The Choir are an atmospheric alternative rock band. The band is fronted by Derri Daugherty on guitar and vocals. Backing Daugherty are Tim Chandler on bass, Steve Hindalong on drums, who also writes most of the band's lyrics, and Dan Michaels on lyricon and saxophone.

The band was formed as The Youth Choir in the early 1980s by Daugherty and Hindalong. The two songwriters had been introduced by friend Tim Chandler. Chandler and Daugherty were both touring with Daniel Amos at the time, Chandler as the band's bassist, and Daugherty as the band's roadie/sound man. Hindalong and Daugherty quickly became a strong songwriting team, crafting music that was described by the L.A. Times as "magical songs that combine strains of murky psychedelia with pure pop". Billboard Magazine praised the band for its "dark poetic leanings, effects-laden guitars and strong melodic hooks."

By 1986, the band dropped the "Youth" in their name, and began calling themselves The Choir.

The band nearly retired in 1996 after their final national tour, with the exception of an occasional festival appearance. They did however get together again in 1999 to record the independently released Flap Your Wings, recorded on a shoe-string budget in Daugherty's basement. The freedom of working without a label brought the band to a new level of creativity. Flap Your Wings was praised by music critics and earned the band its first Grammy nomination.

Discography

• Voices in Shadows, 1984 album
• Shades of Grey, 1986 ep
• Diamonds and Rain, 1986 album
• Chase the Kangaroo, 1987 album
• Wide Eyed Wonder, 1989 album
• Circle Slide, 1990 album
• Kissers and Killers, 1991 album
• Speckled Bird, 1994 album
• Free Flying Soul, 1996 album
• Let It Fly, 1997 live album
• Flap Your Wings, 1999 album
• Live At Cornerstone (plugged), 2000 live album
• Live At Cornerstone (unplugged), 2000 live acoustic album
• Never Say Never, 2001 boxed set
• O How the Mighty Have Fallen, 2005 album

External links

• www.TheChoir.net

There was also a rock band called The Choir in the mid-1960s from Cleveland best known for the oft-covered song "It's Cold Outside". With the addition of singer Eric Carmen , they became The Raspberries in 1970.