The Philosopher Kings

Last updated
The Philosopher Kings
Origin Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Genres R&B, pop, pop rock
Years active1993–1999, 2004–2009, 2016–present
Spinoffs Prozzäk
Members Gerald Eaton
James Bryan McCollum
Brian West
Denton Whited
Marc Rogers
Past members Craig Hunter
Jason Levine
Jon Levine
Website www.philosopherkings.com

The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian band. The band was most commercially successful in the late 1990s and have been nominated for five Juno Awards, winning one in 1996 for "Best New Group". [1] Most of the band members, current and former, have also had successful careers as songwriters and producers for several artists and performers. Between 1996 and 2016, The Philosopher Kings were among the top 150 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 50 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. [2]

Contents

History

The Philosopher Kings formed in 1993. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic , in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings. The band released their debut album in Canada in 1994. The album was later released in the United States by Columbia. [3] The group saw minor success in the United States with the single "Charms", which peaked at #36 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart in 1996.

The band performed across Canada, [4] and won the award for "Best New Group" at the 1996 Juno Awards. In 1997, the band released their second album, Famous, Rich and Beautiful . The album featured several singles which were hits in Canada, including "I Am the Man", "Hurts to Love You" and "Cry". The album was certified Platinum in Canada in 1998 and is the band's best-selling album. The band was nominated for "Best Group" at the 1999 Juno Awards. In 1999, drummer Craig Hunter was replaced by Denton Whited. The band was inactive from 2000 to 2003 as members pursued different projects. In 2004, all of the band members (minus Jason Levine) reunited and the band released the album Castles in 2006, with their lead single, "Castles in the Sand" reaching the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary charts in Canada. After going on hiatus again in the 2010s, the band reunited again in 2016. In 2018, the band released the album Return of the Kings.

Members

Current line-up

Past members

Discography

Albums

YearTitlePeak chart positionsCertifications
CAN
[5]
CAN
[6]
1994 The Philosopher Kings Gold
1997 Famous, Rich and Beautiful 62Platinum
1999One Night Stand
2006Castles
2018Return of the Kings

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positionsAlbum
CAN
[7]
CAN Content (Cancon)
[8]
CAN Dance
[9]
U.S.
Top 40

[10]
1994"Turn My Head Around"6The Philosopher Kings
"Lay My Body Down"
1995"Charms"161536
1997"I Am the Man"7Famous, Rich and Beautiful
1998"Hurts to Love You"8
"Cry"13
"You Don't Love Me (Like You Used To Do)"71
1999"You Stepped on My Life"30
2000"If I Ever Lose This Heaven"44One Night Stand
2005"Castles in the Sand"Castles
2006"Give Back the Love"
"Beautiful Creature"
2017"Still the One"Return of the Kings
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards

Nominations

Side projects

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prozzäk</span> Canadian musical duo

Prozzäk are a Canadian virtual pop music duo formed by Jay Levine and James Bryan McCollum in 1998. Their recordings and animated music videos tell the comedic tale of their frontmen, Simon (Levine) and Milo (McCollum), who are best friends on a search to find true love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootsauce</span> Canadian rock band

Bootsauce was a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band based in Montreal. The band was composed of Drew Ling (vocals), Pere Fume (guitar), Sonny Greenwich Jr. (guitar), Alan Baculis, and John "Fatboy" Lalley (drums). Their style combined soul, funk and metal sounds. Two of their albums, The Brown Album and Bull achieved Gold status in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Econoline Crush</span> Canadian rock band

Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1992. They have released five studio albums and two studio EPs, and are best known for their charting singles such as "You Don't Know What It's Like", "Home", "Surefire ", "All That You Are (X3)", "Make It Right", and "Dirty". They achieved platinum status with the 1997 album The Devil You Know and also received two Juno nominations, in 1995 for Purge and in 1998 for The Devil You Know.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarvis Church</span> Musical artist

Gerald Eaton is a Jamaican-Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and music producer, also known by his stage name Jarvis Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit of the West</span> Canadian rock band

Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54-40 (band)</span> Canadian rock band

