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The Jayhawks

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Minneapolis, United States (1985 – present)

Led by the gifted songwriting, impeccable playing, and honeyed harmonies of vocalists/guitarists Gary Louris and Mark Olson, the Jayhawks’ shimmering blend of country, folk, and bar band rock made them one of the most widely acclaimed artists to emerge from the alternative country scene. The group sprung up in 1985 out of the fertile Minneapolis, Minnesota, musical community, where Olson had been playing standup bass in a rockabilly band called Stagger Lee until his desire to write and perform his own country-folk material prompted him to begin a solo career. He enlisted Marc Perlman, the guitarist for a local band called the Neglecters, whom Olson then convinced to take up the bass; after the addition of drummer Norm Rogers, the group first played in front of a crowd of less than a dozen people. One of those patrons, however, was Gary Louris, a veteran of the local bands Safety Last and Schnauzer; after the show, he and Olson began talking, and by the end of the evening Louris, a guitarist famed locally for his innovative, pedal steel-like sound, had become a member of the group, eventually named the Jayhawks.

Drawing on influences like Gram Parsons, the Louvin Brothers, Tim Hardin, and Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan, the Jayhawks quickly became a local favorite, honing their sound in Twin Cities clubs before releasing their eponymous debut in 1986. Issued in a pressing of just a few thousand copies, the album was well received by those who heard it; a major recording deal did not follow, however, so the band continued to polish their craft live, with more and more of their songs bearing writing credits belonging to both Olson and Louris.

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alt-country, americana, rock, alt country, country
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Top Albums

Tomorrow the Green Grass
The Jayhawks
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Rainy Day Music
The Jayhawks
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At the Showbox, Seattle, 16 January 2001 (disc 1)
The Jayhawks
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At the Showbox, Seattle, 16 January 2001 (disc 2)
The Jayhawks
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Top Tracks

1	Blue full track	439
2	Save It For A Rainy Day full track	291
3	Waiting for the Sun full track	245
4	All the Right Reasons full track	234
5	I'd Run Away full track	194
6	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me full track	187
7	Tailspin full track	173
8	Stumbling Through the Dark full track	167
9	Bad Time full track	165
10	Miss Williams' Guitar full track	153
11	Two Hearts full track	137
12	Two Angels full track	134
13	Over My Shoulder full track	127
14	Angelyne full track	124
15	Martin's Song full track	120

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chrisss85 wrote:
last month

thanks dad

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davidboner wrote:
October 2009

I just downloaded a Power Pop comp and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" was on there. Great song, but it was funny to see it show up on my iTunes under the album "Dawson's Creek Soundtrack."

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BluesRok wrote:
September 2009

With all that country in your charts, you should look into joining Country Artist of the Week!

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boozec wrote:
September 2009

These guys are excellent!

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Necrotorian wrote:
August 2009

The Song "Degeneration Show" Isn't From This Band right? It's kind of GothicRock, but this band here has Tags with Country...

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Whisper00 wrote:
August 2009

Over my shoulder is a nice one ;)

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luckystoned wrote:
August 2009

They have very nice songs. i hear it again and again

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Rovlanik wrote:
August 2009

Also, there was a german gothic band by the same name.

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benadlard wrote:
July 2009

Very underrated. Love em.

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noidroid wrote:
July 2009

Tomorrow The Green Grass What a Great Album...

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raisedonrobbery wrote:
July 2009

Let's get this back to talk about The Jayhawks. Anyone picked up Music From The North Country yet? I am loving disc 2 with all the rarities.

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zhundley wrote:
June 2009

Hey guys!! If you like The Jayhawks, check out the band HYMNS. They hail from Brooklyn, NY and just finished recording their new EP. Check them out here: www.myspace.com/hymnsband

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javiwer wrote:
June 2009

Creo que muy muy bien en Primavera Sound

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tph0mes wrote:
June 2009

Just brilliant!

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DearAdora wrote:
June 2009

If you're a fan of the Jayhawks, check out Chicago based indie artist DEAR ADORA! EP available for free stream... http://www.last.fm/music/Dear+Adora

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ArnStar wrote:
May 2009

I attended Gary and Marks acoustic show on Sunday night and it was very good. The sound engineer LOVES his vocal reverb a little to much for my taste though.

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djmann wrote:
May 2009

obra-prima.

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poprockmaniac wrote:
May 2009

Grupos como the Jayhawks son los verdaderos relevos generacionales de gente como Neil Young, o CSN. Son un tesoro. "Hollywood town hall" "tomorrow the green grass" y para mi sobretodo "rainy day music" son discazos que parecen sacados de los 60. Que suerte poderlos ver en el primavera Sound.

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beticux wrote:
May 2009

Los veré en el Festival Territorios en Sevilla junto a Lory Meyers y Wilco. CONCIERTAZO

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davidboner wrote:
March 2009

For those whose listening and drinking habits are intertwined.... http://www.last.fm/group/Drinking+Music

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Recent Activity

rkanksman, himesok, ikketm and 5 other people added The Jayhawks to their libraries. yesterday evening
Murskautuminen tagged The Jayhawks with country, americana and alt-country. Wednesday evening
moonshiner079, herbie963 and popydos added The Jayhawks to their libraries. Wednesday morning
NicklessPT tagged The Jayhawks with alt country and alt-country. Tuesday evening
cuda71, rb1229, Ledbury1 and 11 other people added The Jayhawks to their libraries. Tuesday evening
lilolady tagged The Jayhawks with ‘alt-country’. last week
markstalker and 1 other person added The Jayhawks to their libraries. last week
nooneastern tagged The Jayhawks with ‘alt-country’. last week
SpaceWalkerDJ tagged The Jayhawks with ‘americana’. last week
SpaceWalkerDJ, bbhill3612, Nublo_Live and 46 other people added The Jayhawks to their libraries. last week