Presidents Of The United States Of America Step Down

It isn't an election year, but the Presidents of the United States of America have already dropped out of the race. The band just announced their breakup.

The Presidents called it quits after lead singer Chris Ballew decided he wanted to pursue a solo career. PUSA is the second Seattle group to drop the bomb this year; Soundgarden announced their breakup in April. In that vein, drummer Jason Finn said, "We broke up for the same reason Soundgarden did ... Chris left the band."

In a statement issued by Columbia Records, guitarist Dave Dederer thanked everyone who supported the Presidents during the last four years. PUSA will perform a farewell concert in Seattle in February and will release a collection of unreleased material, new songs, b-sides and live tracks sometime next year.

Also, making history with history, PUSA recorded a version of the Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star" for the soundtrack to upcoming film The Wedding Singer, starring Adam Sandler.

Formed in the early '90s, the band's self-titled 1995 eponymous debut album sold four million copies and spawned three Top 10 singles including "Peaches", "Kitty" and "Lump."

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter