Mike Connell wrote both the music and the lyrics of the majority of the band’s songs, although he was not the band's primary lead singer. Connell’s influences included the 1960's guitar pop of his childhood, including The Byrds and The Beatles; in an early interview, he stated that the first song he wrote as a teenager was titled “Psychedelic Butterfly."
Like Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Connell and Huntley played Rickenbacker guitars for the first several years of the band’s career, creating a jangly, folk-rock sound reminiscent of The Byrds and other Southern U.S. and North Carolina bands of the era, such as the dB's and Let's Active.
A re-recorded version of “Darker Days” provided the title track to the band’s debut album, which was produced by fellow North Carolinian Don Dixon and released in 1985 on Elvis Costello's Demon Records in the UK and the band’s own Black Park Records label in the U.S.
After touring heavily behind Darker Days, the Connells re-entered the studio in 1986 with Dixon and R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter to record their second album, Boylan Heights. The decision to work with Easter continued to perpetuate the comparisons to R.E.M.
Although the band shopped Boylan Heights to various labels, the major record companies, including Columbia Records, which expressed some mild interest, passed on it; the record was ultimately released in 1987 on mid-major TVT Records, which had made its name releasing a series of "Tee Vee Toons" television theme song compilation CDs. TVT would prove to be no commercial match for R.E.M.'s own mid-major label, I.R.S. Records, and over the next decade, The Connells would engage in a series of disputes with the label, on at least one occasion suing, unsuccessfully, to break their recording contract.
Despite the problems with TVT, Boylan Heights was a substantial college radio hit, and The Connells continued to tour relentlessly. During this period, both Connell and Huntley began to move away from their twelve-string Rickenbackers towards six-string Fender and Gibson guitars, leading to a heavier, less folky sound on Fun and Games, the 1989 follow-up album.
Fun and Games was quickly followed in 1990 by One Simple Word, which was recorded in Wales with U.K. producer Hugh Jones.
After a three-year recording hiatus, which included more legal jousting with TVT Records, a rejuvenated Connells released Ring in 1993. While European music fans made Ring a platinum record outside the United States, such high level success in America remained elusive. 1996's Weird Food and Devastation failed to build on the momentum established by its predecessor.
In 1998, the band released Still Life, which marked their final album for TVT. The band released Old School Dropouts on the revived Black Park Records label in 2000. The band recorded the record themselves and promoted it sparingly in the American South.
Peele Wimberley and George Huntley have since left the band. Wimberley briefly played with another band called Parklife, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue interests in Hollywood and in electronic music. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles band, The Lamps.
Huntley is now selling real estate and working part time at the University of North Carolina music department.
Peele Wimberley was replaced on drums by Steve Ritter; after several years Ritter was soon replaced by Chris Stevenson on drums, and Mike Ayers took George's place on lead guitar. The new lineup recorded the album Old School Dropouts.
In 1993, they released "''74-'75" which remains their most popular song. It is based on experiences of the Class of 1975 in a high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. The video juxtaposed original yearbook pictures with the class members as they appeared at the time. And then in 2015, the producers tracked down the original members once again, and produced a remixed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6l3Lh2cb_g
The last official release of the band was in 2001. They still occasionally perform together, including a reunion concert in 2020.
´74-´75
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the rain running down
There's no reason
And the same voice coming to me like it's all slowin' down
And believe me
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry-ever-after seventy-four, seventy-five
It's not easy
Nothin' to say 'cause it's already said
It's never easy
When I look on in your eyes then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry-ever-after 'seventy-four, seventy-five
Giving me more and I'll define
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
Got no reason for coming to me
And the rain running down
There's no reason
When I look on in your eyes then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was sorry-ever-after seventy-four, seventy-five
Giving me more and I'll define
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
The Connells's song "74' -75'" is a melancholic ballad about lost love and missed opportunities. The lyrics describe a rainy day when the singer's former lover comes to him, but with no apparent reason. The singer reflects on their past relationship, admitting that he was the one who ended it and that he still cares for her. However, it seems that the time has passed, and it's too late now. The title "74' - 75'" refers to the years when their relationship took place, and it's also a metaphor for the fleeting nature of youth and love.
