Artist · chart history
Living Colour
Band New York United States Formed 1983
Living Colour formed in 1983 in New York, United States. Living Colour has 133 chart appearances on 96 radio countdowns from 32 stations on RockLists, spanning 1988–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Cult of Personality”, which appears on 89 lists with a best position of #42. The station that charted Living Colour most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 28 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1990.
Living Colour came roaring out of New York in the late '80s with Vernon Reid on guitar, Corey Glover singing, Will Calhoun on drums and Muzz Skillings on bass, a band that could play just about anything and did: heavy metal, funk, progressive rock, jazz, hip-hop, punk and even a little barbershop harmony. Reid's guitar squeals and splinters, Glover sings like he's shouting down a riot, and the words go from the personal to the political, with plenty to say about racism in America.
Vivid, in 1988, made them famous. "Cult of Personality" is the monster, a stomping, lurching riff that stops and starts like a car with a bad clutch, and it won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. "Glamour Boys" bounces along on a sunny, calypso-tinged lilt, and "Open Letter (To a Landlord)" takes its time and simmers. MTV named them Best New Artist at its 1989 Video Music Awards.
Time's Up in 1990 won them a second Grammy, and it's a harder, more restless record, with "Type", "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" and "Elvis Is Dead". Doug Wimbish replaced Skillings on bass in 1992, and Stain in 1993, heavier and darker again with "Leave It Alone", "Bi" and "Nothingness", won over the critics too.
The band broke up in 1995, got back together late in 2000, and has since made Collideøscope in 2003, The Chair in the Doorway in 2009 and Shade in 2017, for 6 studio albums so far, with more on the way.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Living Colour on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cult of Personality#324 of all time | 89 | #42 | – | 1989 | |
| 2 | Open Letter (To A Landlord) | 11 | #478 | – | – | |
| 3 | Glamour Boys | 11 | #62 | – | 1989 | |
| 4 | Type | 5 | #16 | – | 1990 | |
| 5 | Love Rears Its Ugly Head | 6 | #507 | – | – | |
| 6 | Elvis is Dead | 3 | #254 | – | – | |
| 7 | Bi | 1 | #49 | – | 1993 | |
| 8 | Leave It Alone | 1 | #1316 | – | – | |
| 9 | Desparate People | 1 | #677 | – | – | |
| 10 | Nothingness (remix) | 1 | #71 | – | 1993 | |
| 11 | Nothingness | 2 | #80 | – | 1993 | |
| 12 | What's Your Favorite Colour?/Which Way to America? | 1 | #445 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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