Big Mountain is an American group formed in 1991 in San Diego by Joaquin "Quino" McWhinney. Who will be quickly joined by Lynn Copeland, Gregory Blakney, Jerome Cruz, Manfred Reinke and Lance Rhodes. Originally, the group was born in 1986 under the name of "Rainbow Warriors" then "Shiloh". The name Big Mountain would be a reference to the mountainous region located in Arizona.
A first album "California reggae" attributed to the group was released in 1988 and enjoyed only very relative success.
It was only two years later in 1992 that their first success came when the Single "Touch my light" from the album "Wake up" was released, also released the same year.
Everything suddenly accelerates when the album "Unity" is released in 1994. Album which will make a real planetary success in particular thanks to the enormous Single "Baby, I love your way", flagship cover of the title of Peter Frampton. Two other hits will be extracted from it, namely "Sweet sensual love" and to a lesser extent "I would find a way".
Another success in 1995 with the Single "Get together" from the album "Resistance" which will be released a year later in 1996. But which will be the last of the group.
Other albums and other Singles will be released later but will only experience a level of success, to say the least limited.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
90s Decade :
Touch my light 1992
Baby, I love your way 1994
I Would find a way 1994
Sweet sensual love 1994
Get together 1995
Carribean blue 1995
All kinds of people 1997
Let's stay together 1997
The only one 1999
Island of love 1999
Rainbow people 1999
2000s Decade :
Lay lady lay 2000
Sweet sexy lady 2000
Reggae inna summertime 2000
After everybody 2001
I'll try 2001
Cosas naturales 2001
Cool breez 2001
New day 2003
Mama 2003
Tierra indigena 2003
The wind 2003
Imagine 2008
What you won't do for love 2008
Who's holding Donna now 2008
2010s Decade :
Leap of faith 2011
Hard road 2013
My lowrider 2013
Speak your mind 2014
Hopelessly 2014
All the praise due 2016
Vision 2016
Seven more days 2016
Tracks :
1992 ... an excellent 1st title for a smooth start. Very promising beginnings which are immediately rewarded : 1st classified hit !
1994 ... then this title arrives ! A HUGE title which will propel them at the speed of light to the rank of planetary stars. They simply sign here one of the biggest hits of the decade. MAS-TER-FUL !
1994 ... light, fresh and airy, yet another title with certain quality. A BIG year 1994 which literally saw them explode on the international scene. Each title released this year immediately turns into gold !
1994 ... a sumptuous year 1994 which ends in beauty with this new planetary top hit. Their inimitable style and their communicative joie de vivre made this group one of the indisputable phenomena of the moment...
1995 ... new year....and new haircut ! But the musical style remains the same...phew ! The essential being saved, the result will be the same as for the previous titles : planetary top hit. But it will already be the last ...
1995 ... after almost two completely euphoric years, the group is blatantly losing speed. And yet goodwill and quality are always the order of the day. But that is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd ...
1997 ... after an empty 1996 year, we find them in great shape in this year 1997. Unfortunately, the great shape will not allow them to stick to the front runners. The sanction will be irrevocable : last hit of their career ....
1997 ... an end of adventure which is combined with this nice cover of the flagship title of Al Green dating from 1971. Which will also be taken over by a certain Tina Turner who, in turn, will make it a mega planetary hit in 1983 ...
1999...end of adventure in the Charts certainly but surely not end of the adventure. Because it is clear that they did not say everything or at least sing everything...
1999...this disappearance from the Charts is surprising to say the least because everything they will propose thereafter will be far from deserving, that's clear...
1999...what they will offer in the short term but also in the long term, which is all the more surprising. Sometimes you don't have to try to understand...
2000... whatever it is, whether there is success in the Charts or not, they will continue the adventure as far as possible. And this to the delight of the basic fans...
2000...certainly their style and their sound is no longer really trendy in this new decade 2000 but all the same, there is quality in all that...
2000 ... what saves them somewhere is that reggae has never really been trendy without going out of fashion more than that. A truly unique musical style...
2001...what is also surprising is their level of productivity, which remains consistent to say the least. Impressive all the same for a group that started in 1988...
2001...a longevity that is not due to chance but to a talent that allows them to resist the onslaught of time. Hope it lasts...
2001...for now, it's here to stay. And given the overall quality of what they continue to offer, we can only encourage them to extend the adventure as far as possible...
2001...a group which will have marked history mainly with a single title but whose overall work is really worth the detour, that's for sure...
2003...the band decided not to let go anyway and they will go as far as they can. As long as he produces titles that hold up, there's no reason for him to end prematurely...
2003... what is also certain is that the grassroots fans rejoice at the highest level with each new opus that comes out. And there will be a few during this decade 2000...
2003...they take obvious pleasure in doing what they do and above all in continuing to produce titles that correspond to them to the highest degree...
2003...title after title, decade after decade, the group impresses with its regularity and its ability to produce titles of more than certain quality...
2008...we will lose sight of them for almost 5 years but here they are again anyway. They dare to attack here the masterpiece of John Lennon dating from 1971 and my faith their reggae version has at least the merit of originality...
2008...they are now revisiting Bobby Caldwell from 1979 and like their previous cover there is originality in all of this...
2008...now it's DeBarge's turn and their 1985 title to have their favor. Good job once again, it is clear...
2011...and another decade, one ! A longevity that we only find in the best as always. Best of which they necessarily belong...
2013...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind us and the band will seriously start to slow down in terms of production of titles...
2013...we suspected that the group would not continue on such a level of productivity indefinitely. After as long as they come back, that's already it...
2014...they will come back less and less but they come back anyway. They want to at least remind that they exist and that's the main thing...
2014...it is certain that the more the decades pass, the more the base of basic fans is restricted. Hard law of the trade...
2016...it's getting smaller but it's still substantial otherwise the band wouldn't get tired of continuing to produce titles, that's clear...
2016...now remains to be seen how long they will still have the strength to continue the adventure. Only the future can answer this question...
2016... so last title or not ? A question to which they have the answer but for the moment there is only them to answer it. Or not...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :