MATCHBOX TWENTY

'Matchbox Twenty' (originally 'Matchbox 20', typeset as 'matchbox twenty' on most official merchandise and albums) is a rock band formed in Orlando, Florida. Matchbox Twenty have sold in excess of 39 million albums worldwide from the releases of ''Yourself Or Someone Like You'', ''Mad Season'' and ''More Than You Think You Are.'' The current members of the band are Rob Thomas (vocals, piano), Paul Doucette (drums), Kyle Cook (lead guitar, vocals) and Brian Yale (bass). Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar) left the band in 2005, after performing on all three of their studio albums. Rob Thomas is the principal songwriter and lead singer. Since the band's hiatus in 2004, Thomas has created a well-established solo career for himself after releasing the album ''...Something To Be''.

Contents

History

Yourself Or Someone Like You (1997-2000)

Mad Season (2000-2002)

More Than You Think You Are and band hiatus (2002-2007)

Exile on Mainstream and the future (2007-present)

Lineup

Discography

Albums

Videos

Singles

References

External links

History

Rob Thomas, Brian Yale and Paul Doucette performed in the band Tabitha's Secret out of Orlando, Florida before splitting apart to form Matchbox 20 with Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor.

Yourself Or Someone Like You (1997-2000)

Main articles: Yourself Or Someone Like You

Matchbox Twenty 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 U.S. alone, earning diamond status. The band toured relentlessly for several years, performing the songs from their one and only album, along with some beloved cover songs such as Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and The Beatles "Don't Let Me Down". Their fan base grew from concert to concert based on their electrifying live performances and the longevity of their hit singles on radio. That same year, Matchbox Twenty recorded a live version of their Top-40 hit "3 AM" for release on the charity album ''Live in the X Lounge'', benefiting cerebral palsy research.
Before recording their second album, Rob Thomas collaborated with Itaal Shur on a song entitled "Smooth" for Carlos Santana's comeback album, ''Supernatural''. The song had a pop-tinged Latin beat and showcased Thomas' lyrical talents. Thomas was supposed to act solely as songwriter on "Smooth", but Carlos Santana had him sing on it as well after hearing the song's demo recording. "Smooth", was the album's lead single and became a gigantic hit in 1999; Thomas earned three Grammys for writing and performing on "Smooth", including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Mad Season (2000-2002)

Main articles: Mad Season (album)

In 2000, Matchbox 20 renamed themselves Matchbox Twenty and released their second album, ''Mad Season''. The album featured lush instrumental arrangements and spun off several hit singles, including "Bent" (Number One on Hot 100) and "If You're Gone". The video for "Bent", poked fun of singer Thomas' heightened profile from "Smooth" by showing the other band members assaulting him mercilessly. The evocatively arranged ballad "If You're Gone" became a big hit, especially on adult contemporary formats. The band's next two singles, "Mad Season" and "Last Beautiful Girl" were not particularly successful.

More Than You Think You Are and band hiatus (2002-2007)

Main articles: More Than You Think You Are

For their third album, ''More Than You Think You Are'', the band returned to a harder rock sound. Thomas shared the songwriting efforts with the other band members on several songs. The album spun off hit singles "Disease", "Unwell", and "Bright Lights". Although it was not as commercially successful as the band's two earlier efforts,it had an enormous radio presence for well over a year, and received a large amount of critical praise.
In May 2004, the band released a live concert DVD, ''Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty'', filmed in Atlanta and 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 went on to release a solo album entitled ''...Something To Be'' which became the U.S. Billboard 200 #1 album the first week of its release. The album featured four hit singles: "Lonely No More", "This Is How a Heart Breaks", "Ever the Same" and "Streetcorner Symphony".
In January 2007, Rob Thomas released a single entitled "Little Wonders" which he wrote for the Disney movie ''Meet the Robinsons''.

Exile on Mainstream and the future (2007-present)

Main articles: Exile on Mainstream

The band will return to the music scene later in 2007, with the release of their 'retrospective' album, Exile on Mainstream, on the 2nd of October. How Far We've Come was the first single off the new album, which also includes 5 other new songs and a complete collection of all their previously released singles. How Far We've Come was released on the band's MySpace page in July, with the video release on September 6, 2007. Rob Thomas has said in several interviews that a US tour will start in January and then onto Australia in April.

Lineup

★ Rob Thomas – vocals and piano

★ Kyle Cook – lead guitar and vocals

★ Brian Yale – bass guitar

★ Paul Doucette – drums, percussion and vocals (1996-present) guitar, piano and vocals

Discography

Albums

★ ''Yourself or Someone Like You'' (1996) US: #5 (12x Platinum) AUS: #1 (9x Platinum) AUS: (End of year chart 1998): #1 [1] (WW: 20 million)

★ ''Mad Season'' (2000) US: #3 (4x Platinum); UK: #31,(WW: 10 million)

★ ''More Than You Think You Are'' (2002) US: #6 (2x Platinum); UK: #31, AUS: #3 (5x Platinum) (WW: 7 million)

★ ''EP'' (2003)

★ ''Exile on Mainstream'' (Greatest Hits CD, scheduled for October 2nd, 2007)

Videos

★ ''Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty (DVD)''

Singles

Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. Modern Rock	U.S. Mainstream Rock	U.S. Adult Top 40	U.S. Top 40 Mainstream	U.S. Pop 100	UK	AUS	Album
1996	"Long Day"	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	''Yourself or Someone Like You''
1997	"Push"	-	1	4	6	3	-	38	8	''Yourself or Someone Like You''
1997	"3 A.M."	-	3	2	1	2	-	64	31	''Yourself or Someone Like You''
1998	"Real World"	38	13	17	3	4	-	-	40	''Yourself or Someone Like You''
1998	"Back 2 Good"	24	-	-	4	8	-	-	-	''Yourself or Someone Like You''
2000	"Bent"	1	16	24	1	1	-	79	19	''Mad Season''
2000	"If You're Gone"	5	-	-	1	4	-	50	18	''Mad Season''
2001	"Mad Season"	48	-	-	-	20	-	76	42	''Mad Season''
2001	"Angry"	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	''Mad Season''
2001	"Last Beautiful Girl"	-	-	-	20	-	-	-	-	''Mad Season''
2002	"Disease"	29	21	-	4	15	-	50	31	''More Than You Think You Are''
2003	"Unwell"	5	-	-	1	3	-	-	12	''More Than You Think You Are''
2004	"Bright Lights"	23	-	-	2	15	-	-	26	''More Than You Think You Are''
2004	"Downfall"	-	-	-	27	-	-	-	-	''More Than You Think You Are''
2004	"All I Need"	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	32	''More Than You Think You Are''
2007	"How Far We've Come" A	93	-	-	7	26	76	-	-	''Exile on Mainstream''

★ ^A Current Single

References

External links

★ Official website