Luscious Jackson
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Luscious Jackson is an
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
/
rap-rock Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is co ...
group formed in 1991. The band's name is a reference to former American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player
Lucious Jackson Lucious Brown Jackson (October 31, 1941 – October 12, 2022), also known as Luke Jackson, was an American professional basketball player. A power forward (basketball), power forward and center (basketball), center, he played for the Philadelph ...
. The original band consisted of
Jill Cunniff Jill Cunniff (born August 17, 1966) is an American musician and artist, best known as the lead singer of the band Luscious Jackson. Cunniff was born and raised in New York City and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School where she studied visua ...
(lead vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, guitar), and
Vivian Trimble Vivian Elizabeth Trimble (May 24, 1963 – April 4, 2023) was an American musician, best known as the keyboardist in the band Luscious Jackson from 1991 to 1998. She also joined bandmate Jill Cunniff under the name Kostars and recorded an album r ...
(keyboards, vocals). Drummer
Kate Schellenbach Katherine A. Schellenbach (born January 5, 1966) is an American musician and television producer. She is the drummer of Luscious Jackson and was a founding drummer of Beastie Boys. Career Born in New York City, she played with Beastie Boys from 1 ...
joined the band midway through the recording of their 1992 debut EP '' In Search of Manny''. Between 1993 and 2000, the band released one EP, three full-length LPs, and ten singles on the
Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...
'
Grand Royal Grand Royal was a vanity record label founded in 1992 by rap group Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings. It was based in Los Angeles, California. ''Grand Royal'' was also the name of a maga ...
label. Their biggest hit—and only ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
entry—was "
Naked Eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...
". Other singles include "Here", "Daughters of the Kaos", " Citysong", "Under Your Skin" and " Ladyfingers". Keyboardist Vivian Trimble left the group in 1998, and in 2000 the group announced their breakup, after releasing one album as a trio. February 2007 saw the release of the group's ''
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
''. In 2011, the three remaining members announced that they had reunited and were planning to make new music. The band released two new albums, including a children's album, in November 2013.


History


1991–1993

In 1991,
Jill Cunniff Jill Cunniff (born August 17, 1966) is an American musician and artist, best known as the lead singer of the band Luscious Jackson. Cunniff was born and raised in New York City and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School where she studied visua ...
and Gabby Glaser (the niece of graphic designer
Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...
) created the first Luscious Jackson demo with tip money from their restaurant jobs. The band's name was derived from a
malapropism A malapropism (; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An exam ...
of the name of former American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player
Lucious Jackson Lucious Brown Jackson (October 31, 1941 – October 12, 2022), also known as Luke Jackson, was an American professional basketball player. A power forward (basketball), power forward and center (basketball), center, he played for the Philadelph ...
, after the band members heard an announcer on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande,  Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...
'' mispronounce Jackson's first name as "Luscious" and thought it would make for a great band name. Their first live performance was opening for
Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...
and
Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...
at the now-defunct Building in lower
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The Beastie Boys asked Luscious Jackson to be the first band on their
Grand Royal Grand Royal was a vanity record label founded in 1992 by rap group Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings. It was based in Los Angeles, California. ''Grand Royal'' was also the name of a maga ...
label. Former Beastie Boys band member
Kate Schellenbach Katherine A. Schellenbach (born January 5, 1966) is an American musician and television producer. She is the drummer of Luscious Jackson and was a founding drummer of Beastie Boys. Career Born in New York City, she played with Beastie Boys from 1 ...
soon joined Luscious Jackson on drums, while
Vivian Trimble Vivian Elizabeth Trimble (May 24, 1963 – April 4, 2023) was an American musician, best known as the keyboardist in the band Luscious Jackson from 1991 to 1998. She also joined bandmate Jill Cunniff under the name Kostars and recorded an album r ...
took keyboard and backing vocal duties. Three tracks from the original Luscious Jackson demo, along with four new songs, were released in 1992 as the '' In Search of Manny'' EP. "Let Yourself Get Down" and "Daughters of the Kaos" were issued as promotional singles, while a video was also filmed for the latter.


