Biography of The Cranberries

On the strength of the achingly lush ballad "Linger," The Cranberries' first album, 1993's Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We, was a surprise success. With its strummed acoustic guitars, soaring strings, and slight Celtic tint, "Linger" is a good example of the guitar-based, Sundays-style atmospheric pop of the Irish group. Although they were stars in Ireland, they hadn't had much success in the rest of Europe. Thanks to their American success, the band also became popular in Britain.The Cranberries cemented their across-the-board success with their second album, No Need to Argue, which quickly sold over two million copies in America on the strength of the hit singles "Zombie" and "Ode to My Family." In the spring of 1996, the Cranberries released their third album, To the Faithful Departed, which entered the charts at number four. Although it was a successful release, it didn't produce a crossover hit on the level of "Linger" or "Ode to My Family," and within three months of its release, it began to slide down the charts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine