The Rembrandts

The Rembrandts are an American pop rock duo, formed by Danny Wilde and Phil Solem in 1989. They had previously worked together as members of Great Buildings in 1981. The Rembrandts are best known for "I'll Be There for You", which was used as the theme song for the television sitcom Friends, first broadcast in 1994,^[1] and for their top 20 single "Just the Way It Is, Baby" (1990).

History

Before the foundation of The Rembrandts, Solem and especially Wilde were well-regarded music industry veterans. Wilde was a member of 1970s cult recording act The Quick, and had released several mildly successful solo albums in the 1980s. As well, Wilde and Solem had together been in the well-reviewed (but commercially unsuccessful) power-pop quartet Great Buildings, a band which released one album for CBS in 1981 before dissolving.

After establishing themselves as The Rembrandts in 1989, Solem and Wilde recorded a self-titled album largely in Wilde's home studio. From this album, the group had their first success during 1990 with "Just the Way It Is, Baby", which scored at number 14 on the Billboard singles chart. The self-titled album scored number 88 on the album charts.

The next album Untitled, of 1992, featured the minor successes "Johnny, Have You Seen Her?" and "Chase the Clouds Away". Another track from the album, "Rollin' Down the Hill", was used in the film Dumb and Dumber.

"I'll Be There for You," the theme for the sitcom Friends, reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for several weeks before being released as a single and peaking at No. 17 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The single has been released in other countries, including the UK, where it reached No. 3 in 1995 and No. 5 in 1997. The success of Friends has caused a greater awareness of the band, and led to greater sales of their recorded albums. The song was also featured on the Friends Soundtrack album. An earlier, previously unreleased version of "I'll Be There for You" with different lyrics was included on their Unreleased Stuff album.

In 1997, the duo split, with Solem returning to Minneapolis to concentrate on his band Thrush. In 1998, Wilde released the album Spin This, credited to "Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts". In 2000, Solem and Wilde reunited, and released the album Lost Together as The Rembrandts the following year.

In 2005, the band released an album of re-recorded favorites called Choice Picks. There are two versions of Choice Picks, one released through Awarestore.com which features the new track "Chasin' Down a Rainbow". The other version was released on the Fuel 2000 label, with the new track "Don't Give Me Up".

In 2006, Rhino Records released a collection called Greatest Hits, a 20 song career-spanning retrospective that included material from the lone Great Buildings album, Apart from the Crowd.

The duo continues to write new songs and tour, while also working on material and producing for other artists, including Plain White T's, Katie & Katie, Gin Blossoms, Evan & Jaron, and Glen Phillips (Wilde) and Thrush, Catchpenny, Christo Savalas, Matt Dodge, producer John Fields, Dez Dickerson, Joey Molland, and The Melismatics (Solem).

In 2016, the pair has reunited and has announced they will release a new album. ^[2]

Members

• Danny Wilde (born June 3, 1956, Maine, U.S.)
• Phil Solem (born July 1, 1956, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.)
• Mark Karan (previous member)

Discography

• The Rembrandts (1990) - US No. 88, AUT No. 23, SWE No. 43
• Untitled (1992)
• LP (1995) - US No. 23, UK No. 14, NZ No. 25 US: Platinum
• Spin This (Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts) (1998)
• Lost Together (2001)
• Choice Picks (2005)
• Greatest Hits (2006)

Singles

See also

• Pete McRae
• Pat Mastelotto

References

External links

• The Rembrandts official fan site.
• The Rembrandts MySpace Page.
• The Rembrandts: Bio. MTV.com. Accessed November 20, 2004.
• Andrew Ellis. Danny Wilde. Ink 19. Accessed May 11, 2005.
• Listing of stations that have played The Rembrandts in the last 7 days