| Years active: |
1996-present |
| Genre(s): |
Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Grunge |
| Label(s): |
Atlantic Records |
| Members: |
Rob Thomas, Brian Yale, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cook |
HISTORY
matchbox twenty (originally Matchbox 20) is a rock band from Orlando, Florida, who have sold in excess of 37 million albums worldwide. The current members of the band are Rob Thomas, vocals; Brian Yale, bass; Paul Doucette, drums; and Kyle Cook, lead guitar. Thomas, Yale and Doucette played in the Orlando, Florida, band Tabitha's Secret before splitting apart to form Matchbox 20 with Cook and rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor.
Matchbox 20 released their first album, yourself or someone like you in 1996. While their first single, "Long Day", was a rock radio-only smash, the album soon spun off several Top 40 hit singles throughout 1997 and 1998, including "Push", "3 A.M.", "Real World" and "Back 2 Good". The album eventually went on to sell over 12 million copies in the US alone, earning diamond status.
Before recording their next album, Itaal Shur, Carlos Santana and Thomas wrote a song for Santana's comeback album, Supernatural, on which Thomas sang lead vocals. The song, "Smooth", became the album's lead single and a gigantic hit in 1999; Shur, Thomas and Santana earned several Grammys for writing "Smooth".
In 2000, Matchbox 20 renamed themselves matchbox twenty and released their second album, mad season. The video for their first hit single, "Bent", made fun of singer Thomas' heightened profile by showing the other band members mug and beat him mercilessly. The evocatively arranged ballad "If You're Gone" became a big hit, especially on adult contemporary formats; "Mad Season" was also a hit.
For their third album, the other band members demanded equal songwriting credit. Sharing the songwriting duties proved to be a good idea, as the band once again had a greatly successful album, more than you think you are, that was omnipresent on radio for more than a year and a half with several hit singles including "Disease", "Bright Lights" and "Unwell", which topped the charts for 20 weeks in 2003.
In May 2004, the band released a concert DVD, Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty, featuring 20 songs, including all of their hit singles.
In February 2005, rhythm guitarist Gaynor officially left the group, which had been on hiatus to allow other members to pursue side projects. Rob Thomas has released some solo work, including the US Billboard 200 #1 album, ...Something To Be, and the top ten hit, "Lonely No More".
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