Donnie and Joe Emerson are an American musical duo. Their late 1970s work was largely unknown until it was rediscovered by a new generation of fans in the 21st century.
Background
Living on a 1600-acre family farm in rural
Fruitland, Washington
Fruitland is an unincorporated community in Stevens County, Washington, United States. Fruitland is located along Washington State Route 25 near the Columbia River, northeast of Creston. Fruitland has a post office
A post office is a pub ...
, in the late 1970s, the brothers' father, Don Emerson Sr., encouraged his teenage sons' musical interest as they began writing and playing their own music. Don Sr. built his sons a state-of-the-art $100,000 recording studio called The Practice Place and in it they self-produced and self-released their first album, ''Dreamin' Wild'', in 1979, an eclectic mix of rock, soul, R&B, country and funk music, on their own Enterprise & Co. label.
After ''Dreamin' Wild'', Donnie embarked on a solo career and recorded at least two solo albums; ''Can I See You'', recorded in Los Angeles in 1981, was not released. ''Whatever It Takes'', a country album, was released by a
private press
Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on Book design ...
label in 1997.
''Dreamin' Wild'' had no commercial success until 2008, when record collector Jack Fleischer discovered the record in an antique shop in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. Fleisher began to evangelize it. In July 2012,
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded alb ...
covered the song "Baby" and in the same year
Light in the Attic Records
Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-re ...
re-released ''Dreamin' Wild'', with "Baby" becoming an underground hit. In October 2012, the brothers performed at a Light in the Attic anniversary concert in Seattle.
In the 18 months the Emerson brothers spent in their farm studio, they wrote and recorded around 70 songs. As a result, they followed up the
reissue
In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions.
Reasons for reissue
New audio formats
Reco ...
of ''Dreamin' Wild'' with the 2014 release ''Still Dreamin' Wild: The Lost Recordings 1979–81''.
The 2022 film ''
Dreamin' Wild'' is based on their story.
Discography
*''Dreamin' Wild'' (1979, 2012 reissue)
*''Can I See You'' (1981, Donnie Emerson solo; not released)
*''Through Life'' (1995, Donnie Emerson solo)
*''Whatever It Takes'' (1997, Donnie Emerson solo)
*''Still Dreamin' Wild: The Lost Recordings 1979–81'' (2014)
*"Thoughts in My Mind" (2019, single)
*"Tonight" (2020, single)
*"Finally Found Someone" (2024, single)
*"Searching" (2024, single)
Notes and references
External links
*
*
Light in the Attic Records
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical duos from Washington (state)
Sibling musical duos
American male musical duos
{{US-musician-stub