Best known for creating the scorching 1990s rap-rock anthem 'Jump Around', House of Pain front man Everlast later developed into a rootsy, soulful songwriter with roots in hip-hop, country, blues and folk music, recording under the moniker Everlast.
Born Eric Francis Schrody in Hempstead, New York he spent his summers as a teenager with his father on construction sites where he heard the workers playing country and rock tunes, but his main interest was initially in graffiti. Picking up the nickname Everlast, he was a friend and protege of street artist Divine Styler and, as they painted, he would make up raps. Styler helped him record demos and at the age of 17 he joined up with Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate crew which led to his talent being spotted by the Warner Bros label who released his 1990 debut solo album 'Forever Everlasting' featuring Ice-T, Donald D and Brand New Heavies singer N'Dea Davenport.
One of only a handful of white rappers at the time, he gained an underground, cult following, but didn't fit in with the major label roster and soon left after an argument. He continued to self-record demo tapes with school friend Danny Boy and DJ Lethal, re-starting his music career when he collaborated with like-minded Cypress Hill members DJ Muggs and B-Real on a series of tracks. The project evolved into the group House of Pain and their blue collar Irish-American roots, hip-hop background and punk rock edge helped turn single 'Jump Around' into an iconic worldwide party hit that reached number three in the US charts in 1992. The group went on to release three albums before they split in 1997 and Everlast soon re-modelled himself as a rootsy, soulful storyteller on his second solo record 'Whitey Ford Sings the Blues'. Named after a New York Yankees baseball pitcher, the album featured Everlast strumming on an acoustic guitar and half-rapping, half-singing his woes in a way that was chilled, funky and heartfelt; the album went on to sell over three million copies and make the US top ten. Soon after recording, a congenital heart defect caused the 28-year-old to suffer major cardiac failure and the near-death experience left Everlast with a ticking, titanium heart ring and a new perspective on life.
He poured the experience into the song 'Put Your Lights On' and when he recorded it for Carlos Santana's 1999 album 'Supernatural', the track went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo. His next album 'Eat at Whitey's', featuring Santana, Cee Lo Green and B-Real, made the US top 20 and Everlast continued to cast himself as raspy-voiced, street smart storyteller on later works 'White Trash Beautiful', 'Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford' and 'Songs of the Ungrateful Living'. He was also known for a public feud with Eminem, formed the supergroup La Coke Nostra and collaborated on tracks with Dilated Peoples, Snoop Dogg and Limp Bizkit before returning in 2018 with his eighth solo album 'Whitey Ford's House of Pain' featuring Aloe Blacc and Slug.
