Concrete Blonde

Concrete Blonde were an alternative rock band from Hollywood, California, fronted by singer-bassist Johnette Napolitano, whose husky, dramatic voice became the group's defining feature. Formed in 1982 under the name Dream 6 with guitarist James Mankey, the band later added drummer Harry Rushakoff and signed to IRS Records in 1986. Their label-mate Michael Stipe of R.E.M. suggested the name Concrete Blonde to capture the tension between the band's hard-edged guitar sound and its introspective, poetic lyrics.

The group's commercial and critical peak came with the 1990 album «Bloodletting», steeped in gothic and vampiric imagery, which produced the top-20 hit «Joey» and the title track «Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)». Earlier material like «Tomorrow, Wendy» and later songs such as «Caroline», «Mexican Moon», and «God Is a Bullet» showcased the band's range across brooding balladry and driving rock, anchored throughout by Napolitano's emotionally raw delivery.

Concrete Blonde became almost as well known for their instability as for their music, breaking up and reuniting repeatedly — splitting in 1993, reforming in 1997, splitting again soon after, reuniting once more in 2001, announcing retirement in 2006, and returning again from 2010 to 2012. That on-and-off history left them a cult act whose gothic-tinged alternative rock influenced later bands working at the intersection of post-punk mood and mainstream rock songcraft.