Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
The Bahamian music and dance tradition of Junkanoo, which traces back to the slavery days when slaves were allowed to gather together one day a week for festivities, is fused with the modern influences of dance rhythms, pop music and Latin percussion by Isaiah Taylor and his band, The Baha Men. According to "Billboard", the group "straddles the line between Caribbean and western popular music and does so while putting smiles on people's faces and a bounce in their steps".
Although their debut album, "Junkanoo", released in 1979, was heavily rooted in the Junkanoo style and featured updated versions of traditional Bahamian tunes, The Baha Men have increasingly leaned towards modern music. Their second album, "I Like What I Like", was produced by Tommy D (Michael Jackson), Don Dubose, John Holliday and Trevor Steele (The Escape Club) with Holliday and Steele co-writing five songs with the band. The first single from the album was "That's The Way, Etc.", a medley of tunes by K.C. And The Sunshine Band. The Baha Men continued their more-contemporary approach with their third album, "Doong Spank", released in 1999. Who Let the Dogs Out, featuring the Grammy-winning single "Who Let the Dogs Out," was issued a year later. The album went on to sell over five million copies. In early 2002, the Baha Men attempted for more Top 40 stardom by issuing the follow up, Move It Like This.
Wikipedia:
The Baha Men are a Bahamian band playing a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.
Early career as High Voltage (1980–1991)
The group was formed in the Bahamas in 1980 as High Voltage. They started the genre "Junkanoo" in 1982. In 1991, they changed their name to Baha Men.
Baha Men
The group renamed themselves as Baha Men in 1991, and released their first album under that name, Junkanoo, in 1992. The album was very traditional in its sound.
International success
In the 1990s they began aiming their music at a more mainstream audience, and achieved great, if short-lived, popularity with 2000's remake of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (originally composed by Anslem Douglas), recorded with the help of Orlando Infante. The song was a chart success in many countries, and also became a popular song at US sporting events.
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" also earned the band several awards: a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Dance Recording; Billboard Music Awards for World Music Artist of the Year and World Music Album of the Year; and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Favorite Song. In 2002, they won another Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Band.
Recent activity
In June 2008 "Who Let the Dogs Out?" was discussed on I Love the New Millennium. The Baha Men's most recent album was Holla! , released in 2004.
Through MySpace, the Baha Men released a cover version of the George Harrison hit My Sweet Lord.
Involvement in motion pictures
The Baha Men were one of the many artists to record a song on the album DisneyMania and two of its four sequels. On the first DisneyMania, they recorded "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King. On DisneyMania 2, they recorded the famous song "It's a Small World" from the Disney park attraction of the same name. They were absent from DisneyMania 3, though they returned for DisneyMania 4, recording their take on the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch entitled "Bahaman Roller Coaster Ride." A number of their songs have used in major motion pictures such as: Rugrats In Paris, Miss Congeniality, Rat Race, Around the World in 80 Days and Garfield: The Movie. They also recorded a cover of Elton John's hit "Crocodile Rock" for the film Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course starring Steve Irwin and family. In fact, the band has also made an appearance on the big screen, when they starred as themselves in the 1994 romantic comedy My Father the Hero starring Gerard Depardieu and Katherine Heigl. The Baha Men also were featured in the soundtrack of Shrek with their hit song "Best Years of Our Lives". "Who Let the Dogs Out?" was also featured in the 2009 hit comedy The Hangover.
