By MEREDITH HUMPHREY, Special to Bootleg Essential Culture
The Plain White T’s were formed circa 1997 in the suburbs of Chicago.
You couldn’t get in your car, walk outside or enter a mall this summer without hearing their song. Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” exploded on the airwaves until virtually every American teen knew the chorus. The tune reached number one on the U.S. Hot 100, Hot Digital Songs and Pop 100 countdowns.
The song’s appeal is in its simplicity. A lone acoustic guitar is coupled with brutally honest, confessional lyrics. Written as a letter from a dropout boyfriend to his girlfriend who is leaving for the big city, critics noted the band’s ability to put their own emotions on the line for the sake of their music.
“Overall, this is the most honest trait the Plain White T’s have: their ability to capture a sense of complete and total insecurity within their music. Not that they are insecure ABOUT their music. They are not,” wrote All Music guide critic John D. Luerseen.
Other popular tracks from any of their four albums — “Come on Over,” “Stop,” “All That We Needed” and “Every Second Counts” — sound so close to touring partner Fall Out Boy or their prodigies Panic! At the Disco that listeners might not know the difference without a radio DJ deciphering the two. “Our Time Now” could have come straight off Fall Out Boy’s album “From Under the Cork Tree.” Still others do have a stronger rock presence such as radio hit “Hate I Really Don’t….” which is better compared to the likes of Taking Back Sunday.
The All Music Guide offered this assessment: “Less punk than infectious power pop, Chicago’s Plain White T’s put a modern airwave-affable stamp on that beloved strain of the rock &roll virus with ‘All That We Need.’”
The group was formed circa 1997 in the suburbs of Chicago and gained popularity playing clubs around the city with members Tom Higgenson on vocals, Dave Tirio on guitar and Ken Flether on bass. By 2005 the group had seen the loss of Fletcher while bringing in Mike Retondo on bass and vocals, De’Mar Hamilton as drummer and Tim Lopez on guitar and vocals.
With the success of their third album, “All That We Needed,” the group spent 2006 on the Warped Tour and released “Every Second Counts” that September. Now the group is on the Young Wild Things Tour alongside Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, and Cute Is What We Aim For — at least until their next hit comes along.
