Photo: Drew de F Fawkes, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On our top 10 countdown radar we take a look at some of the greatest hits of all time from Theory of a Deadman, occasionally abbreviated as TOAD or Theory. Theory is a Canadian rock band that was formed in 1999 by Tyler Connolly, Dave Brenner and Dean Back. The three met in a guitar class and started their musical journey together.
Later on in 2001, the band’s lead Tyler Connolly was lucky to meet Nickelback’s frontman Chad Kroeger after convincing Kroeger’s ex-girlfriend to send him a cut of their first demo recording. Kroeger was impressed and after discussions over a barbeque, he handed the band a record deal. It has been a pretty amazing ride for the group right from the debut of their album Theory of a Deadman in 2002. The band’s name was inspired by the lead song of their first album”Theory of a Deadman”. The song which described a man ready to commit suicide was later renamed to “The Last Song”.
The band’s career began on a high not with an overwhelming success of their first album. It peaked charts in Canada at number 4 and at number 85 in the US, and was certified platinum in both countries. Right from their first album, the band is known to take tours after the release of albums to promote their music. They have also been nominated for numerous awards throughout their career, winning more than five including the BMI Pop Awards for their song “Not Meant to be “in 2010.
As you shall notice from the songs listed below, Theory includes started with a foundation in post-grunge, hard rock, pop rock, and alternative metal and alternative rock music styles. However they have since added country and acoustic to their sound.
#10 – Not Meant to Be
This song is an original composition of Tyler Connolly and American Idol’s judge Kara DioGuardi over a glass of wine at the judge’s house. Contrary to the song’s title, their writing styles were truly ‘meant to be ‘as they seamlessly came up with the track within 5 minutes .The lyrics are quite self-explanatory; they describe the story of a man who logs to be with his ex-girlfriend, but she keeps pushing him away leading to his thoughts of the relationship is “not meant to be” featured as the band’s fifth overall single from the album Scars & Souvenirs which was released in 2008.It received airplay in Canada and the US on mainstream, rock and Hot AC formats and has severally appeared in charts in both countries.
#9 – Angel
“Angel” released on February 24, 2015 is theory’s third single from their fifth studio album Savages. The electronic-tinged ballad is a tale of a man that falls in love with an angel but struggles with the idea of eventually having to let her go. The song is just one of the band’s that have been certified platinum in the US and has managed to peak charts in both Canada and the US. It also notably features Tyler Connolly’s most vulnerable vocals yet.
#8 – B****h Came Back
This track shows off the band’s instrumental skills with roaring guitars and flourishing of horns. The horns introduce a rock ‘n’ roll vibe to their music with humorous lyrics marking a send-off to a bad ex. It is inspired by Tyler Connolly’s divorce, the Canadian actress Christine Danille with the moral being, the bitch came back exactly as the song’s title. The song was released as a single from the album The Truth Is which was released in 2011. This song was another result of collaboration between Connolly and Kara DioGuardi after the tremendous success of “Not Meant To Be “from a previous album.
#7 – By The Way
“By The Way” is another emotional break-up song that features Chris Daughtry and Robin Diaz on the back-up vocals. Howard Benson –the producer of both Daughtry and Theory of the Deadman- hooked up the collaboration, which conceived this sixth single from the band’s album, Scars & Souvenirs. The album title is sourced from a line in this song, “Piled up from the years, all those scars and souvenirs.” The song’s video was released later on in 2009. However, It only features frontman Tyler Connolly with no sight of Chris Daughtry or Robin Diaz.
#6 – So Happy
Another track from Theory’s Scars & Souvenirs album, this song was officially released on February 11, 2008. However, many radio stations had included the track to their rotations. The song was debuted on the Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, two days before Its official release date and impressively peaked at number 2 in April, the same year. The song also boasts the title of fastest top-10 entry to date on the chart. The success of the song came as a surprise to the band, considering how much they had underestimated it but still made it the first single of the album.
#5 – All Or Nothing
Most of the songs from the Souvenirs & Scars album were inspired by the band’s lead Tyler’s marriage and divorce. This was definitely one of them. This one is a piano-laden song that tells a story of how the front man’s relationship began as a good friendship that eventually blossomed into romance. This and other songs from Tyler’s chronicles were received well by fans all over Canada and the US due since It depicts a storyline that most people battle with. The song also peaked charts in both countries the highest positions being number 22 and number 17 in the Canadian Hot 100 and US Adult Top 40 respectively.
#4 – Make Up Your Mind
This was the second single from Eponymous debut album in 2003. The song was written the lead, Tyler Connolly and Chad Kroeger who also produced the track alongside Joey Moi. It was one of the many songs Tyler would write for the band that would peak the Canadian Singles chart at number 13. It is about an indecisive couple that keeps breaking up and making up but wish they could make up their minds once and for all.
#3 – Lowlife
This song was meant to be a happy song despite the negative connotation of the term and about being a lowlife and having fun at it. The lead once said in an interview, “There is a lowlife in all of us.” It was released in the mid- year of 2011 as the first single of the band’s fourth studio album The Truth is… The song was released to radio stations on May 17, 2011, ahead of its release date and shot to number one of the US rock charts. The fun fact about this song is that ii was co-written by Connolly’s ex-wife and actress Christine Danielle.
#2- The Truth is … (I Lied About Everything)
This song is not just a song part of Tyler’s divorce chronicles, but also an evolution of the artist’s songwriting skills. The singer had the help of Howard Benson who went through the lyrics line by line. Additionally, this song was part of the many that showed his security in his songwriting career and his ability to draw inspiration from his personal experiences. The track did not just focus on the instrumentals and the bass but the ability of the artist to make sense as well. It was released as one of the singles from the group’s fourth studio album that goes by the same name.
#1- The Last Song
This song is literally the last song on our top 10 Theory songs. It was originally titled “Theory of the Deadman”. It also inspired the band’s name and kick started their successful career. The change came as the band was recording it, making the song change as well. The song also shares an album with other hits like “Make Up Your Mind”. Although the song received mixed reviews from critics, It certainly sold well. Apart from reaching peaks on the US Rock Albums Chart, the song is also Platinum certified in Canada.
Top 10 Theory Of A Deadman Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021
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