Beastie Boys (music group)

The Beastie Boys, an American rock and hip-hop music group, formed in 1981. The band had several different members throughout its history, including John Berry, Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Kate Schellenbach, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. Diamond, Yauch, and Horovitz became the band's core members for most of its career. Originally a hardcore punk group, the band earned critical and commercial success with the release of its debut album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986. The Beastie Boys recorded a number of hit albums over the next several decades, earning further critical praise and multiple music awards. Following the death of Yauch in 2012, Diamond and Horovitz disbanded the Beastie Boys in 2014.

Early Career

The Beastie Boys formed in the summer of 1981 in New York City. The original lineup consisted of Yauch (vocals, bass), Diamond (vocals, drums), Schellenbach (drums), and Berry (guitar). The latter three had all belonged to another band called the Aborigines prior to forming the Beastie Boys. The group's first performance was at Yauch's seventeenth birthday party. The band later performed at respected venues including CBGB and opened for acts such as the Misfits and the Dead Kennedys. In 1982, the group released an eight-song EP, titled Polly Wog Stew. Shortly after the EP's release, Berry left the band. The group recruited guitarist and singer Horovitz from the band the Young and the Useless as a replacement. Around this time, the band's sound started to evolve from hard-core punk to rap.

Schellenbach left the group in 1983 to join another band, making Yauch, Diamond, and Horovitz a trio. The three remained the band's full-time members for the remainder of the Beastie Boys' career. The band members also began using pseudonyms when performing, with Yauch as MCA, Diamond as Mike D, and Horovitz as Ad-Rock. The act now had all three members rapping onstage while accompanied by a disc jockey (DJ). One of the band's early DJs was Rick Rubin, who went on to found Def Jam Recordings with Russell Simmons. The label launched the Beastie Boys' single "Rock Hard" in 1984 to much acclaim. The Beastie Boys caught the attention of pop queen Madonna, who made the group her opening act on her 1985 Virgin Tour. The band opened for hip-hop group Run-DMC the following year.

Hit Album

The Beastie Boys released their debut full-length album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986 to sensational acclaim. The music video for the single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" became a staple of the television channel MTV. The tour that followed the album's release was rife with controversy. Apart from their riotous stage antics, the band members faced a number of arrest charges and lawsuits. Their show at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, England, became one of the most notorious shows in the band's history, concluding with Horovitz's arrest in May 1987 for assault. Despite the chaos, the album became the first rap album to reach number one on the Billboard charts and was the best-selling rap album of the 1980s.

Departure from Def Jam

Def Jam and the Beastie Boys experienced a falling out in the late 1980s that involved a bitter lawsuit with Rubin. The group moved from Def Jam to Capitol Records in 1988, releasing a follow-up album, Paul's Boutique, in 1989 to modest reviews. The Beastie Boys then launched their own record label, Grand Royal, in 1992 in conjunction with Capitol. They also began publishing a magazine in 1993 called Grand Royal Magazine, which featured stories and interviews relevant to music and pop culture. The maturing band members became involved in several political causes around this time, including campaigns to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

The Beastie Boys released three albums in the 1990s—Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994), and Hello Nasty (1998). Ill Communication debuted at number one and earned double platinum status, while Hello Nasty won two Grammy Awards. The band also released an EP, titled Aglio e Olio, in 1995 that harkened back to its punk roots. The group wrapped up the 1990s with 1996's The In Sound from Way Out!, a jazz/funk album.

Later Career

The Beastie Boys did not release another album until 2004 with To the 5 Boroughs. Capitol then released a compilation album in 2005 titled Solid Gold Hits, which included fifteen of the band's most popular tracks. Two years later, the group released an instrumental album called The Mix-Up, which earned a Grammy Award. The Beastie Boys then began recording another rap album titled Hot Sauce Committee, Pt.1 in 2009, but did not release it after Yauch announced he had cancer.

Yauch underwent treatment for cancer throughout 2009 and 2010, and the band released Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2, which included the material from the first volume, in 2011. The album was a critical and commercial success. In 2012, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yauch was too ill to attend the ceremony, and the singer died in May 2012 at the age of forty-seven. Two years later, Horovitz and Diamond decided to disband the group.

Bibliography

"Beastie Boys Biography." All Music, 2024, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/beastie-boys-mn0000038469. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

"Beastie Boys Biography." Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, rockhall.com/inductees/beastie-boys/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Pareles, Jon. "Rapper Conquered Music World in '80s with Beastie Boys." New York Times, 4 May 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/arts/music/adam-yauch-a-founder-of-the-beastie-boys-dies-at-47.html. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.