Team hits Matchbox Twenty can be called "eternal", putting them on a par with the popular compositions of The Beatles, REM and Pearl Jam. The band's style and sound are reminiscent of these legendary bands.
The musicians' work clearly expresses the modern trends of classic rock, based on the extraordinary vocals of the permanent leader of the band - Robert Kelly Thomas.
The arrival of Matchbox Twenty
Robert Kelly Thomas was born into a military family, in one of the strongholds of the Armed Forces in Germany. The difficult relationship of the parents forced the child to be torn between the families of the mother, who went to live in Florida, and her grandmother, who lived in South Carolina.
Musical talents, like a rebellious character, manifested themselves in a guy from an early age. And at the age of 17, the teenager dropped out of school.
The guy tried to join various rock bands performing in bars until he met the musicians of the band Tabitha's Secret. Here he met the future members of his own team - drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale. After several months of working with the main group, the friends decided to create their own project.
Three members were not enough to create a full-fledged team. And the musicians invited Kyle Cook as the lead guitarist and Adam Gaynor to the rhythm section. In this composition, the guys began to create their own material. They organized minor tours in parallel, enjoying even greater popularity among regular listeners.
The musicians took their name, like many rockers, by accident, and reacted to this with humor. One evening, the guys noticed a box of phosphoric matches in a bar and chose the name Matchbox 20. In 1996, at the request of producer Matt Serletich, the musicians recorded several demos, which allowed them to interest the famous Atlantic Records label.
The heyday of Matchbox Twenty's career
The popularity of the first studio album Yourself or Someone Like You, in addition to the unconditional talent of the musicians, is to blame for a fatal combination of circumstances. The record sold even more copies than originally planned.
As the years since the release have shown, the musicians did a great job. In total, more than 12 million copies have been sold worldwide.
The composition Push from the debut album entered all the charts on radio stations and conquered the hit lists of the MTV channel. Fans at first misunderstood the author's meaning in the song and tried to accuse Robert Kelly Thomas of participating in excessive violence. However, after a frank interview with the vocalist, who spoke about the fact that we are talking about more subtle matters, everything fell into place.
Thanks to the tour in support of the debut album, the group gained immense popularity. The band received a prestigious Grammy nomination and was twice nominated for the Billboard Music Video Awards.
Colleagues began to pay attention to the musicians, and one of the joint projects was the popular composition Smooth, written by Robert Thomas for Carlos Santana.
It was thanks to this work that the tandem received another Grammy Award. Sales of the single in the first months alone exceeded 1 million copies. In 1999, the work, according to most authoritative publications, was recognized as a hit number 1 in the world, which only added fame to each of the duet members.
Compositions Back 2 Good, 3 AM and Push continue to conquer the top of the charts of radio stations. The team went on a long tour of the country. The guys are not shy about performing in small bars, giving their creativity to ordinary people who are not able to get to the stadium performances.
New name
At the turn of the century, in 2000, the team decided to change their name slightly, after which they turned into Matchbox Twenty. Then came the second studio work of the Mad Season team.
The slightly changed sound of the group showed a significant maturation of the group. The rotation on the radio did not stop, and as a result - two Grammy awards for the album and the composition Bent.
The incessant tours left the musicians practically no time to rest. And only in the next year there was time for a slight break.
But even brief moments of calm in concert activity, Robert Thomas used to record duets with such famous musicians as Marc Anthony, Mick Jagger and Willie Nelson.
The Creative Quest of Matchbox Twenty
The rest of the team also did not hesitate to show their talents. They tried to create solo projects. However, all the recorded compositions ended up in the repertoire of the Matchbox Twenty group.
2002 was marked by a big concert by Willie Nelson and Friends: Stars and Guitars. There the team performed on a par with many stars of the rock scene. This year a new studio work More Than You Think You Are was released. It was preceded by long creative disputes and experiments.
The album was not very popular with either critics or fans. But that didn't stop a few tracks from getting airplay on the radio.
Since that time, the band continues to actively tour and take part in various events. The musicians did not leave solo projects. So, in 2005, Robert Thomas recorded the album Something To Be, which received a new unusual sound. Many compositions from this work have become real hits, having won their fans in different parts of the world.
The next studio work Exile On Mainstream was released only in 2007. It is a collection of the best compositions, with several new tracks. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard chart.
The band's last studio album, North, was recorded in 2012. In his support, the team again went to conquer various music venues in the world, delighting their new and regular fans.