54-40 is a Canadian rock band from Tsawwassen, Delta, British Columbia. The band take their name from the slogan "54-40 or Fight!", coined to express the successful expansionist agenda of James K. Polk's presidency, which was intent upon controlling a contested U.S.-Canada border area in the Oregon boundary dispute. 54-40 has had a successful career, with four of their albums being certified platinum in Canada. The band has been nominated for eight Juno Awards. Between 1996 and 2016, 54-40 were among the top 150 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 50 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass Tiger</span> Canadian music band

Glass Tiger is a Canadian rock band from Newmarket, Ontario that formed in 1983. The band has released five studio albums. Its 1986 debut album, The Thin Red Line, went quadruple platinum in Canada and gold in the United States. Two singles from that album, "Don't Forget Me " and "Someday", reached the U.S. top 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moist (band)</span> Canadian rock band

Moist is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1992. It consists of David Usher as lead vocalist, Mark Makoway on lead guitars, Jonathan Gallivan on guitars, Kevin Young on keyboards, Francis Fillion on drums, and Jeff Pearce on bass. Drummer Paul Wilcox left the band just before its hiatus in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Mother Earth</span> Canadian rock band

I Mother Earth, or IME, is a Canadian rock band formed in 1990 and reaching its peak popularity in the latter half of the 1990s. After an eight-year hiatus, it reunited in 2012. Between 1996 and 2016, it was among the top 150 best-selling Canadian artists and top 40 Canadian bands in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odds (band)</span> Canadian alternative rock band

Odds are a Canadian alternative rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for six Juno Awards in the 1990s. As of 2014, they are on their fifth record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pure (Canadian band)</span> Canadian alternative rock band

Pure is an alternative rock band, formed in Vancouver in 1991. First signed to the Reprise label by Rob Cavallo and Michael Ostin, the band reached a greater audience once their song "Greedy" was featured on the soundtrack album Songs from the Cool World, and the single "Blast" reached No. 22 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in 1993. In 2024 Jordy Birch started releasing new Pure music. The first single is called "Issues"

<i>The Philosopher Kings</i> (album) 1994 studio album by The Philosopher Kings

The Philosopher Kings is the debut album by the Canadian band the Philosopher Kings, released in 1994. The first single was "Turn My Head Around".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian West (record producer)</span> Canadian record producer and songwriter

Brian West is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, and musician. Formerly of the production team Track and Field, he is best known for his work with Nelly Furtado, Maroon 5, Awolnation, K'naan, and Bono. He co-produced Andy Grammer's single Honey, I'm Good with Steve Greenberg and Nolan Sipe. His most recent release, "Salted Wound," sung by Sia, is on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. West has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards and has won seven Juno Awards. West is a guitarist for the Canadian band The Philosopher Kings.

Wild T & the Spirit is a Canadian blues rock band, fronted by guitarist Tony Springer.

<i>Famous, Rich and Beautiful</i> 1997 studio album by The Philosopher Kings

Famous, Rich and Beautiful is the second album by Canadian R&B band The Philosopher Kings, released in 1997.

"She Ain't Pretty" is a single by Canadian rock band The Northern Pikes, from their 1990 album Snow in June. It is the song for which the Pikes are best known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Make a Night to Remember</span> 1996 single by Bryan Adams

"Let's Make a Night to Remember" is a song written by Canadian rock artist Bryan Adams, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It was recorded by Adams and released on August 12, 1996, as the second single from his seventh studio album, 18 til I Die (1996). The song's musical-style and production were heavily inspired by rock and pop music from the 1980s, and its lyrics chronicle a relationship.

This is the discography of Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip. They have released 13 studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, two video albums, two extended plays, and a boxed set.

Scrubbaloe Caine was a Canadian rock music group, active from 1970 to 1975. Although they released only one album during their time as a band, they are noted for having garnered a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Group, and for the participation of several members who subsequently went on to greater success with other bands.

David Gibson is a Canadian pop-rock singer. He received a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Male Vocalist in 1987.

References

  1. AWARDS . Retrieved June 3, 2021.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  3. Larry LeBlanc (22 June 1996). "Sony Music Takes on the World". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 62. ISSN   0006-2510.
  4. "Heads Turning". Imprint, University of Waterloo, 1996.
  5. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' albums in Canada: *For "Famous, Rich and Beautiful" "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 67, No. 2". RPM. April 6, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  6. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. 25 January 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. Search for Canadian peaks
  8. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' singles on Cancon chart:
  9. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' singles on Canadian Dance chart:
  10. "Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved June 29, 2019.