rock

The Wallflowers

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Jakob Dylan's long-running roots-rock outfit, still built on the organ-swelled craft that carried 'One Headlight' across the mid-'90s.

The band's roots go back to 1988, when Jakob Dylan called on childhood friend and guitarist Tobi Miller; the group settled into place the following year as the Wallflowers, its members completed by bassist Barrie Maguire, drummer Peter Yanowitz and keyboardist Rami Jaffee.

Their music sits in the roots-rock and folk-rock tradition, built on unhurried, verse-driven songwriting, warm organ and guitar interplay, and Dylan's plainspoken delivery.

The band's self-titled debut for Virgin Records appeared in 1992; despite critical praise it did not chart and proved their only release for the label. The success of 1996's single "6th Avenue Heartache" led to a deal with Interscope, whose album, Bringing Down the Horse, produced "One Headlight" as the band's signature song and brought two Grammy Awards from six nominations.

The Wallflowers' third album, (Breach), released in 2000, contained "Sleepwalker," their only single to register on the Billboard Hot 100 under the chart rules of the time. Two further records, Red Letter Days (2002) and Rebel, Sweetheart (2005), followed before an extended hiatus; the band later returned with Glad All Over (2012) and Exit Wounds (2021).

Personnel has shifted considerably over the decades, with Dylan the constant, and the group has moved between periods of activity and hiatus while continuing to record and tour. Billboard later named "One Headlight" the greatest adult alternative song of all time, and the band's records have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Master recordings by the band were among those affected by the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

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