The song's lyrics are complex and abstract, as they leave a lot of room for interpretation. However, some common themes that emerge are lost opportunities, regret, and nostalgia. The lines "It's not easy, nothing to say, cause it's already said" suggest a sense of resignation and the acceptance that nothing can be done to change the past. The repeated refrain "seventy-four, seventy-five" underscores the passage of time, and how the events of the past are forever etched in memory.
Line by Line Meaning
Got no reason for coming to me
There's seemingly no reason for you to come to me
And the rain running down
It's raining outside
There's no reason
There's still no apparent reason
And the same voice coming to me like it's all slowin' down
I hear the same voice which seems to be slowing everything down
And believe me
Please trust me
I was the one who let you know
I was the one who informed you
I was your sorry-ever-after seventy-four, seventy-five
I became your unfortunate resolution in the year seventy-four, seventy-five
It's not easy
This isn't simple
Nothin' to say 'cause it's already said
There's nothing left to communicate since it's all been said before
It's never easy
It's always hard
When I look on in your eyes then I find that I'll do fine
Whenever I gaze into your eyes, I regain my composure
When I look on in your eyes then I'll do better
Whenever I look into your eyes, I feel energized and optimistic
Giving me more and I'll define
If you provide me with more information, I'll give you a precise answer
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
Because you're only interested in the period of seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Referring to the period of the years 1974 and 1975
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Referring to the period of the years 1974 and 1975
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Referring to the period of the years 1974 and 1975
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DAVID CONNELL, DOUGLAS MACMILLAN, GEORGE HUNTLEY, MICHAEL CONNELL, STEPHEN POTAK, TIMOTHY HARPER, WILLIAM WIMBERLEY JR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Arionna Timpson
Got no reason for coming to me
And the rain runnin' down
There's no reason
And the same voice
Comin' to me like it's all slowin' down
And believe me
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
It's not easy
Nothin' to say 'cause it's already said
It's never easy
When I look on in your eyes
Then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes
Then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Giving me more and I'll defy
'Cause you're really only after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Got no reason for comin' to me
And the rain runnin' down
There's no reason
When I look on in your eyes
Then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes
Then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Giving me more and I'll defy
'Cause you're really only after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Giving me more and I'll defy
'Cause you're really only after
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Rares Ronkov
LYRICS:
Got no reason for comin' to me
And the rain runnin' down
There's no reason
And the same voice comin' to me like it's all slowin' down
And believe me
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after seventy-four, seventy-five
It's not easy
Nothin' to say 'cause it's already said
It's never easy
When I look on in your eyes then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after seventy-four, seventy-five
Givin' me more and I'll define
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
Got no reason for comin' to me
And the rain runnin' down
There's no reason
When I look on in your eyes then I find that I'll do fine
When I look on in your eyes then I'll do better
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after seventy-four, seventy-five
Givin' me more and I'll define
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry ever after seventy-four, seventy-five
Givin' me more and I'll define
'Cause you're really only after seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Seventy-four, seventy-five
Mr NixxxoN
People that are around 40 years old or more, know this is a masterpiece. A completely true to life sad song... The story of anyone getting old.
Gonzalo
No man, forget that. There are thousands of ways to understand and face life. There is not only one truth.
GIL WHITLEY
What about the rest of us?
Fabio Pierro
36-37 born 1986 lived 90s and listened to this wonderful music ♥️✌️
imad fakhir
@GIL WHITLEYk⁹
Vagabondo
I am 54, but you don't need to be 40 to understand it.
Beni Tanımayın
I started singing this song to my 3 month old baby one day while bathing him, he stopped crying and calmed down. When I played the actual song he started smiling all the way. Now each time during bath it's on repeat and the hardest part of my day became the easiest. So happy that he has good taste in music already
Super knullisch
Aaah.. What a lovely story..😊
Spider J.
Kraal
N
The baby's soul was living in those years! That is why he likes it! He knows the song!