THE JAYHAWKS

Formed: 1985, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Members: Gary Louris, vocals, guitar, cofounder, songwriter (born Toledo, Ohio, 10 March 1955); Tim O'Reagan, drums, vocals, percussion (born Chandler, Arizona, 1 October 1958); Marc Perlman, bass (born St. Petersburg, Florida, 28 July 1961); Stephen McCarthy, pedal steel, lap steel guitar, banjo, vocals (born Richmond, Virginia, 12 February 1958). Former members: Ken Callahan, drums; Karen Grotberg, keyboards; Jen Gunderman, keyboards/organ; Don Heffington, drums; Kraig Johnson, guitar, vocals; Mark Olson, vocals, guitar, co-founder; Norm Rogers, drums; Thad Spencer, drums.

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995)

Hit songs since 1990: "Waiting for the Sun," "Blue," "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"

Alittle bit country, a little bit rock and roll, and a little bit folk is probably the best way to describe the music of the Jayhawks, an alternative country band that hit its stride in the midto late 1990s with their album Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995). The Jayhawks have been compared to Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and other arbiters of a worn-out, lonesome country-rock songwriting style.

The Jayhawks formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1985 but did not really make an impact until the mid-1990s. Mark Olson had been playing in a rockabilly band and began his solo career by enlisting the help of Marc Perlman, a guitarist whom Olson persuaded to learn bass. The two added the drummer Norm Rogers and debuted at a club with a crowd of fewer than a dozen people. But they got lucky: Guitarist Gary Louris was in the audience, and, by the end of the night, he joined the not-yet-named Jayhawks. The band garnered accolades and a consistent local following. Their eponymous, independently released debut album sold a respectable few thousand copies. Eventually, the Minnesota independent label Twin/Tone issued a few demos and released it as Blue Earth (1989). After the departure of Rogers and the addition of new drummer, Ken Callahan, the Jayhawks geared up for a national tour.

The Jayhawks were signed to American Records after producer George Drakoulias heard The Blue Earth playing while placing a phone call to Twin/Tone's offices. Drakoulias produced their breakthrough album, Hollywood Town Hall, which became a fixture on the year-end critics lists in 1991. Building on that success, the band released more albums with the twangy honeyed harmonizing of its lead singers, Olson and Louris, serving as the band's unmistakable centerpiece. Their fourth album, Tomorrow the Green Grass, is a country-rock gem and features the heartbreaking, woe-is-me love song "Blue."

Despite their success, the group underwent several personnel changes: Olson left the band in 1996 to spend more time with his wife, the singer Victoria Williams, and play with his country rock band the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers. Callahan exited prior to the release of the record and was replaced by the session drummer Don Heffington; tour drumming duties were handled by Tim O'Reagan. Unsurprisingly, the Jayhawks's subsequent album, Sound of Lies (1997), was a more melancholy affair, but they followed it up with a pop-oriented approach in the critically hailed Smile (2000).

Though the Jayhawks spent a good deal of time shifting personnel and record labels, Louris, Perlman, and O'Reagan have remained in the lineup. The band formed an integral part of the alternative country trend of the 1990s. Despite the accessibility and beauty of the Jayhawks' music, they have yet to achieve the combined commercial and critical success achieved by bands such as Wilco.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

The Jayhawks (Bunkhouse, 1986); Blue Earth (Twin/Tone, 1989); Hollywood Town Hall (American, 1992); Tomorrow the Green Grass (American, 1995); Sound of Lies (Columbia, 1997); Smile (American, 2000); Rainy Day Music (American, 2003).

carrie havranek