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.
In my Head
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I'm thinking about me
And what I did to you
I can't imagine what I have lost
I'm not bold enough to be
Man enough for you
The dream that's dead
The water has passed beneath us
On a bridge reaching down fro you.
Would you have been a movie star
Or would you have been like me
Nothing but a fool
I can cry and hide and pray a lot
But there's nothing I can do
To save the dream for me
There's no way to save
The dream that's dead
The water has passed beneath us
On a bridge reaching down fro you.
Inside my head I hurt a lot
'Cause I'm thinking about me
And what I did to you
My home is just not big enough
To start a life for three
But I wish I could for you
The Connells' song "In My Head" is a slow ballad that is filled with regret and sorrow. The singer is reflecting on how he has hurt someone he loves and is plagued with thoughts of what could have been. The first stanza of the lyrics reveals how the singer feels remorseful for the harm he has caused to his partner. He is consumed by thoughts of himself and what he has done to hurt them. He's aware that he has caused irreparable damage, and there's nothing he can do to fix the situation. The second stanza shows that the singer is aware of his shortcomings and how they have affected his relationship. He acknowledges that he is not "bold enough to be man enough" for his partner, which suggests that he has let them down.
The chorus of the song, "There's no way to save the dream that's dead, The water has passed beneath us, on a bridge reaching down for you," is a metaphor for the past. The dream that is dead is the relationship that has ended, and the water beneath them is the time that has passed beyond their control. The bridge reaching down for you signifies the possibility of moving on and letting go of what's been lost. Overall, the song is a poignant reminder that sometimes, we make mistakes that we can't undo, and it's okay to grieve what's been lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside my head I hurt a lot
I am feeling a lot of emotional pain internally
'Cause I'm thinking about me
I am feeling guilty for only thinking about myself
And what I did to you
I am regretting my past actions and their impact on you
I can't imagine what I have lost
I am struggling to comprehend the full extent of what I have lost
I'm not bold enough to be
I lack the confidence and courage to be the person you deserve
Man enough for you
I don't feel like I can live up to your expectations of me as a man
There's no way to save
It's impossible to salvage
The dream that's dead
The hope for our future together is gone
The water has passed beneath us
Time has moved on without us and we can't go back
On a bridge reaching down fro you.
We had a chance to be together but I didn't take it
Would you have been a movie star
I wonder what your life would be like if we were still together
Or would you have been like me
I question whether you would have faced the same struggles as me
Nothing but a fool
I feel foolish for letting you go
I can cry and hide and pray a lot
I am trying my best to cope with my emotions
But there's nothing I can do
Ultimately, I feel powerless to change the past or present
To save the dream for me
I wish I could bring back our hope and future together
My home is just not big enough
I am not ready or capable of starting a family with you
To start a life for three
I wish I could provide a stable and loving home for you and a child
But I wish I could for you
I want the best for you and regret that I can't give it to you
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GEORGE HUNTLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
B Bloem
I always thought this was being sung to an aborted baby.