Bad Brains

Mind Power to Bad Brains

Bad Brains came out of Washington, D.C., in the late 1970s. They began as a jazz fusion band called Mind Power, in the mold of Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra, with guitarist Dr. Know (Gary Miller), bassist Darryl Jenifer and the brothers Paul Hudson and Earl Hudson. Singer Sid McCray introduced them to punk. They took the new name from the Ramones song "Bad Brain", and when McCray left, Paul moved from guitar to lead vocals and became H.R. After seeing Bob Marley in concert, the band also took up reggae and the Rastafari movement. They held to PMA, positive mental attitude, which the band's own history roots in the teachings of the book Think and Grow Rich.

Their first full studio session was in June 1979 at Inner Ear Studios in Virginia, in engineer Don Zientara's basement. H.R. sang from the back yard because there was no isolation booth. Those tapes stayed unreleased until Black Dots appeared in 1996. In 1979 the band was blacklisted from many Washington clubs, which they later answered with Banned in D.C., and around 1980 they moved to New York City. Their first single, Pay to Cum, came out in June 1980. By 1982 they were regulars at CBGB, where Dr. Know said they played there "every friggin' night".

The records before 1986

Their self-titled debut, known as the Yellow Tape, was released on 5 February 1982 on cassette only by ROIR, with a cover of lightning striking the Capitol building. See Bad Brains. A year later Rock for Light was produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars and re-recorded many of the debut's songs. The band broke up after it, the first of several break-ups.

I Against I

H.R. and Earl Hudson rejoined for two New York shows in July 1985, and the rehearsals became the writing sessions for I Against I. The band signed with SST Records. Producer Ron Saint Germain recorded the album in three days for about $5,000, at a studio in rural Massachusetts. Dr. Know had spent the break listening to hard rock and metal, and Pitchfork calls it the band's most guitar-driven album. It adds funk, soul and heavy metal to the hardcore and reggae.

Just before H.R. was due to sing, he told Saint Germain that he had to report to prison the next day to serve out a marijuana conviction. The producer got two takes of each song in about two hours. Weeks later H.R. called the studio from a pay phone at Lorton Reformatory and sang Sacred Love down the line. It holds House of Suffering, Re-Ignition and the title track, I Against I. Released on 21 November 1986, it is the best-selling album in the band's catalog and appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

After 1986

H.R. and Earl Hudson left in 1987 to focus on reggae. Singer Taj Singleton and drummer Mackie Jayson, formerly of the Cro-Mags, finished the touring. For Quickness, the band signed to Caroline Records, and the Hudsons returned in 1989, when H.R. replaced Singleton's work with new lyrics and vocals. Jayson played the drums, though Earl Hudson is pictured on the cover.

After the Quickness tour the Hudsons left again. In 1990 the band recorded a cover of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" with Henry Rollins for the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack. Epic Records offered their first major-label deal in 1992, and Rise followed in 1993. The Hudsons came back in 1994, and God of Love appeared on Maverick in 1995, with tours alongside the Beastie Boys and Deftones. From 1998 to 2001 the original lineup toured as Soul Brains. Build a Nation (2007) was produced by MCA of the Beastie Boys, and Into the Future (2012) included a tribute to him.

Legacy

Dave Grohl has said he learned to play drums along to Bad Brains. Sublime frequently cover House of Suffering, and Jeff Buckley covered the title track in 1992. In 2019 the band re-recorded "I Against I" with the rapper Denzel Curry for a Spotify single. Bad Brains were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 but not inducted, and have not played live since 2017. Trust Records plans to release a collection of the March 1979 Inner Ear recordings on 6 November 2026.