Old 97's Biography

Old 97's Biography

 The Old 97's are an Alternative country band originally based in Dallas, Texas. The group formed in 1993 and took their name from an old country song popularized by Johnny Cash, "Wreck of the Old 97." They describe themselves as a rock band with influences as varied as the Kinks, the Beatles, the Pixies, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard. The band often performs country standards made famous by the latter two musicians, and has interspersed a number of these on their half-dozen albums over the last decade. The band originally feuded with Ryan Adams of fellow alt-country band Whiskeytown, but both are on good terms today.

 Initially a popular Dallas bar band, the Old 97's toured the country after releasing their first album, 1994's Hitchhike To Rhome. In Chicago, they caught the attention of Bloodshot Records and were signed to record their next album. 1996's Wreck Your Life, now lauded by many fans as the band's best work, brought them to the attention of Elektra Records, who hoped that alt-country could be a new post-grunge fad. Lead singer Rhett Miller, born in Austin, later lived in New York City and Los Angeles. Many of the band's songs include local Texas references, with New York City often appearing as well. The band has never reached the level of success expected of them by the music press and was one of the acts purged from Elektra after the merger of Time Warner and America Online. Their most successful single, 1999's "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)," was named one of the best songs of all time by Blender magazine, but "Nineteen," another single from the album, failed to chart.