The Brains were a rock band from Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, led by songwriter Tom Gray in the early 1980s. Their 1980 debut album was entitled The Brains, and was produced by Steve Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...

 for Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

. The set is probably most noteworthy for the band's own song, "Money Changes Everything

Money Changes Everything

"Money Changes Everything" is a song written by Tom Gray, frontman of The Brains, and was the band's only underground hit. It was recorded by Cyndi Lauper for her debut album, She's So Unusual and was released as a single in 1984, peaking at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100...

", which was covered three years later by Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

, becoming a hit single for her. After a second Mercury recording in 1981, Electronic Eden (also produced by Lillywhite) and then an independently released E.P., Dancing Under Streetlight, the band split up. (A song from Electronic Eden, "Heart in the Street," was covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...

 on their 1980 album Chance as "Heart on the Street.")

The band was noted for its live performances, such as its July 1980 performance opening for Devo

Devo

Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...

 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre

Fox Theatre (Atlanta)

The Fox Theatre , a former movie palace, is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District....

 and its May 22, 1982, headlining performance at the Milestone Club in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE

- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

, N.C.

Rick Price was the guitarist for The Brains. He went on to join The Georgia Satellites as bass player. Drummer Charles Wolff died from cancer on September 10, 2010.

Group members

• Tom Gray - keyboards, vocals
• Bryan Smithwick - bass
• Charles Wolff - drums
• Rick Price - guitar, vocals

Albums

• 1980: The Brains
  The Brains (The Brains album)
  The Brains is the debut album by The Brains. It was released in 1980.-Track listing:# "Treason"# "See Me"# "Raeline"# "Girl I Wanna"# "In the Night"# "Money Changes Everything"# "Scared Kid"# "Sweethearts"# "Girl in a Magazine"...
  
  
• 1981: Electronic Eden
  Electronic Eden (The Brains album)
  -Track listing:# "Dream Life"# "One In A Million"# "Hypnotized"# "No Tears Tonight"# "Eyes Of Ice"# "Asphalt Wonderland"# "Little Girl Gone"# "Ambush"# "Heart In The Street"# "House Of Cards"# "Collision"...
  
  
• 1982: Dancing Under Streetlights (EP)