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.
Just Like That
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Especially what you see.
Something kind of like a voice
Makes its way across the desk.
You know we're gonna put you
In a Cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
I really think i see you
Just like that.
Everybody wants to have it all.
At least there's a door a few feet away
From your chair.
There's a door and as you begin to stand
You take a last look at the man.
You know we're gonna put you
In a Cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
To the bank and back.
I really think i see you
Just like that.
Everybody wants to have it all.
Nineteen and 70s Chevy
Tricked out a time or two
I'll let the nova
Call the shots again.
You know we're gonna put you
In a Cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
To the bank and back.
I really think i see you
Just like that.
Everybody wants to have it all.
The Connells's song "Just Like That" is a contemplation of the modern American dream. The lyrics describe a scene of an individual in a meeting, unsure of what is happening and what they are being offered. The person hears a voice that beckons to them, promising riches and material success.
The song questions whether the American Dream is just a façade, a false hope, as the lyrics articulate that everyone wants to have it all. The song describes the financial benefit promised with such ridicule, acknowledging the hollowness of material success while questioning if it is possible to attain.
As the individual stands and looks back at the man in the meeting, they realize that there is a door to another future, potentially better, a few feet away. The lyrics suggest that the individual has a choice, and material wealth and success might not be the only options.
Line by Line Meaning
There you are and you can't believe a thing
You are in a state of disbelief and cannot believe anything that is being said or shown to you.
Especially what you see.
You are specifically skeptical of what your eyes are showing you.
Something kind of like a voice
A gentle voice, or something akin to a voice, starts to be heard in the background.
Makes its way across the desk.
That voice seems to be filtering in through the desk.
You know we're gonna put you
In a Cadillac.
You are promised a luxurious, comfortable ride in a Cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
To the bank and back.
You will be extremely happy and successful, and even find humor in your newfound wealth.
I really think i see you
Just like that.
The singer might have some inside information and has a good feeling about you succeeding in this endeavor.
Everybody wants to have it all.
It is natural for everyone to aspire to have everything they desire.
At least there's a door a few feet away
From your chair.
You can leave anytime you want as there is a door very near to your seat.
There's a door and as you begin to stand
You take a last look at the man.
You take a long, meaningful look at the person in front of you as you start to get up and leave.
Nineteen and 70s Chevy
Tricked out a time or two
I'll let the nova
Call the shots again.
A vintage, tricked-out Chevrolet Nova will again rule the road as it used to in the past.
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: DAVID CONNELL, DOUGLAS MACMILLAN, GEORGE HUNTLEY, MICHAEL CONNELL, STEPHEN POTAK, WILLIAM WIMBERLEY JR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
B Bloem
on In my Head
I always thought this was being sung to an aborted baby.