The Philosopher Kings

The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian band. The band was most commercially successful in the late 1990s and have been nominated for five Juno Awards, winning one in 1996 for "Best New Group".[1] Most of the band members, current and former, have also had successful careers as songwriters and producers for several artists and performers. Between 1996 and 2016, The Philosopher Kings were among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 50 selling Canadian bands in Canada.[2]

This article is about the band. For other uses, see Philosopher King.
The Philosopher Kings
OriginThornhill, Ontario, Canada
GenresR&B, soft rock, pop, pop rock
Years active1993–1999, 2004–2009, 2016–present
Associated actsProzzak
Websitewww.philosopherkings.com
MembersGerald Eaton
James Bryan McCollum
Brian West
Denton Whited
Marc Rogers
Past membersCraig Hunter
Jason Levine
Jon Levine

History

The Philosopher Kings formed in 1993. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings. The band released their debut album in Canada in 1994. The album was later released in the United States by Columbia.[3] The group saw minor success in the United States with the single "Charms", which peaked at #36 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart in 1996.

The band performed across Canada,[4] and won the award for "Best New Group" at the 1996 Juno Awards. In 1997, the band released their second album, Famous, Rich and Beautiful. The album featured several singles which were hits in Canada, including "I Am the Man", "Hurts to Love You" and "Cry". The album was certified Platinum in Canada in 1998 and is the band's best-selling album. The band was nominated for "Best Group" at the 1999 Juno Awards. In 1999, drummer Craig Hunter was replaced by Denton Whited. The band was inactive from 2000 to 2003 as members pursued different projects. In 2004, all of the band members (minus Jason Levine) reunited and the band released the album Castles in 2006. After going on hiatus again in the 2010s, the band reunited again in 2016. In 2018, the band released the album Return of the Kings.

Members

Current line-up

Past members
  • Craig Hunter – drummer on Philosopher Kings, Famous, Rich and Beautiful
  • Jason Levine – bassist on Philosopher Kings, Famous, Rich and Beautiful & One Night Stand
  • Jon Levine – keyboardist

Discography

Albums
Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
CAN
[5]		 CAN
[6]
1994 The Philosopher Kings — Gold
1997 Famous, Rich and Beautiful 62 Platinum
1999 One Night Stand —
2006 Castles —
2018 Return of the Kings —

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[7]		 CAN Content (Cancon)
[8]		 CAN Dance
[9]		 U.S.
Top 40
[10]
1994 "Turn My Head Around" — 6 — — The Philosopher Kings
"Lay My Body Down" — — — —
1995 "Charms" 16 — 15 36
1997 "I Am the Man" 7 — — — Famous, Rich and Beautiful
1998 "Hurts to Love You" 8 — — —
"Cry" 13 — — —
"You Don't Love Me (Like You Used To Do)" 71 — — —
1999 "You Stepped on My Life" — — — —
2000 "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" 44 — — — One Night Stand
2005 "Castles in the Sand" — — — — Castles
2006 "Give Back the Love" — — — —
"Beautiful Creature" — — — —
2017 "Still the One" — — — — Return of the Kings
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards

Nominations

Side projects

References
  1. SEARCH AWARDS. junoawards.ca. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  2. "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. p. 28. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. Larry LeBlanc (22 June 1996). Sony Music Takes on the World. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. "Heads Turning". Imprint, University of Waterloo, 1996.
  5. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' albums in Canada: *For "Famous, Rich and Beautiful" "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 67, No. 2". RPM. April 6, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  6. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  7. Search for Canadian peaks
  8. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' singles on Cancon chart:
  9. Peak positions for The Philosopher Kings' singles on Canadian Dance chart:
  10. "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
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