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.
Burden
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And once said "please, some more"
And not even now and then.
Some place I know you swore
That you'd never go again.
I had this feeling once
That nothing was out of touch.
I found some comfort there
And did we start digging around?
And did we start dragging around?
Be my burden
Christ, I'm certain I'm already bound.
I'm not ever quite together
I'm not sorted out.
You talked to me some more
And that was worth waiting for.
Sometimes I can't decide
If we're even half alive.
The Connells' song "Burden" is a beautifully crafted piece that expresses feelings of disillusionment and entrapment. The song is about a person who is burdened by their thoughts and is struggling to find clarity in their life. The singer seems to be addressing someone who had asked for more of something but is now unwilling to venture out of their comfort zone. They mention a place that the person swore they would never go again and a feeling they once had that nothing was out of touch. However, despite finding some comfort within this feeling, it doesn't seem to matter much now.
The singer questions whether they started "digging around" and "dragging around" and asks the person to be their burden. This line implies that the person is already burdened but also acknowledges that the singer is in the same boat. They feel like they are not "ever quite together" and not "sorted out". However, the person talking to them is worth waiting for, indicating that the conversation brings a moment of respite. The singer concludes by questioning whether they are even half alive, indicating a feeling of detachment and disconnect from the world.
Overall, "Burden" is a song that talks about the struggles of the human condition, specifically the feeling of being burdened by one's thoughts, and the difficulty of finding clarity in a world that can be challenging and complex.
Line by Line Meaning
And once said "please, some more"
Someone asked for more of something, perhaps indicating a desire or need for more in life.
And not even now and then.
Whatever was asked for before is not received, not even occasionally.
Some place I know you swore That you'd never go again.
Someone promised to never return to a certain place again after a bad experience there.
I had this feeling once That nothing was out of touch.
At one point, the artist felt like everything was within reach or possible.
I found some comfort there But that doesn't matter much.
Something provided emotional comfort in the past, but it is not important now.
And did we start digging around?
The singer questions whether they and others began to search for something or investigate deeper.
And did we start dragging around?
The singer also questions whether they began to carry something heavy or difficult.
Be my burden Christ, I'm certain I'm already bound.
The artist asks someone to be their burden, implying they may feel trapped or weighed down by something already.
I'm not ever quite together I'm not sorted out.
The artist admits to not having everything together and feeling disorganized or chaotic.
You talked to me some more And that was worth waiting for.
Someone finally spoke to the artist again, and it was something they had been looking forward to for a long time.
Sometimes I can't decide If we're even half alive.
The singer questions the quality and meaning of their life or relationship and whether it is truly fulfilling or worthwhile.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DAVID CONNELL, DOUGLAS MACMILLAN, GEORGE HUNTLEY, MICHAEL CONNELL, STEPHEN POTAK, TIMOTHY HARPER, WILLIAM WIMBERLEY JR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bruno Franco
the first cd I ever had... it was a gift from friends on my birthday.. I didn't even had a cd player... I bought shortly after... One of the best albums ever