Collective Soul life and biography

Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. They have recorded seven Number One mainstream rock hits.

As Collective Soul's recognition moved beyond their hometown of Stockbridge, Georgia, the media and the record industry said the band came up out of nowhere--they were an overnight success. But their lead singer and guitarist, Ed Roland, knows their "overnight success" was more than 12 years in the making.

Ed Roland and his brother, guitarist Dean Roland, grew up in a very strict household. Their father, Eddie Roland, was a southern Baptist minister, while their mother, Lynette, taught children with special needs. Until the boys became teenagers, the only rock 'n' roll they heard came from Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis records. But Eddie Roland often used music to minister to his church, and his sons Ed and Dean both became interested in playing guitar.
After graduating from high school, Ed Roland moved to Boston for a year to study at the renowned Berklee School of Music. When he returned to Stockbridge, he landed a job at a local recording studio, which he used to record his own music during the studio's off-hours. In the late 1980s, Roland, lead guitarist Ross Childress, and drummer Shane Evans played in a band called Marching Two Step.

In 1992 Roland, Childress, and Evans left Marching Two Step to form a new group called Collective Soul. They named the band after a concept from the classic novel The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Even before the days of Marching Two Step, Roland had sent demo tapes to every major label, hoping for a break. Year after year, he received rejections. In November of 1992, Collective Soul played a showcase for several of the big record companies--still to no avail. "We had done all these conventions, and had record people flying to see us, and no one took interest," Ed Roland told RIP magazine. "Basically, I had just had enough of the whole thing. So I told the guys, 'I'm dissolving the band--I do not want to do it anymore.'"

Roland spent the first three months of 1993 sequestered in the basement studio of his manager's house. He had decided that if he couldn't make it as a performer after 12 years of trying, he would attempt to get a publishing deal and sell his songs to other artists. He recorded a brand new set of songs for his demo and started sending them out.
While he was shipping out the demos, he went ahead and sent a copy to Georgia State University's radio station, WRAS, under the name Brothers and Brides. The station started playing the song "Shine," and Roland's project began to gain local attention. In September and October of 1993, he got Evans, Childress, his brother Dean, and longtime friend and bassist Will Turpin together for some live performances. By the end of the year, the band decided to stay together and record under the name Collective Soul. They added three of the songs they recorded in Marching Two Step to Roland's existing demo and released the CD Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid on the independent Rising Storm label.

Once again, Collective Soul sent their new CD to major record labels and received more rejections. But they also shipped the album to radio stations all over the country. Soon, many other radio stations joined WRAS in playing "Shine," and the band's popularity skyrocketed.

By February of 1994, Atlantic Records had signed the band to a record contract. Atlantic remixed the CD and released it on their label just two months later, eliminating only one of the original songs. "Shine" became a gold single and spent eight weeks on top of the AOR charts. Roland's 12-year effort had come to fruition. "We were very shocked," he said in the band's press bio. "I was hoping to sell 10-20,000 records, just enough to make a real Collective Soul album."
The group spent the next few months touring and in August of 1994 celebrated a week of career excitement. "It was probably the biggest week of our lives," Roland recalled in the press packet interview. "Wednesday we played in Toronto and got presented our Canadian platinum record. Friday we played Woodstock '94--sharing the stage with some of our favorite bands. The following Monday we started our opening tour with Aerosmith. And two days later we were certified platinum in the States. It was like one big blur.... I woke up Thursday morning shaking, asking myself, 'What's gonna happen today?'"

The whirlwind kept going throughout the rest of 1994. Collective Soul released the single "Breathe" in October. The band performed on The Late Show with David Letterman even though Roland's guitar amp had blown up before they went on. And they recorded a new song called "Gel" for The Jerky Boys film soundtrack.

The group decided to self-title their second album--which was released in the spring of 1995--since they saw it as their first "official" album as a band. Hints compiled Ed Roland's songs, but Collective Soul represented the entire group's effort. The band's megahit, "December," showcased their musical versatility. "'December' is a much moodier song [than 'Shine']," Roland explained in the band's press biography. "We wanted people to know that there's a different side to us." The song went on to capture the Billboard Music Award for best rock song.

After the release of Collective Soul, the band hit the touring circuit once again, opening for rock veterans Van Halen. Two months later, they went out on their own, headlining smaller venues as the success of their first "official" album soared. Though a few members of the press predicted Collective Soul would be a "one-hit wonder" with "Shine," the group had proved them wrong. After a dozen years of working for their success, the band wasn't about to give up that easily--nor did they take it for granted. "When I start feeling down, I feel like I'm being selfish because there are so many people out there who wish they could be doing what we're doing," noted Roland. "I worked hard to be in this position for many years, and I'm very thankful to be here. I won't take it for granted. It could be a lot worse."

Collective Soul released their eighth studio album, another self-titled, but designated by the band as Rabbit. It was released on August 25, 2009 by Roadrunner Records, a subsidiary of their previous label Atlantic Records. The first single was "Staring Down" and the second single was "Welcome All Again". "Staring Down" peaked at #17 on the Mediabase Hot AC chart and also charted on Billboard's Adult Top 40. The album debuted at #24 on the Billboard 200. The third single, "You," also charted briefly on the Billboard Adult Top 40.

In September 2009, Collective Soul were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In their induction speech, Roland thanked a long list of former members and collaborators who had involved over the past two decades, including Childress, Hoyle and Brannon. He also invited Shane Evans to the stage to celebrate with the band.

On December 7, 2010 the band released a re-recorded version of "Tremble for My Beloved" (originally from Dosage) as both a single and a video on iTunes. The video was also included on the DVD Music Videos and Performances from The Twilight Saga Soundtracks, Vol. 1.

Read more