Going for The Gold: Edie Brickell And The New Bohemians

Edie Brickell and New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (Geffen, 1988)

Though their most famous single, “What I Am,” didn’t manage to score gold, the album where it was found was a stunning success. Let’s take a look back at EB&TNB’s “Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars.”

August 1988 was a month of upheaval around this big blue globe of ours, marked by riots in New York and earthquakes in Nepal. It was also the month that the Iran-Iraq War ended, George H.W. Bush was nominated as the Republican candidate for the presidency and a new band, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, released their debut album

Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars was recorded in Rockfield Studios in Wales during the preceding months by producer Pat Moran. Released on Geffen Records, the twelve song set was a mix of fluid melodies and laid-back reggae-style beats.

The lead single from the album, “What I Am,” hit Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It pushed the album up the charts where it peaked at Number 4. In December, it was awarded a gold record for one-million sales. By February of the following year, it had doubled in sales to over two million.

The band would release another album in 1990 before Brickell would leave for a time, exchanging vows with a songwriter named Simon.

Want to know more about some golden oldies (and not-so-oldies)? Read more about them here…