On This Day: Shinedown Release Their Debut ‘Leave a Whisper’
It was 21 years ago this week, on May 27th, back to 2003, that Shinedown unleashed their debut studio album, titled Leave a Whisper.
The LP was released through Atlantic Records. The album was actually released a couple of different times, including June 15th of 2004, and there were an extra three tracks that were on there, including their cover of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. This cover didn’t appear on the first release of the album, but it was a staple in their live sets from the jump. Their guitarist at the time, Jason Todd, was married to Ronnie Van Zant’s daughter, so that was part of what led Shinedown to cover that classic Skynyrd track. Plus, the band also billed themselves from the Jacksonville, Florida area, so there was a regional connection as well.
Leave a Whisper was re-released on June 7th of 2009. This was a digital only release featuring demo material and unused tracks from the recording sessions. There’s also a handful of bonus tracks on this version.
This is their second best selling album behind The Sound of Madness. Twenty one years later, Leave a Whisper has gone on to clock one million copies in sales here in the United States alone.
For Double Shot Tuesday this week, Brent Porche celebrated this album anniversary by playing the aforementioned Skynyrd cover alongside the album’s lead track “Fly From the Inside.” Listen to those two songs below.
In other Shinedown news, they’re bringing the fire from the stage to the kitchen with a new hot sauce. It’s a collaboration with Torchbearer Sauces called Symptom Chipotle Garlic Sauce, a nod to their recent ballad “A Symptom of Being Human.” Check out Brent’s taste test of the spicy condiment plus an interview with drummer Barry Kerch here.
In their conversation, Barry touched on new music from the band and when we can expect to hear it. HE tells Brent: “You’ll hear something, I imagine, by the end of the year, if not beginning of next year… We don’t want to rest. We don’t want to take too much time.”
Shinedown – “Simple Man”
Shinedown – “Fly From the Inside”
