Living Colour

Living Colour is a rock group from New York, United States, active from 1983 to the present. The band forms in New York City in the mid-1980s around guitarist Vernon Reid, and its name uses the British spelling of “colour”. Its best-known lineup includes Reid, singer Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish, who replaces Muzz Skillings in 1992. J.T. Lewis is also listed among the group’s members.

Style and themes

Living Colour works across hard rock, funk metal, funk rock, alternative metal, pop rock and rap rock, while also drawing on progressive rock, heavy metal, jazz, hip-hop, punk rock, blues, ska and swing. The group’s songs often deal with personal and political موضوعs, including social commentary on racism in the United States. Early material includes jazz-funk instrumentals, punk songs, experimental pieces using guitar synthesizers and an early version of “Funny Vibe”, which later appears on Vivid.

Formation and early years

Before the line-up settles, Reid performs under the name Vernon Reid’s Living Colour between 1984 and 1986 with a changing cast that includes bassists Alex Mosely, Jerome Harris and Carl James; drummers Greg Carter, Pheeroan akLaff and J.T. Lewis; keyboardist Geri Allen; and vocalists D. D. Dyson and Mark Ledford. Reid is also linked to New York’s downtown jazz scene through his work with Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society. The band becomes known for live performances at CBGB.

Mick Jagger takes an interest in the group after Reid auditions for Jagger’s album Primitive Cool. Jagger later sees the band at CBGB, produces two demo recordings and helps lead to their signing with Epic Records.

Albums, chart success and awards

The debut album Vivid reaches a wider audience through MTV airplay for “Cult of Personality” and peaks at number six on the Billboard 200. The song wins the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, and the band also receives the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1989. In 1989 the group performs on Saturday Night Live and tours with The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses on the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

Time’s Up follows in 1990, mixing jazz fusion, punk rock, blues, hip-hop, funk, thrash metal and electronic music. Guest performers include Queen Latifah, Doug E. Fresh, Maceo Parker and Little Richard. The album reaches number 13 on the Billboard 200 and wins a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. In 1991 the band appears on the first Lollapalooza tour and releases the EP Biscuits.

Stain is released in 1993 and reaches number 26 on the Billboard 200. The band disbands in 1995 during sessions for a planned fourth studio album, and some recordings from that period later appear on the compilation Pride.

Breakup, reunion and later releases

Living Colour reunites on 21 December 2000 during a CBGB performance billed as “Head>>Fake w/ special guests”. The reunion leads to Collideoscope in 2003, which does not chart in the United States but receives positive critical reviews. In 2005 Sony Records releases the live album Live from CBGB’s and the compilation Everything Is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour. In 2007 the band issues its first live DVD, On Stage At World Cafe Live.

Muzz Skillings briefly rejoins for a private performance in 2006 when Doug Wimbish cannot attend, and he also appears again at a later Black Rock Coalition tribute in Harlem. The band tours Europe in December 2006 and performs at Rocklahoma in 2008. Later releases include CBGB OMFUG Masters: August 19, 2005 The Bowery Collection and The Paris Concert in 2008.

The Chair in the Doorway appears in 2009 on Megaforce Records and becomes the group’s first charting album since Stain, entering the Billboard 200 at number 161. In 2013 the band performs “Cult of Personality” during CM Punk’s entrance at WrestleMania 29.

Shade follows in 2017 and includes original songs as well as versions of “Preachin’ Blues” by Robert Johnson, “Who Shot Ya?” by The Notorious B.I.G. and “Inner City Blues” by Marvin Gaye. In 2016 the band releases a version of “Who Shot Ya?” ahead of the EP Mixtape, which features Chuck D, Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Prodigal Sunn and Kyle Mansa. That same year the group performs “Cult of Personality” on The Howard Stern Show.

Recent activity

By 2018 the band is working on material for a possible EP or seventh studio album. Steve Vai joins them on stage in Brazil at Rock in Rio in 2022 for “Cult of Personality”. Recording sessions for the seventh studio album begin later that year. In 2023 the band tours the United States with Extreme, and in 2025 it again performs “Cult of Personality” during CM Punk’s entrance at WrestleMania 41. Vernon Reid later says the band plans to release a new album in 2027.