Big Mountain (band)
{{Short description|American reggae band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Big Mountain
| image = 2018 - Pol’and’Rock Festival - Big Mountain 33.jpg
| image_size = 220
| caption = Pol'and'Rock Festival 2018
| origin = San Diego, California, United States
| genre = Reggae
| years_active = 1988–present
| alias = Shiloh
| label = {{hlist|Giant|Pony Canyon|White Sage}}
| website = {{URL|http://bigmountainband.com/}}
| current_members = Joaquin "Quino" McWhinney
Michael Hyde
Paul "Groove Galore" Kastick
Richard "Goofy" Campbell
Reggie Griffin
Danny Lopilato
Andre Sias
Luis Castillo
Jakob McWhinney
Michael Ortiz
| past_members = Lynn Copeland
Gregory Blakney
Jerome Cruz
Manfred Reinke
Lance Rhodes
James McWhinney
Tony Chin
Billy "Bones" Stoll
Carlton "Santa" Davis
Carlos Arias
Stephen Kamada/Tim Pacheco
}}
Big Mountain is an American reggae band formed in 1986 at San Diego, California by vocalist Joaquin "Quino" McWhinney. The band gained wide recognition and became known for its cover of Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way", which became a top 10 hit single in the US in early 1994, reaching No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 and No. 2 in the UK.
History
The evolution of the Big Mountain band started in 1986 as the San Diego, California reggae band Rainbow Warriors.de la Torre, Chito (1994) "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140921211936/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-2281413.html Big Mountain Does Reggae]", La Prensa de San Antonio, September 30, 1994. In 1988, future Big Mountain frontman Joaquin "Quino" (pronounced Keeno) McWhinney joined as the lead singer of the band Shiloh. Quino is of Mexican/Irish heritage, and several members of his family were mariachi musicians. His interest in reggae began after seeing a documentary about Bob Marley and Rastafari.Daniels, Ron (1994) "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140921211934/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-2271505.html Big Mountain are Reggae Visionaries]", The New York Beacon, August 19, 1994. In 1989, Shiloh secured their first record deal and put out one album titled California Reggae. In 1991, the band changed the name to Big Mountain which was the name of a Native American reservation in Arizona. The original line-up was a sextet consisting of Quino (vocals), Lynn Copeland (bass), Gregory Blakney (drums), Jerome Cruz (guitar), Manfred Reinke (keyboards), and Lance Rhodes (drums).Bush, John "[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p37417/biography|pure_url=yes}} Big Mountain Biography]", Allmusic, Macrovision CorporationLarkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, {{ISBN|0-7535-0242-9}}, p.25
The band first reached the charts with the song "Touch My Light" in spring 1993, a song taken from their debut album Wake Up. Prior to the band recording their second album, Unity, in 1993, Blakney, Cruz, Reinke, and Rhodes all departed the band, with McWhinney and Copeland finding replacements in Jamaican duo Tony Chin (guitar) and Carlton "Santa" Davis (drums), along with keyboard players Michael Hyde and Billy "Bones" Stoll, and percussionist James McWhinney. Following this lineup change, the band went on to receive major airplay on mainstream radio stations. "Baby, I Love Your Way" was included on the soundtrack for the film Reality Bites, and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and its follow-up, "Sweet Sensual Love" reached No. 51 in the UK, whilst Unity went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. Big Mountain's follow up single "Get Together" became a top five hit in Brazil and Norway.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}
The band appeared at both the 1994 and 1995 Reggae Sunsplash festivals in Jamaica. In 1998 Jamaican drummer/producer Paul "Groove Galore" Kastick replaced Carlton "Santa" Davis as full-time drummer and primary producer in the group. Kastick spearheaded the production on the next six Big Mountain albums, spanning from 1998 and 2007. After 10 consecutive years of touring, Big Mountain decided to take a break in 2005. During this time, Quino McWhinney became a high school teacher at Olympian High School. During the period between 2005 and 2013, Big Mountain would occasionally reunite for primarily international live performances and various benefit causes. In 2013, Quino, Hyde, and Kastick reformed the band with an extended lineup including Carlos Arias (bass), Richard "Goofy" Campbell (keyboards), Reggie Griffin (guitar, saxophone), Stephen Kamada (guitar), Danny Lopilato (guitar, vocals), Tim Pacheco (percussion, vocals). Further lineup changes have ensued, and the band now consists of Quino and James Mcwhinney, Paul Kastick, Goofy Campbell, Chizzy Chisholm and Michael (Mikey) Ortiz.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Skies-Big-Mountain/dp/B00G0OMUO4|title=Big Mountain - Blue Skies - Amazon.com Music|work=amazon.com}} In May 2016 the band released their first album in 14 years, Perfect Summer.Campbell, Howard (2016) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Big-Mountain-returns-with-Perfect-Summer Big Mountain returns with Perfect Summer]", Jamaica Observer, May 26, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016
Band members
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Image:2018 - Pol’and’Rock Festival - Big Mountain 23.jpg
Current members
- Joaquin "Quino" McWhinney – vocals, guitar (1988–present)
- Paul "GrooveGalore" KasticK – drums (1998–present)
- Richard "Goofy" Campbell – keyboards (1999–present)
- Audley Chisholm – guitar, vocals (2013–present)
- Michael Ortiz – bass (2013–present)
- James McWhinney – Vocals,Percs (2013–present)
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Former members
- Lynn Copeland – bass (1988–1995)
- Gregory Blakney – drums (1988–1992)
- Jerome Cruz – guitar (1988–1993)
- Manfred Reinke – keyboards (1988–1993)
- Lance Rhodes – drums (1988–1995)
- James McWhinney – percussion, vocals (1994–current)
- Tony Chin – guitar (1994–2002)
- Billy "Bones" Stoll – keyboards (1994–1997)
- Carlton "Santa" Davis – drums (1994–1998)
- Carlos Arias – bass (2013)
- Stephen Kamada – guitar (2013)
- Tim Pacheco - vocals, percussion (2016)
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Awards and nominations
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result
|-
| 1994
| rowspan=2|"Baby I Love Your Way"
| Best Cover
| {{won}}
|-
| 1995
| Most Performed Work
| {{nom}}
{{end}}
Discography
=Studio albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details ! colspan="8"| Peak chart positions |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:45px;"| US ! style="width:45px;"| AUS ! style="width:45px;"| AUT ! style="width:45px;"| GER ! style="width:45px;"| NED ! style="width:45px;"| NZ ! style="width:45px;"| SWE ! style="width:45px;"| SWI |
| scope="row"| California Reggae (as Shiloh)
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Wake Up
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Unity
|
| 174 | 97 | 15 | 52 | 52 | 29 | 37 | 10 |
| scope="row"| Resistance
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Free Up
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Things to Come
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Dance Party
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| One Love
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Cool Breeze
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| New Day
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| scope="row"| Perfect Summer
|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
=Compilations=
- The Best of Big Mountain (1998), Giant
- Reggae Remakes (2003), Pony Canyon
- Big Mountain's Greatest Moments 1999–2004 (2004), Pony Canyon
- Versions Undercover (2008), Rebel Ink Records
=Singles=
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Commons category|Big Mountain (musical group)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Mountain}}
Category:Musical groups from San Diego
Category:American reggae musical groups