Parmalee
Parmalee performing in 2012.
Background information
OriginParmele, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres
Years active2001 (2001)–present
LabelsStoney Creek
MembersBarry Franklin Knox
Joshua Malcom "Josh" McSwain
John Matthew "Matt" Thomas
Scott Lee Thomas[3]

Parmalee is an American country music band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (lead vocals, guitar) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and Josh McSwain (guitar), who is a best friend since childhood. They are signed to the Stoney Creek division of BBR Music Group and have released three studio albums: Feels Like Carolina, 27861, and For You. The band has made eight entries on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, with three number one singles on the latter: "Carolina" in 2013, "Just the Way", a collaboration with Blanco Brown, in 2021, and "Take My Name" in 2022. Two more singles have reached the Top 10: "Close Your Eyes" (No. 4, 2014) and "Already Callin' You Mine" (No. 10, 2015).

Career

Early years

Prior to the formation of Parmalee, Matt and Scott performed with their father in a group entitled Jerry Thomas and the Thomas Brothers Band. When their father retired, they wanted to continue playing music so they started Parmalee, consisting of Matt and Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, and Barry Knox.[4] Their first EP was titled Daylight. The band drew attention from producer David Bendeth of RCA. Bendeth invited them to record three songs at Water Music Studios in Hoboken, New Jersey, which led to a publishing deal with Los Angeles-based Windswept Publishing. Then came an invitation from Bendeth to record the remainder of the 12 songs that comprise the band's full-length debut album, Inside. Following the release, Parmalee spent nearly 2 years touring and promoting their album.

Parmalee also released a live acoustic album entitled Unplugged and a documentary-style DVD, Inside Live. In 2006, they went to Los Angeles to begin recording with producer Stevo Bruno. They split their time between touring the East Coast and recording in California. They recorded the majority of the tracks in Los Angeles (Nikki Sixx, bassist of Mötley Crüe, collaborated with Parmalee on several tracks, both writing and producing), then travelled to Nashville to write, produce, and mix the remainder of the record with producer Kevin Beamish. Parmalee released the EP Complicated in 2008.

Shooting

In 2010, the band were victims of an attempted robbery.[5] They had just finished playing at The Money, a bar in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on September 21, and were in their RV when Dytavis Hinton and Demorrio Burris entered the vehicle with a handgun demanding money. Drummer Scott Thomas came out from the back of the bus with his own gun and told them to leave. According to the band, Burris opened fire and a gunfight erupted. Thomas was shot in the leg, stomach, and chest.[6] Burris was killed and Hinton wounded in the lower half of his body. Both wounded men were transported to the Carolinas Medical Center. Thomas remained in critical condition after the gunshot wound and was hospitalized in Charlotte, North Carolina, for 35 days, ten of which he spent in a coma.[5][7] Hinton pleaded guilty to attempted murder, burglary, attempted armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy; he was sentenced to 20 years in prison with no chance of parole.[8] By May 2011, Thomas was well enough to get behind a drum kit for the first time and the band finally performed their promised label showcase.

Stoney Creek Records

While in Nashville, Parmalee met David Fanning from New Voice Entertainment at Sound Stage Studios. Alongside him the band recorded their hit "Musta Had a Good Time" in the back of their RV. The song led to both their production and record deals.[9]

The inspiration for "Musta Had a Good Time" came right from their own lives. When the band formed, they all moved into the same house and parties happened almost every night. Scott clarifies: "I can say the car wasn't in the pool. My friend drove his truck into a small creek. That actually happened. We had to get a tractor to pull it out." And when they shot the video, another party broke out until the owner of the house where the video was being shot asked them to leave. The band got kicked out of their own video shoot.[10] "'Musta Had a Good Time' describes that one epic party that all of us have either been to -- or hope to go to -- at some point in our lives," says Matt. "It's that one party that becomes a legend in a small town. The response that we get from fans when we play this song live is crazy -- the fans know all the words and everyone's dancing, and it becomes a party on stage and in the crowd. We're finding out that there's a lot of people out there who really like to have a good time."[11]

In June 2012, the band was featured as a Billboard "Bubbling Under" [12] artist. A live performance video for the song debuted on AOL's TheBoot.com in July 2012 [13] and the music video debuted in August 2012.[14]

They were featured as Clear Channel's NEW! Artist to Watch (Country)[15] and the song was picked as one of CountryMusicIsLove.com's Top 15 Songs of Summer.[16] "Taste of Country" gave the single two stars out of five.[17]

Their second Stoney Creek single, "Carolina", was released to country radio on February 4, 2013. It reached number 1 on the Country Airplay chart in December 2013. The band's first album on the label, Feels Like Carolina, was released on December 10, 2013. "Close Your Eyes" and "Already Callin' You Mine" were issued as the album's third and fourth singles, and both were top 10 hits on Country Airplay. "Roots" was released in late 2016 and served as the lead-off single to their second studio album on Stoney Creek, 27861, which was released July 21, 2017. It and "Sunday Morning" were minor top 40 hits for the band.

Parmalee's "Day Drinkin'" was featured second in Twisted Tea's two-part commercial series, "Unwind With a Twist". The commercial aired on February 16, 2019, during the Daytona 500.

