The Jayhawks are an American rock band, sometimes described as Alt-country, or more often today, Americana (music). They released six studio albums on the American Recordings label. As of mid-2005 they are both rumored to have disbanded, and not to have.
The band formed in 1985 in Minnesota with Mark Olson (acoustic guitar and vocals), Gary Louris (electric guitar and vocals), Marc Perlman (bass) and Thad Spencer (drums). They released a self-titled album in 1986 on Bunkhouse Records. Their music at the time, written by Olson, showed a strong roots/country-rock influence. The band worked for the next year on demo tapes in search of a major label recording contract. Those demos eventually were brought together to form the more popular Blue Earth in 1987 released on the Minneapolis label Twin Tone. In this release Gary Louris shared more of the songwriting with Olson. The band soon toured the U.S. in support of Bule Earth. Thad decided to leave the band due to commitments at home with his business and he was replaced by Ken Callahan on drums in 1987 and stayed with the band until 1993.
On their 1992 release, Hollywood Town Hall, recorded primarily in Los Angeles and at Pachyderm Recording Studio in Minnesota. Though Louris' fuzzy guitar was at the forefront, a clear folksy influence was also emerging in Olson's songwriting. The album was a hit, powered by the single "Waiting for the Sun", and it brought the Jayhawks a wider fanbase.
Having added Karen Grotberg on the keyboards, the band toured extensively and went into the studio to produce Tomorrow the Green Grass in 1995, but the record's production had been very expensive and the album failed to sell as expected. Among the album's songs is "Miss Williams' Guitar" (a love song for Olson's flame, and now wife, the singer-songwriter Victoria Williams).
Olson left the band in 1995 to spend more time with Williams (with whom he would later form the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers). The band (now with Tim O'Reagan on drums) continued to record as The Jayhawks, though no longer performed songs written by Olson. They released Sound of Lies in 1997, with Louris composing most of the songs and allowing all of his influences a share in the proceedings. The result mixed straight rock (the ironic "Big Star"), psychedelic, acoustic (the title track) and even some dub elements, taking the band far from its country-influenced origins.
