Sum 41, along with pop-punk bands such as The Offspring, Blink-182 and Good Charlotte, is a cult group for many people.
In 1996, in the small Canadian town of Ajax (25 km from Toronto), Deryck Whibley persuaded his best friend Steve Jos, who played drums, to form a band.
The beginning of the creative path of the group Sum 41
Thus began the history of one of the most successful punk rock bands. The band's name comes from the English word summer, which means "summer" and the number "41".
It was so many days in the summer that young guys gathered and discussed further plans to conquer the musical Olympus.
At first, Sum 41 played only cover versions on NOFX, competing with other school bands. And also participated in city music competitions.
The third member of the group was John Marshall, who sang vocals and played bass.
Sum 41's first song was called Makes No Difference. It was recorded in 1999. The band members edited the video and sent it to one of the largest recording studios.
And they got interested. Already in 2000, a contract was signed with Island Records and the first mini-album Half Hour of Power was released. The music video for Makes No Difference was later re-shot.
Thanks to the mini-album, the group found success. First of all, this was due to the huge popularity of pop-punk.
On the wave of success
On the wave of success, Sum 41 released their first full-length album, All Killer No Filler, the following year. It quickly went platinum.
By this time, several musicians had changed in the group. And the line-up became more stable: Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin and Steve Jos.
The single Fat Lip became a kind of anthem for the summer of 2001. The song included both hip hop and pop punk. She immediately took a leading position in the music charts of various countries.
This song (along with In Too Deep) can be heard in a number of teen comedies, including American Pie 2.
The All Killer No Filler album included the song Summer, which was featured on the first mini-album. The guys were going to add it to each of their albums, but later this idea was abandoned.
After several hundred performances in 2002, the band recorded a new album, Does This Look Infected?. He became no less successful than the previous one. Songs from the album were used in games, they could be heard in films.
Some of the most popular songs were The Hell Song (dedicated to a friend who died of AIDS) and Still Waiting (which topped the charts in Canada and the UK).
In 2004, the musicians released their next album, Chuck, named after the UN peacekeeper. He saved them during a shootout in the Congo. There the group participated in the filming of a documentary film about the civil war.
The album was very different from the previous ones. There was almost no humour. One of the songs was against George Bush and was called Moron. The album began to appear and lyrical songs, one of them was Pieces.
Personal life of Sum 41 members
In 2004, Derick Whibley met Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, who is often referred to as the "Queen of Pop Punk". During this time, he also decided to become a producer and manager.
After a trip to Venice in 2006, Derik and Avril got married. And they began to live together in California.
But in the same year, Dave Baksh said that he was tired of punk rock and that he was forced to leave the group. The three of them recorded a new album, Underclass Hero.
And again, success - leading positions in the Canadian and Japanese charts. As well as more than 2 million sales worldwide, appearances in movies and games.
After a significant number of concert and TV appearances, Sum 41 took a short break. Derik went on a world tour with his wife, the rest of the members took up their own projects.
Whibley and Lavigne divorce
At the end of 2009, Whibley and Lavigne divorced. The exact reason was unknown. And the following year, work began on a new Screaming Bloody Murder album. The collection was released on March 29, 2011. A new member of the band, lead guitarist Tom Tucker, took part in the recording of the songs.
The album turned out to be difficult, there were disagreements between the band members regarding songs and videos. But in general, it still cannot be called a “failure”.
After this album, the group began a black streak. In April 2013, Steve Joz left Sum 41. And in May 2014, an event occurred that changed the life of Derick Whibley.
He was found unconscious by his girlfriend Ariana Cooper in his own home.
There was information that due to alcohol abuse, his kidneys and liver began to fail and that the singer fell into a coma. For several days the singer was between life and death. But the doctors managed to save him, and in November Whibley was able to return to the stage.
In 2015, the band found a new drummer, Frank Zummo. During one of the concerts, veteran guitarist Dave Baksh was inaugurated. He returned after a long break.
The musicians are working on a new album. And in August in Los Angeles, Derick Whibley got married to Ariana Cooper.
And back to creativity
In April 2016, a new song, Fake My Own Death, was released. The video was published on the channel label Hopeless Records. In August, another lyrical song War was presented. According to Whibley, she became very personal to him. It is about the hard struggle for life, about the fact that you can not give up.
13 Voices was released on October 7, 2016. The popularity of pop punk has already declined. Despite this, the album still took a leading position in the ratings.
Sum 41 remains one of the most popular rock bands of our time. Unlike many musicians, artists have not given up on electric guitars.
And back to the music
In 2019, the band continued to perform and release new songs.
On July 19, 2019, the album Order in Decline was released. It sounded similar to the previous ones. It contains both dynamic (Out For Blood) and lyrical songs (Never There).
