Two Princes

This week's edition of Retro Friday features the band The Spin Doctors, and the song Two Princes.

The Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their two early 1990s hits, "Two Princes," and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #7 (Two Princes) & #17 (Little Miss Can't Be Wrong).

The current members of the band include Chris Barron on vocals, Eric Schenkman on guitar and vocals, Aaron Comess on drums and percussion, and Mark White on bass guitar.

The Spin Doctors began in the late 1980s in New York City, originally as a band called Trucking Company, which included Canadian guitarist Eric Schenkman, John Popper, and later Chris Barron, who was John Popper's Princeton, New Jersey high school friend. Popper left this side project to focus on his main gig with Blues Traveler full time. With a name change to Spin Doctors, as well as the addition of Aaron Comess and Mark White, the classic lineup was in place by the spring of 1989.

The Spin Doctors' debut studio album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite was released in August of 1991. The band played many live shows, gaining grassroots fans, as the album was mostly ignored commercially. In summer 1992, the band toured with the first lineup of the H.O.R.D.E. festival, sharing the stage with fellow jam bands Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, and Phish. That summer, commercial popularity finally heated up, as radio and MTV began playing "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes." The album ended up going Gold in September of 1992, and then received another boost in sales after the band appeared on Saturday Night Live in October of 1992. Additional videos and singles followed for "What Time Is It," "How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?)," and "Jimmy Olsen's Blues." By June 1993, the album went Triple Platinum. In the end the album sold over five million copies in the United States and another five million overseas, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

"[Their] popularity is based on universal rock & roll virtues," said Rolling Stone Magazine, which put the band on the cover of its January 7, 1993 issue. "The Doctors aren't trying to blaze new trails. They know we've been down this way with the Stones, Curtis Mayfield, and a few of their other touchstones. But the proof—plenty of it—is in the party." The Spin Doctors also made an appearance on Sesame Street, singing a modified version of "Two Princes" that emphasized the importance of sharing.

I really loved this first album from the Spin Doctors. We didn't discover them until the spring of 1993, but this band played a pivotal roll in my memories of "Senior Week" ... the week between finals and Graduation. And so whenever I hear this song, I am immediately taken back to that week and the fun that we had! (Which shall not be mentioned!)



If you've never heard the Spin Doctors before ... here, take a listen! Enjoy!

Two Princes



Little Miss Can't Be Wrong



And a bonus ... Pocket Full of Kryptonite



Cheers!