Following the success of their 1996 single "6th Avenue Heartache," the band signed with Interscope Records to release their second album, Bringing Down the Horse (1996), which spawned their signature song, "One Headlight.
[8] Billboard named "One Headlight" as the Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Song, while "6th Avenue Heartache" ranked at number 37 on the list.
The Wallflowers' personnel has been shared with other bands including Foo Fighters, Ozomatli, and Gogol Bordello; two former members have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
[10][11] The Wallflowers' inception came in 1988/1989 when singer-guitarist Jakob Dylan called his childhood friend, Tobi Miller, also a guitarist, about starting a band.
[12][13] The Apples changed their name to The Wallflowers and began playing clubs around Los Angeles, specifically the Sunset Strip, such as the Whisky a Go Go, Gazzarri's and the Viper Room.
Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars calling it, "one sweet debut" and describing Dylan's songwriting as "impressive.
"[19] Great reviews notwithstanding, executives at Virgin Records were reportedly not pleased with the album's lack of commercial success.
Around this time, the company was going through a shift in management which led to the removal of Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris, the two people who initially brought The Wallflowers to Virgin.
After Ayeroff and Harris left the company The Wallflowers began to feel that they had no future with Virgin and asked to be released from their contract.
The Wallflowers continued playing shows with replacement bass player Jimmie Snider until May 1993 when the band hired Greg Richling.
Around the time of Yanowitz's departure The Wallflowers caught the attention of Jimmy Iovine and Tom Whalley of Interscope Records, who then signed the band to their label in 1994.
"One Headlight" received heavy radio play, which propelled Bringing Down the Horse to Platinum certification on March 4 by selling one million copies of the album.
Within six weeks, sales for Bringing Down the Horse doubled and on April 16, the album received Double-Platinum status by selling two million copies.
[33] The Wallflowers took over full-headlining duties for several shows in July when Counting Crows were unable to perform due to Duritz's swollen vocal cords.
On November 9 and 10, The Wallflowers broke from their headlining tour to open for the Rolling Stones at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Less than a week later, The Wallflowers again broke from their tour to co-headline a private show at an arena in San Jose, California with Bob Dylan on November 14.
Though The Wallflowers did not tour in 1998 they did play a series of one-off shows including the Tibetan Freedom Concert in June at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. and the Bridge School Benefit in September in Mountain View, California, which was hosted by Neil Young and his wife Pegi.
[51] The band continued to tour the U.S. for the remainder of 2001 until it was announced in early October that guitarist Michael Ward had left The Wallflowers due to creative differences.
By the time The Wallflowers had gotten into Browne's studio, Michael Ward had left the band, leaving them without a lead guitarist for the recording process.
Around the time of Red Letter Days' release The Wallflowers embarked on a monthlong U.S. tour stretching into early December.
The film's music department weren't able to secure the licensing rights to use Morrison's version so they enlisted The Wallflowers to cover the song.
"[64] In promotion of the album, The Wallflowers performed "Lawyers, Guns and Money" on the Late Show with David Letterman with Zevon's son, Jordan, on October 12, 2004.
On October 31, 2004, The Wallflowers were flown via military transport plane to the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to perform for the returning troops.
On one side was the album, and on the other was a DVD that included exclusive performances and arrangements of some of the band's songs, as well as an interview with comedian Jon Lovitz.
Jakob Dylan toured with former Wallflowers producer T-Bone Burnett in the early summer, performing a solo acoustic opening set with a keyboard player.
"[71] In an interview with the St. Joseph News-Press, Dylan stated that The Wallflowers would be getting into the studio in January and the lineup would include Greg Richling on bass, Rami Jaffee on keys, Stuart Mathis on guitar and Fred Eltringham on drums.
At a private solo performance in New York on April 19, 2012, Dylan announced that the new The Wallflowers album was expected to be released in fall later that year.
From there, they continued to tour the U.S. and Canada through mid-November, playing a mix of clubs and festivals, with an additional four East Coast dates at the end of December.
[89] As of 2017, the touring lineup consisted of Stanton Adcock on lead guitar, Steve Mackey on bass, keyboardist Jimmy Wallace and Lynn Williams on drums.
[101] On May 7, 2024 the band announced they would perform Bringing Down the Horse live in its entirety for the first time, at a special show at the Palace Theatre on October 2 in Los Angeles, California.