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AMG Biography

Genesis

Genre: ROCK
Music Style: Art-Rock/Progressive-Rock, Pop/Rock, Arranger, Composer

(scale 1-3; 3=highest)
Importance: 3
Popularity: 3
Artist: 2

Genesis has been both a successful progressive art-rock band of the 1970s
and a successful pop-rock band of the 1980s and '90s, though fans of their
earlier work and of their later work might not share the same taste in
music. The group's evolution began at the elite British prep school
Charterhouse, attended by all of its original members -- Tony Banks (b Mar
27, 1951, East Heatbly, Sussex, England) (keyboards), Peter Gabriel (b May
13, 1950, London, England) (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Mike
Rutherford (b Oct 2, 1950) (guitar), and Chris Stewart (replaced by John
Silver) (drums). This lineup signed to Decca Records in the UK and released
"From Genesis To Revelation" (March 1969). Leaving school and turning
professional, the group replaced Silver with John Mayhew, signed to
Charisma Records, and released "Trespass" (October 1970). But by the time
it appeared, Phillips and Silver had dropped out and been replaced by Steve
Hackett (b Feb 12, 1950, London, England) (guitar) and Phil Collins (b Jan
31, 1951, London, England) (drums), and this unit made the third album,
"Nursery Cryme" (November 1972).

Up to this point, Genesis hadn't sold enough records to make the charts,
but they developed a highly visual stage show centered on Gabriel and
toured extensively. Their fourth album, "Foxtrot" (October 1972), finally
broke into the U.K. charts, and from then on they were a big success in
their native country. Their live show was documented on "Genesis Live"
(June 1973), which soared into the UK Top 10. (From here on, every new
Genesis album would reach the Top 10 in Britain.)

"Selling England By The Pound" (November 1973) spawned Genesis's first U.K.
single hit, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," and was their first
album to chart in the US, where it eventually went gold. An even greater
success was the two-LP concept album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway"
(November 1974). Then, just as Genesis seemed to be entering the top ranks
of '70s rock groups, Peter Gabriel quit to start a solo career.

The remaining quartet auditioned singers but finally settled on drummer
Phil Collins, whose voice bore some similarity to Gabriel's. They returned
to action with "A Trick Of The Tail" (March 1976), which turned out to be
their most successful album yet. After "Wind And Wuthering" (January 1977)
and a second live set, "Seconds Out" (November 1977), Hackett also
decamped, and the remaining trio of Banks, Rutherford, and Collins
continued on as Genesis, augmenting themselves with hired musicians
onstage.

As their next album, "And Then There Were Three" (March 1978),
demonstrated, fans liked Genesis even better as a trio than they had as a
quartet or quintet. The album went platinum and produced Genesis's first US
Top 40 hit, "Follow You, Follow Me"; in the U.K., it was their first Top 10
hit.

By the time of "Duke" (April 1980), any resemblance to the art-rock style
of the early Genesis was gone, and the result was another million-seller in
the U.S. In the U.K., "Duke" was the first Genesis album to go to #1, and
each of the band's next four studio albums would do the same.

Genesis's status was only enhanced by "Face Value" (February 1981),
Collins's debut solo album, which was a far bigger hit than any Genesis
album so far. Nevertheless, he stayed with the group, which now began to
alternate periods of solo and band work. (Mike Rutherford achieved separate
success as of the relase of the self-titled debut album by his spin-off
group, Mike + the Mechanics, in November 1985.)

Not surprisingly, "Abacab" (November 1981), the next Genesis album, was the
group's biggest hit yet, soaring into the US Top 10. "Three Sides Live"
(June 1982) was another concert collection, followed by "Genesis" (October
1983), which featured the group's first U.S. Top 10 hit, "That's All!"

Three years passed before the release of "Invisible Touch" (June 1986),
long enough to build up tremendous demand among fans, who bought five
million copies of it in the U.S. alone and put five of its songs into the
Top 10, including the #1 title song, "Throwing It All Away," "Land Of
Confusion," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," and "In Too Deep."

Genesis waited five years before releasing its next album, "We Can't Dance"
(October 1991), which did not match the success of its predecessor, though
with three million in U.S. sales and another five chart singles, including
the Top 10 hit "I Can't Dance," it didn't do too badly. Following a world
tour, Genesis released a two-part concert album under the title "Live/The
Way We Walk, Volume One:The Shorts" (November 1992) contained more concise
pop songs, while "Volume Two: The Longs" (February 1993) contained more
extended performances.

Genesis's popular momentum seemed to be slowing in the mid-1990s, as group
albums and spin-off records ceased to trace new sales peaks with each
release. But both its more challenging early work and its more
radio-friendly later work had a major impact on the music of the 1970s and
'

-- William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide

Roots and Influences: The Beatles, King Crimson, Moody Blues

Similar Artists: Camel, Gentle Giant, Steve Hackett, Jethro Tull, King
Crimson, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Renaissance, Yes

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