Cracker (band)

Cracker is an American rock band formed in 1990 by lead singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. The band's first album Cracker was released in 1992 on Virgin Records; it included the single "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)", which went to No. 1 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart. The band's follow-up, the 1993 album Kerosene Hat included the hit songs "Low", "Get Off This" and "Euro-Trash Girl". The band mix influences and sounds from rock, punk, grunge, psychedelia, country, blues and folk.

History

1990s

Shortly after Lowery's former group Camper Van Beethoven disbanded in 1990, he began demoing material along with boyhood friend guitarist Johnny Hickman. After moving from Redlands, California to Richmond, Virginia, Lowery and Hickman recorded a demo tape, later nicknamed Big Dirty Yellow Demos by the group's fans, which included early versions of songs that appeared on later albums. They eventually chose the name Cracker and teamed up with fellow Redlands bass guitarist Davey Faragher. A brief tour with Virginia drummer Go Weatherford followed.

By 1991, the newly formed band had signed a recording contract with Virgin Records and enlisted the help of several drummers/percussionists (Jim Keltner, Michael Urbano and Phil Jones), issuing its first album, Cracker, in 1992. From the album came radio hit "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)", which peaked at No. 1 on Modern Rock Tracks, and a second single entitled "Happy Birthday to Me." The album went on to sell more than 200,000 copies.

A year later, Cracker issued its best-selling album, Kerosene Hat. Urbano performed on Kerosene Hat and toured with Cracker before leaving the band, along with Faragher. After a short spell with Bruce Hughes, Lowery and Hickman added Bob Rupe, formerly of The Silos, as bass guitarist and Charlie Quintana (Bob Dylan, The JuJu Hounds) on drums. In 1993, Cracker contributed the song "Good Times Bad Times" to the Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin album. Initially, the band had recorded a rendition of "When the Levee Breaks" but it was deemed "too weird."

Three years later, The Golden Age was released, with "I Hate My Generation" as the lead single. On 12 March 2018, drummer Charlie Quintana died from a heart attack. In February 2025, bass guitarist Sal Maida died. On 3 March 2025, Bob Rupe died aged 68.

Band members

Current members

David Lowery – vocals, guitar (1990–present)
Johnny Hickman – lead guitar, vocals (1990–present)
Bryan Howard – bass guitar (2014–present)
Carlton "Coco" Owens – drums (2014–present)

Former members

Davey Faragher – bass guitar, vocals (1990–1993, 2014)
Phil Jones – drums, percussion (1990–1992 – session)
Go Weatherford – drums (1990–1991 – touring)
Michael Urbano – drums (1992–1993, 2014)
Joey Peters – drums (1992 – session)
Bruce Hughes – bass guitar (1993–1994)
David Lovering – drums (1993–1994)
Johnny Hott – drums (1994–1995)
Bob Rupe – bass guitar, vocals (1994–2000; d. 2025)
Charlie Quintana – drums (1995–1996; d. 2018)
Frank Funaro – drums (1996–2014)
Kenny Margolis – keyboards, accordion (1996–2007)
Brandy Wood – bass guitar, vocals (2000–2004)
Victor Krummenacher – bass guitar, vocals (2004–2006)
Sal Maida – bass guitar (2006–2014; d. 2025)
Thayer Sarrano – keyboards, vocals (2014–2015)
Matt "Pistol" Stoessel – pedal steel guitar (2014–2023)
Paul McHugh – keyboards, organ (2018–2022)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Album details

! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions

! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%" | US

! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%" | AUS

! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:85%" | UK

! scope="row" | Cracker

Released 1992
Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 178

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Kerosene Hat

Released 1993
Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| 59

| style="text-align:center;"| 123

| style="text-align:center;"| 44

! scope="row" | The Golden Age

Released 1996
Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| 63

| style="text-align:center;"| 136

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Gentleman's Blues

Released 1998
Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| 182

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Forever

Released 2002
Label: Virgin

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Countrysides

Released 2003
Label: BMG

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Greenland

Released 2006
Label: Cooking Vinyl

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey

Released 2009
Label: 429 Records

| style="text-align:center;"| 189

| style="text-align:center;"| —

! scope="row" | Berkeley to Bakersfield

Released 2014
Label: 429 Records

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| colspan="25" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"| "—" denotes release did not chart or become certified.

Compilations, live albums, and EPs

{|class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Type

! Label

| 1993

| Tucson

| style="text-align:center;"| EP

| style="text-align:center;"| Virgin

| 1995

| Bob's Car

| style="text-align:center;"| Compilation

| style="text-align:center;"| Fan Club Release

| 2000

| Garage D'Or

| style="text-align:center;"| Compilation

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| Virgin

| 2002

| Hello, Cleveland! Live from the Metro

| style="text-align:center;"| Live

| 2003

| O' Cracker Where Art Thou?

| style="text-align:center;"| Live

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| Pitch-a-tent

| 2005

| We Don't Suck Live: Live at Wavefest

| style="text-align:center;"| Live

| 2006

| Greatest Hits Redux

| style="text-align:center;"| Compilation

| style="text-align:center;"| Cooking Vinyl

| 2007

| Berlin (Live in Berlin, December 2006)

| style="text-align:center;"| Live

| style="text-align:center;"| Pitch-a-tent

| 2010

| Live at the Rockpalast Crossroads-Festival

| style="text-align:center;"| Live

| style="text-align:center;"| Blue Rose Records

| 2024

| Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective

| style="text-align:center;"| Compilation

| style="text-align:center;"| Cooking Vinyl

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"| Year

!rowspan="2"| Title

!colspan="5"| Chart positions

!rowspan="2"| Album

!width="30"|US

!width="30"|US Alt.

!width="30"|US Main.

!width="30"| AUS

| style="text-align:center;"| 6

| style="text-align:center;"| 18

| style="text-align:center;"| 158

| style="text-align:center;"| 41

| "Euro-Trash Girl"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 25

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 162

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="3"| 1996

| "I Hate My Generation"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 13

| style="text-align:center;"| 24

| style="text-align:center;"| 122

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="3"| The Golden Age

| "Nothing to Believe In"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 32

| style="text-align:center;"| 40

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| "Sweet Thistle Pie"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| 33

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="2"| 1998

| "The Good Life"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="2"| Gentleman's Blues

| "The World Is Mine"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="2"| 2002

| "Shine"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="2"| Forever

| "Merry Christmas, Emily"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="3"| 2006

| "Something You Ain't Got"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="3"| Greenland

| "Gimme One More Chance"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| "Everybody Gets One for Free"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| 2009

| "Turn On Tune In Drop Out with Me"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey

|rowspan="2"| 2014

| "Waited My Whole Life"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|rowspan="2"| Berkeley to Bakersfield

| "Almond Grove"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

Other compilations

The Virgin Years (1995) with Camper Van Beethoven
Get On with It: The Best of Cracker (2006) Virgin Records greatest hits collection (Not authorized by the band)

;Tribute albums

If I Were a Carpenter (1994) – "Rainy Days and Mondays"
Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (1995) – "Good Times Bad Times"
Eyesore: A Stab at the Residents (1996) – "Blue Rosebuds"
Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation (1996) – "Withering"
Burning London: The Clash Tribute (1999) – "White Riot"
This Is Where I Belong - The Songs of Ray Davies & The Kinks (2002) – "Victoria"

Notes

References

External links

Audio recordings at the Live Music Archive