1994–1995

After previewing two new recordings from their forthcoming album on the promotional ''Daughters of the Kaos'' EP, Luscious Jackson released their first full-length LP for the Grand Royal label, '' Natural Ingredients'' (1994). The album spawned three minor hits with " Citysong", "Deep Shag" and "Here", the latter featured in the film ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...
'' (1995). In addition, all three singles had music videos which received airplay on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. The years 1994 and 1995 brought continued success for the band. They took part in the
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
tour and were the musical guest on numerous television shows, including ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', ''
Viva Variety ''Viva Variety'' is an American sketch comedy series that aired on Comedy Central from April 1997 to December 1999. The series satirizes European variety shows. Overview The show stars Thomas Lennon as Meredith Laupin, Kerri Kenney as the fo ...
'' and MTV's ''
120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the Alternative rock, alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After it ...
''. They were also featured in a fashion segment on MTV's ''
House of Style ''House of Style'' is an MTV show that premiered in May 1989, focusing on America's growing fascination with the "supermodel" craze. The show focused on fashion, lives of models, the modeling industry, and topics such as eating disorders. Overv ...
'' and on the
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
series ''
The Adventures of Pete and Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American television sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It focuses on two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia among thei ...
'' in the episode titled "Dance Fever", where the band performed "Angel", "Satellite", "Pele Merengue" and "Here" at Little Pete's first junior high dance. While on tour in 1995, Trimble and Cunniff recorded a collection of mellow, acoustic-driven songs under the name Kostars, titled '' Klassics with a "K"''. The album was released in 1996 and featured contributions by Schellenbach and Glaser, as well as
Gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
and
Dean Ween Michael Melchiondo Jr. (born September 25, 1970), better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the alternative rock group Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween, Moistboyz and Th ...
of Ween, and was produced by
Josephine Wiggs Miranda Cordelia Susan Josephine Wiggs (born 26 February 1965), simply known as Josephine Wiggs, is an English multi-instrumentalist rock musician, best known for her work as bassist in the alternative rock bands The Breeders and The Perfect D ...
, bass player of
the Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ( ...
.


1996–1997

The time between 1996 and 1997 was Luscious Jackson's most commercially successful period. While promoting the release of their second full-length album, 1996's '' Fever In Fever Out'' (produced by
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...
), they scored their first ''Billboard'' Top 40 hit with "
Naked Eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...
". Two follow-up singles were released: "Under Your Skin" and "Why Do I Lie?", the latter of which was featured in the
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...
film ''
Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunt ...
'' (1997). During this time, Luscious Jackson's "Nice Duds" fan club members received a 10-track CD album of demos and live rarities titled ''Tip Top Starlets''.


1998–2000

In 1998, Luscious Jackson recorded
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
's "
I've Got a Crush on You "I've Got a Crush on You" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It is unique among Gershwin compositions in that it was used for two different Broadway productions: ''Treasure Girl'' (1928), when it was introduced by ...
" for the
Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...
's compilation album ''
Red Hot + Rhapsody Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
'', a tribute to Gershwin which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
awareness and fighting the disease. Luscious Jackson were featured in an
ad campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...
for the Gap throughout 1998 and 1999. Their Christmas ad "
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...
" was voted the most popular of the campaign in ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''. In April of that year, Trimble left Luscious Jackson to pursue other interests, stating that she had grown tired of touring and wanted to ground herself in New York City. Two years later, Trimble and Josephine Wiggs released a self-titled album under the name Dusty Trails. In 1999, Luscious Jackson (recording as a trio) released their third full-length LP, '' Electric Honey''. The single " Ladyfingers" was a moderate success, with the video put into heavy rotation on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
. "Ladyfingers" was also featured in the ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
'' TV series episode " Beer Bad", as well as the "Witch Trial" episode of ''
Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...
''. A second single, "Nervous Breakthrough", was issued without a music video or commercial single release. Plans for releasing "Devotion" as the third single from ''Electric Honey'' were scrapped as interest in the album waned, although a radio/single remix was prepared. The band embarked upon a tour that year with
Cibo Matto Cibo Matto (, Italian language, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Their first album, ''Viva! La Woman'' (1996), had lyrics primarily concerned with food. ...
, and both bands had performed at that year's
Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...
. Trimble was replaced by Singh Birdsong on keyboards, and the touring group was joined by DJ Alex Young and bassist/percussionist Tia Sprocket. In August, the tour included a date at the Opera House in Toronto. In 2000, Luscious Jackson announced they would no longer be recording or touring, as they wanted to spend more time with their families.


