Cherry Poppin' Daddies

The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American band established in Eugene, Oregon in 1989. Formed by singer Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced many membership changes over the years, with only Perry, Schmid and trumpeter Dana Heitman currently remaining from the founding line-up.
 
The Daddies' music is primarily a mix of swing and ska with modern rock and pop influences, characterized by a prominent horn section and Perry's darkly mordant lyricism. While the band's earliest releases were rooted mostly in funk and punk rock, their subsequent studio albums have since incorporated elements from many diverse genres of popular music and Americana into their sound, including rockabilly, rhythm and blues, soul and world music.
 
Having first established themselves in the West Coast third wave ska scene, the Daddies ultimately broke into the musical mainstream with their 1997 swing compilation Zoot Suit Riot. Released at the onset of the late 1990s swing revival, Zoot Suit Riot sold over two million copies in the United States while its eponymous single became a radio hit, launching the Daddies to the forefront of the neo-swing movement. By the end of the decade, however, the Daddies' mainstream popularity declined with that of the swing revival's, and the resulting commercial failure of their ska-flavored follow-up Soul Caddy led to an abrupt hiatus in 2000.
 
The Daddies officially regrouped in 2002 to resume part-time touring, eventually returning to recording with the independently-released Susquehanna in 2008. Their sixth studio album, a swing/rockabilly double album entitled White Teeth, Black Thoughts, was released on July 16, 2013.
 
(wiki)
 
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by John Bush
 
The eight-piece ska/swing revival collective Cherry Poppin Daddies formed out of several groups around the University of Oregon in Eugene. Vocalist/guitarist Steve Perry (aka MC Large Drink) and bassist Dan Schmid originally played in the Jazz Greats and the Hucks, then formed Cherry Poppin Daddies in 1989 with a lineup which gradually encompassed guitarist Jason Moss, drummer Tim Donahue, trumpeter Dana Heitman, Sean Flannery on tenor saxophone, Ian Early on alto and baritone, and keyboard player Dustin Lanker.
 
The group released their debut album, Ferociously Stoned, in 1990 on Sub Par Records and followed it up four years later with Rapid City Muscle Car. The Pacific Northwest was in the grips of the grunge wave during the early 90s, though, so the Cherry Poppin Daddies live show puzzled quite a few fans of alternative rock. By the mid-90s, the fascination with formerly neglected musical styles (including easy listening and swing) had increased the bands prominence, along with bands like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Royal Crown Revue. After third album Kids on the Street was picked up for distribution by Caroline Records, the group compiled the most swing-oriented tracks from their back catalog for release on Zoot Suit Riot. Following up to their 1997 multi-platinum Zoot Suit Riot, Soul Caddy was released in mid-2000. Lanker and Schmid left the group the next year and formed the Visible Men.