The Rembrandts

The Rembrandts is an American popular-rock musical band formed by Phil Solem and Danny Wilde in 1989. They had previously worked together as members of Great Buildings in 1981. The Rembrandts are best known for their song "I'll Be There for You", which was used as the theme song for the television sitcom Friends.

History
Before the foundation of The Rembrandts, Solem and especially Wilde were well-regarded music industry veterans. Wilde was a member of 1970s cult recording act The Quick, and had released several mildly successful solo albums in the 1980s. As well, Wilde and Solem had together been in the well-reviewed (but commercially unsuccessful) power-pop quartet Great Buildings, a band which released one album for CBS in 1981 before dissolving.

After establishing themselves as The Rembrandts in 1989, Solem and Wilde recorded a self-titled album largely in Wilde's home studio. From this album, the group had their first success during 1990 with "Just the Way It Is, Baby", which scored at number 13 on the Billboard singles chart. The self-titled album scored number 88 on the album charts.

The next album Untitled, of 1992, featured the minor successes "Johnny Have You Seen Her" and 'Chase the Clouds Away". Another track from the album, "Rollin' Down The Hill", was used in the movie Dumb & Dumber.

"I'll Be There for You," the theme for the situation comedy Friends, scored #1 the Hot 100 Airplay chart for several weeks before being released as a single and peaking at #17 U.S. Billboard charts. The single has been released in other countries, including the UK, where it scored number 3 in 1995 and number 5 in 1997. The success of Friends has caused a greater awareness of the band, and to greater sales of their recorded albums. The song was also featured on the Friends Soundtrack album.

In 1997, the duo split, with Solem returning to Minneapolis to concentrate on his band Thrush. In 1998, Wilde released the album Spin This, credited to "Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts". But by 2000 Solem and Wilde reunited, and in 2001 released the album Lost Together as The Rembrandts.

In 2005 the band released an album of re-recorded favorites called Choice Picks. There are two versions of Choice Picks, one released through Awarestore which features the new track "Chasin' Down A Rainbow". The other version was released on the Fuel 2000 label, with the new track "Don't Give Me Up".

In 2006, Rhino released a collection called The Rembrandts' Greatest Hits, a 20 song career-spanning retrospective that included material from the lone Great Buildings album, Apart From The Crowd.

The duo continues to write new songs and tour, while also working on material and producing for other artists, including Plain White T's, Katie & Katie, Gin Blossoms, Evan & Jaron, and Glen Phillips (Wilde) and Catchpenny, Christo Savalas, Matt Dodge, producer John Fields, Dez Dickerson, Joey Molland, and The Melismatics (Solem.)

Members

 * Phil Solem (born 1 July 1956, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.)
 * Danny Wilde (born 3 June 1956, Maine, U.S.)

Discography

 * The Rembrandts (1990)
 * Untitled (1992)
 * LP (1995)
 * Spin This (Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts) (1998)
 * Lost Together (2001)
 * Choice Picks (2005)
 * Greatest Hits (2006)

References/external links

 * The Rembrandts official fan site.
 * The Rembrandts MySpace Page.
 * The Rembrandts: Bio. MTV.com.  Accessed November 20, 2004.
 * Andrew Ellis. Danny Wilde. Ink 19. Accessed May 11, 2005.
 * The Rembrandts official site.
 * Listing of stations that have played The Rembrandts in the last 7 days

Related artists

 * Pete McRae
 * Pat Mastelotto

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