2002 A Hit Song - Music

The Free Design Were A Delevan New York-Based Vocal Group Playing Jazzy Pop Music. The Members Were All Siblings Of The Dedrick Family Chris Dedrick Who Wrote Most Of The Songs Sister Sandy Dedrick And Brother Bruce Dedrick Were The Original Lineup. Younger Sister Ellen Dedrick Joined The Group Later As Did Cousin Jeff Dedrick For A Brief Time And Youngest Sister Stefanie Joined Near The End Of Their Initial Career. Their Father Art Dedrick Was A Trombonist And Music Arranger. Their Uncle Rusty Dedrick Was A Jazz Trumpeter With Claude Thornhill And Red Norvo. They Formed The Band While Living In New York City. Chris Has Said The Group Was Influenced By Vocal Groups Like The Hi-Los Who Performed In Greenwich Village Frequently At The Time Along With Peter Paul And Mary And The Counterpoint Experiments Of Benjamin Britten. Their Trademark Sound Involved Complex Harmonies Jazz-Like Chord Progressions And Off-Beat Time Signatures All Products Of Chris's Classical Training. The Band Released Six Albums From 1967 To 1972 All On Enoch Light's Project 3 Label. For The Most Part They Were Accompanied On The Albums By Studio Musicians. Revival Of Interest During Their Career The Free Design Never Gained The Commercial Success They And A Small Fan-Base Felt They Deserved A Plight They Noted In Their 1969 Song "2002 - A Hit Song" In Which They Describe How To Create A Hit Then Continue "there's Just One Fact That We Can't Quite Shirk/ We Did All This Last Time But It Did Not Work." They Remained In Obscurity After Disbanding In 1972. Starting In The Mid-90's However Interest In Them Began To Grow As Part Of A General Resurge Of Interest In Easy Listening Music From The 60's And 70's. In 1994 Japanese Musician Cornelius Began The Revival By Re-Issuing The Free Design Catalog On His "Trattoria" Label. In 1997 The Band Tomorrow's World Covered Their Song "Kites Are Fun" And In 1998 The Spanish "Siesta" Label Put Out Four Compilation Albums Of Their Music. Stereolab Whose Lounge-Inspired Music Clearly Showed A Free Design Influence Named A 1999 Single "The Free Design" Though The Song Itself Had No Direct Connection To The Band . The Free Design Song "Bubbles" Was Covered By Dressy Bessy On The 2000 Powerpuff Girls Soundtrack. Perhaps Inspired By This Newfound Interest In 2000 The Band Re-Grouped After A Nearly 30-Year Retirement To Record The Song "Endless Harmony" On The Beach Boys Tribute Album Caroline Now. This Experience Convinced Them To Record A New Full-Length Album 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo Which Featured The Original Lineup Minus Ellen Dedrick. In 2001 The Label Cherry Red Released A Best Of Free Design Compilation. Their Song "I Found Love" Was Included On The 2002 Gilmore Girls Soundtrack. Another Song 'Love You' Featured Over The End Credits To The Emma Thompson And Will Ferrell Film 'Stranger Than Fiction' In 2006. From 2002 To 2005 The Original Albums Were Reissued In The United States By The Light In The Attic Label. In 2005 The Label Put Out The Now Sound Redesigned An Album Of Free Design Remixes From Established Acts Like Stereolab Super Furry Animals And Peanut Butter Wolf. The Recognizable Sound Of This Influential Band Can Be Felt In Modern-Day Acts Such As Stereolab Cornelius The Pizzicato Five Beck The High Llamas And Many Others. Chris Dedrick Is Now An Established Film Composer Most Notably For His Genie-Awarded Soundtrack For Guy Maddin's "The Saddest Music In The World." read less