The Replacements

Inducted 2018

(Photo courtesy of Twin\Tone Records)

“The Replacements were the most exciting rockers of the Eighties to not hit it big” according to a Rolling Stone magazine article in September of 2014. Unmistakably great live performers with fantastic songs, The Replacements were Minnesota’s own loveable losers who missed- or maybe intentionally missed- true rock stardom, instead opting for legendary status. Nicknamed “The ‘mats” (after placemats), the band’s origins were in South Minneapolis in 1979, calling themselves Dogbreath and The Impediments before becoming The Replacements in 1980. Bob Stinson (1959-1995) was leader and guitarist for the young band. His younger brother Tommy was only 11 years old when he joined as bassist. Chris Mars was drummer and Paul Westerberg was the last member to join the group as guitarist, lead vocalist, and chief songwriter. The Replacements’ music was described as pure rock and roll, punk rock, and early alternative rock. The members were influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Lou Reed, The Clash, and The Ramones. In 1983 the band began their first tour of the United States to cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and eventually New York City, where The Village Voice weekly paper’s music critics started rhapsodizing in print about the scruffy band from the Midwest as “the future of rock and roll’. In the early 1980s the band made four albums for Minneapolis independent record label Twin\Tone Records. The band’s fourth album from 1984- irreverently titled Let it Be– is considered by many to be the very best “indie-rock” album any American band has ever produced, selling unheard-of numbers for an independently-distributed record. Peter Jesperson, founder of Twin\Tone, became the band’s manager until 1986. In the mid-1980s The Replacements signed a recording contract with major-label Sire Records. Never a million-selling recording act, the band were notorious and well-known for their live shows, which bordered on sublime or chaotic depending on the evening. Bob Stinson & the band would perform wearing outrageous and extremely out-of date outfits, purposefully making fun of any self-serious behavior. Seymour Stein, owner of Sire Records, was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine saying “When they were good, they were very, very good, and when they were bad, they were awful.” In many ways The Replacements sacrificed their own success to make a point about NOT taking rock and roll too seriously. While on tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Petty himself noticed their self-inflicted status, and once while introducing his next song onstage he exclaimed “This next song goes out to the opening band!” before launching into his hit “Even the Losers”. The group appeared only once in 1986 on Saturday Night Live, America’s pre-eminent television program showcasing upcoming rock and roll bands. Banned from ever returning, their drunken antics were not appreciated by the brass at NBC. Bob was kicked out of the band in 1986 due to various reasons including substance abuse. Sadly, two weeks after getting sober in 1995, Bob died at the age of 35. Minneapolis rock and roll veteran Slim Dunlap (1951-2024) joined the band in 1986 after Bob left. Chris exited the band in 1990 to pursue a solo career and concentrate on his work as a painter, and his artwork has brought him much success & respect. Chris was replaced by local drummer Steve Foley. The band officially broke up on July 4, 1991 after a concert at Soldier Field, home of The Chicago Bears football team. The band would reunite briefly to record a few songs in 2006 then on-and-off again from 2012 to 2015. Tommy Stinson would go on to play bass for superstars Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum, as well as solo ventures. Paul Westerberg has had a successful solo career. Slim Dunlap pursued his own solo career until having a severe stroke in 2012. The Replacements recorded only seven albums from 1981 to 1990. Their single “I’ll Be You” reached #51 on the US Hot 100 and #1 on the US Modern Rock and US Mainstream charts in 1988. A New York Times writer once described The Replacements as “a band that could- but didn’t.” The band had a profound influence on future musical superstars such as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, but The Replacements never quite achieved that status themselves. In October 2013, the band was named as one of the nominees for the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they were not inducted. The myth and curse of The Replacements has made the band much more popular after calling it quits then when they existed. The headline of The Los Angeles Times, 2018:

Why do people keep writing about the Replacements, a band that never quite happened?

If you were a fan, you were in on a secret only enjoyed by their followers– a undercover club of the rock and roll faithful never taking success too seriously.