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.
Lay Me Down
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lay me down, remembering
That the wind and the rain
Played a part in that dreadful hour
And so as I pass, I too feel the power
Laying here under the trees
Where three days before
And she said
The lyrics to The Connells's song Lay Me Down are all about the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The song starts off with the singer asking someone to sing to him sweetly as he turns sour, which is a metaphor for the fact that he is no longer as happy and carefree as he once was. He then talks about being laid down to rest and remembering how the wind and rain played a part in a dreadful hour. This suggests that there was some kind of tragedy that occurred during a storm, and the singer is now reflecting on it in his final moments.
Despite the sadness and inevitability of his passing, the singer also finds beauty in the moment. He talks about laying under the trees where just three days before he had danced in a summer shower. This juxtaposition of life and death, joy and sorrow, is a poignant reminder that even though death may be sad and difficult, it is also an integral part of life's journey.
Overall, Lay Me Down is a deeply emotional song that speaks to the human experience of mortality. It reminds us that even though we may face struggles and hardships, life is also full of beauty and wonder, and we should appreciate every moment we have.
Line by Line Meaning
Sing to me sweetly as I turn sour
Comfort me with gentle words as my mood shifts towards negativity
Lay me down, remembering
Place me to rest while reminiscing about the past
That the wind and the rain
The natural elements played a factor
Played a part in that dreadful hour
Contributed to a difficult moment in time
And so as I pass, I too feel the power
As I approach death, I also sense its strength
Laying here under the trees
Resting underneath the foliage
Where three days before
A reference to a recent time period
I danced in a summer shower
Enjoyed the rain while moving rhythmically in warm weather
And she said
Introduces a new speaker or a quoted statement
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GEORGE HUNTLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
B Bloem
on In my Head
I always thought this was being sung to an aborted baby.