| Mostly Credited As: | The Donnas |
| Sometimes Credited As: | Ragady Anne
Electrocutes
|
| Birth Name: | The Donnas |
| Country Of Birth: |  USA |
| Birth Place: | California |
This all girl Hard Rock group was formed in May 1993 when all 4 members were still in the 8th grade in Palo Alta, California. They had decided to form as a group for a School talent show and have been together ever since. They first named themselves
“Ragady Anne” and in 1995 they released a 7” EP on
“Radio Trash” records a small independent company. They next changed the group name to the
“Electrocutes” but by the end of 1995 they changed it once again to
“The Donnas” as a tribute to the great rock group
“The Ramones”. They then began calling themselves
“Donna A.”, “Donna C.”, Donna F.” and
“Donna R.” and released their 1st 7” EP on
“Radio X” records also an independent label titled
“High School Yum Yum”. This was followed up by another 7” record titled “
Let’s Go Mano!”. They released a 7” record on
“Super*teem!” records titled
“Da Doo Ron Ron” also in 1996. Next came the release of the album titled
“Steal Yer Lunch Money” under the name of the
“Electrocutes” again this year. The album however was not released until 1999 which was 3 years later. They next released their self-titled album
“The Donnas” in 1998 also on
“Super*teem!” records. They next took a week off from their senior year in High School to tour the country of Japan.
After they graduated High School they were offered a contract with a local Independent label from the San Francisco area
“Lookout” records. Instead of going to college as they originally planned they jumped at this chance to make it to the big-time. Their first release on their new label in 1998 was the album
“American Teenage Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine”. In 1999 the girls’ next album released was titled
“Get Skintight” with every song on the album this time composed by one or more of the members of the band with no outside assistance. Also in 1999 they appeared together in 2 Movies. They appeared in the Crime, Comedy Film
“Jawbreaker” followed by the Comedy, Drama, Romance Film
“Drive Me Crazy”. They appeared in the first film as
“The Donnas” but appeared in the 2nd Film as the
“Electrocutes”. In 2001 they released the album
“The Donnas Turn 21” that became their very first charting record. It peaked at #22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and at #17 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart. Late in 2001 they signed a new contract with
“Atlantic” records. They released
“Take It Off” in 2002 and it peaked at #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. This was followed by the album
“Spend The Night” which included a bonus DVD and it became their biggest record to date. It peaked at #62 on the Billboard Top 200-album chart and went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 2004
“Fall Behind Me” peaked at #29 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
On 26 October 2004 they released the album
“Gold Medal” and from that album released the single
“I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me)”.
“Gold Medal” peaked at #76 on the Billboard Top 200-album chart. In 2006 their song
“'Fall Behind Me” from their
“Gold Medal” album was used in a TV commercial on "NBC" for the “
U.S. Womens' Snowboarding Team” in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
“The Donnas” are
“Brett Anderson” as
“Donna A.”,
“Torry Castellano” as
“Donna C.”,
“Maya Ford” as
“Donna F.” and
“Allison Robertson” as
“Donna R.”. Brett is the lead vocalist, Torry is the drummer, Maya plays bass guitar and Allison plays lead guitar. Allison was born on 29 August 1979 in North Hollywood, California. Brett was born on 30 may 1979 in Bloomington, Indiana. Maya was born on 8 January 1979 in Oakland, California. Torry was born on 8 January 1979 in San Francisco, California.