"Just the Way" with Blanco Brown

The band's next BBR single was 2020's "Just the Way", a collaboration with trap artist Blanco Brown. In March 2021, this became both the band's and Brown's second number-one single.[18]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
US Country
[19]		 US
[20]		 US Indie
[21]
Daylight
  • Release date: December 3, 2002
  • Label: Deep South
 — — —
Inside[22]
  • Release date: June 15, 2004
  • Label: Deep South
 — — —
Mildew or Barbecue?
  • Release date: December 14, 2006
  • Label: Deep South
 — — —
Complicated
  • Release date: May 27, 2008
  • Label: Deep South
 — — —
Feels Like Carolina 10 46 5
27861
  • Release date: July 21, 2017
  • Label: Stoney Creek Records
 22 146 10
For You 24 — 27
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)		 Album
US Country
[27]		 US Country Airplay
[28]		 US
[29]		 CAN Country
[30]		 CAN
[31]
"Musta Had a Good Time" 2012 4238——— Feels Like Carolina
"Carolina" 2013 21361253
"Close Your Eyes" 2014 114691693
"Already Callin' You Mine" 2015 16109133—
"Roots" 2016 4535——— 27861
"Sunday Morning" 2017 —39———
"Hotdamalama" 2018 —————
"Be Alright" 2019 ————— Non-album single
"Just the Way"
(with Blanco Brown)		 3131150 For You
"Take My Name" 2021 2122462
"Girl in Mine" 2022 193818— For You 2
"Gonna Love You" 2023 —42
[36]		———
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
2012 "Musta Had a Good Time"[37] Wes Edwards
2013 "Carolina" (live)[38] Reid Long
"Carolina"[39] Rhetorik
2014 "Close Your Eyes"[40] Wes Edwards
2016 "Roots"[41] Peter Zavadil
2017 "Sunday Morning" Roger Pistole
2018 "Hotdamalama" Nathan "Karma" Cox
2019 "Be Alright" Tyler Adams
2021 "Just the Way" (with Blanco Brown) Unlisted
2022 "Girl in Mine" The Edde Brothers

Notes

  1. ↑ "For You" was originally released on July 30, 2021 as digital-download-only. It was released to CD on October 29, 2021.[25]
  2. ↑ A deluxe edition titled "For You 2" was released on September 22, 2023.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Dukes, Billy (December 27, 2013). "Parmalee Interview: 'Carolina' Singers Overcome Perceptions, Shooting and Six-Figure Credit Card Debt for Country Debut". Taste of Country. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ Reuter, Annie (September 27, 2013). "Parmalee's Path To 'Carolina' Included Many Chance Meetings–Including One With Nikki Sixx". radio.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "ALL MESSED UP". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  4. ↑ Harless, Hannah. "Parmalee comes to Morgantown". The DA Online. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Newell, Annette (September 21, 2010). "Parmalee Band Member In Critical Condition". WCTI12. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Parmalee Drummer remains in intensive care following 3rd surgery | 9 On Your Side". Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Scott Thomas / Parmalee Updates". Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  8. ↑ Dick, Kimberly (July 13, 2011). "Man gets 20 years in nightclub robbery". The Herald. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Introducing Parmalee". vevo.com. 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Parmalee in Country Weekly". parmaleefans.blogspot.com. October 9, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Parmalee "Musta Had A Good Time Video (Live Performance)". theboot.com. July 20, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Bubbling Under:a weekly look at new and noteworthy acts making their way toward Billboard chart success". Billboard.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Parmalee debuts video". Countrystandardtime.com. October 23, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Parmalee, 'Musta Had a Good Time' Video Premiere". theboot.com. August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  15. ↑ "NEW! Discover & Uncover". iheartradio.com. August 1, 2012. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Top 15 Songs Of Summer 2012". Countrymusicislove.com. June 20, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Parmalee, 'Musta Had a Good Time' – Song Review". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Parmalee Returns To No.1 with 'Just The Way' Featuring Blanco Brown". Country Now. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Parmalee Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Parmalee Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Parmalee Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Parmalee reviews, music, news - sputnikmusic". Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  23. ↑ Matt Bjorke (February 4, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For February 4, 2015". Roughstock. Sales figure give here
  24. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (September 6, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: September 5, 2017". Roughstock.
  25. ↑ "Parmalee - For You". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  26. ↑ "The wait is almost over! We have NEW MUSIC coming on 9/22 - Pre-Save "For You 2" now!! Link in bio!". Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Parmalee Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Parmalee Chart History - Country Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Parmalee Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Parmalee Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Parmalee Album & Song Chart History - Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  32. ↑ "American single certifications – Parmalee – Carolina". Recording Industry Association of America.
  33. ↑ "American single certifications – Parmalee – Just the Way". Recording Industry Association of America.
  34. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Parmalee". Music Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  35. ↑ "American single certifications – Parmalee – Take My Name". Recording Industry Association of America.
  36. ↑ "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Parmalee, 'Musta Had a Good Time' Video Premiere". The Boot. August 29, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  38. ↑ "CMT : Videos : Parmalee : Carolina (Live)". Country Music Television. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  39. ↑ "CMT : Videos : Parmalee : Carolina". Country Music Television. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  40. ↑ Reuter, Annie (July 3, 2014). "Watch Parmalee Gear Up for the Fourth of July with 'Close Your Eyes' Video". radio.com. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  41. ↑ "CMT : Videos : Parmalee : Roots". Country Music Television. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
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