The Los Angeles-based rock band Concrete Blonde showed their face among college and alternative rock fans in the mid-‘80s, hatching from their previous name Dream 6 and seizing America with dynamic vocals from Johnette Napolitano. Using the band's signature ‘80s rock sound to pump out hit songs, the legacy of Concrete Blonde lasted long past the group's disbandment in 1995.Heavily influenced by the Los Angeles post-punk craze during the time, Concrete Blonde emerged from the ashes of bands like X, Wall of Voodoo and the Go-Go's. Forming in 1982, singer/songwriter/bassist Napolitano and guitarist Jim Mankey initially called themselves Dream 6, even releasing an EP before changing their name to the more memorable Concrete Blonde. Although starting up in '82, Concrete Blonde failed to land a recording contract until 1987, partly due to the artists' insistence on having complete control over their music. Finally scoring with the label I.R.S. and officially becoming Concrete Blonde, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1987, squeezing onto the scene on the Billboard 200. Their follow-up album, 1989's Free, shifted slightly toward college rock with songs like God is a Bullet, the hit song landing at number 15 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.Concrete Blonde's biggest success, however, came in 1990 with the release Bloodletting, which solidly landed on the Billboard 200 chart while the knockout single Joey earned the band their first number one hit. Joey, the tranquil ballad about a love affair ruined by alcoholism, reached radio stations across the country, easily spreading the band's mainstream appeal. A Hispanic-inspired Mexican Moon followed in 1993, but as the band's grasp on the rock realm started slipping, Napolitano took it upon himself to break up the band in 1995. The original members of Concrete Blonde, however, reunited in 2002 to release the album Group Therapy.