Greatest hits and solo albums

In February 2007,
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
released a ''
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
'' album. On February 20, 2007, Cunniff released her first solo album, '' City Beach'', on
the Militia Group The Militia Group is an independent record company based in Long Beach, California. History The Militia Group was founded in 1998 by Chad Pearson as a booking agency, booking for artists such as Slick Shoes, Craig's Brother, Dogwood, twothirtye ...
label. On June 26, 2007, Glaser released her debut solo album, ''Gimme Splash'', via Latchkey Recordings.


Reunion (2011–present)

In 2006, Luscious Jackson announced plans to reunite to record a new album of songs for children. By September of that year, the band had completed eleven tracks for the album and was seeking a label to release it. It was untitled, although Cunniff told MTV she wanted to call it ''It's All Goo''. On July 8, Luscious Jackson's official
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and
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accounts became active and confirmed that the band had reunited. Cunniff, Glaser and Schellenbach all returned to the band, while Trimble did not. Working with
Pledgemusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...
as part of a fundraising drive, the band hoped to finish their album for children that had first been planned in 2006. They also revealed plans to make a new studio album, their first since 1999. A previously unreleased track from 1999 called "Girlscout" was also made available by the band as a free download. On February 8, 2012, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine posted an article on how the band had reunited quietly in 2011 after more than a decade apart to begin work on their first album of new material since ''Electric Honey''. The band opted to skip signing to a traditional label in favor of funding their new project through Pledgemusic. A track titled "Are You Ready?" was made available via internet stream. In September 2013, the lead single from their forthcoming album '' Magic Hour'', "So Rock On", was premiered on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's ''
All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online podcast and radio program hosted by Robin Hilton. It was created in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' then-director Bob Boilen and produced by Robin Hilton beginning in 2001. At first, ...
'' program. The trio released ''Magic Hour'' on November 5, 2013, followed by their children's album, ''Baby DJ'', on November 12. The band performed two shows in support of ''Magic Hour'' in Philadelphia on November 23 and New York on December 7, followed by an appearance on ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' on November 18. Sporadic performances followed in 2014 and 2016. On April 6, 2023, it was reported that former keyboard player Vivian Trimble had died two days prior, on April 4, at the age of 59, due to cancer.


Discography


Side and solo projects

Band members have been involved in the following side and solo projects: * '' Kims We Love'' 7” by
Ladies Who Lunch Ladies who lunch is a phrase often used to describe well-off, well-dressed women who meet for social luncheons, usually during the working time, working week. Typically, the women involved are marriage, married and non-working. Normally the lunch ...
(1995) * '' Klassics with a "K"'' by Kostars (1996) * '' Everybody’s Happy Nowadays'' 7” by
Ladies Who Lunch Ladies who lunch is a phrase often used to describe well-off, well-dressed women who meet for social luncheons, usually during the working time, working week. Typically, the women involved are marriage, married and non-working. Normally the lunch ...
(1997) * '' Dusty Trails'' by Dusty Trails (2000) * ''Punk Debutante'' by Cooler Kids (2003) * '' City Beach'' by
Jill Cunniff Jill Cunniff (born August 17, 1966) is an American musician and artist, best known as the lead singer of the band Luscious Jackson. Cunniff was born and raised in New York City and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School where she studied visua ...
(2007) * ''Gimme Splash'' by Gabby Glaser (2007)


See also

* List of all-female bands


References


External links

*
The Luscious Jackson Source
* * * {{Authority control 1991 establishments in New York City American rap rock groups American feminist musicians Rock music groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 American all-female bands All-female electronic bands Women hip-hop groups Fellaheen Records artists