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Songwriter Brad Roberts anticipated earning a Ph.D. and becoming a professor of literature. But when the band that he had started with friends in the mid-1980's found success, Robert's academic interests waned.
The impromptu get-togethers as the group formed at an after-hours club in Winnipeg gave rise to the name Crash Test Dummies. After record company executives heard some of Robert's demo tapes, he began to concentrate more on music. Brad Roberts, his brother Dan (bass), Benjamin Darvill
(mandolin/harmonica) and Ellen Reid (piano/accordion/backing vocals) made up
Crash Test Dummies.
Their debut entitled The Ghosts That Haunt Me climbed to number one on the Canadian chart on back of the hit single "Superman's Song."
The release of God Shuffled His Feet, which introduced drummer Michael Dorge and was co-produced by Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison, brought a deal of attention to the Crash Test Dummies. Their breakthrough arrived with another distinctive single called "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm." The song soared to number twelve on the Billboard Chart in March 1994.
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