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The long-running English rock band Status Quo is a textbook-worthy example of "famous-everywhere-but-the-USA." In their home country, Status Quo has carved out quite a niche for themselves as purveyors of groovy, white-boy boogie blues. With a Status Quo song, you can rely on technically superb musicianship and a deep bass-line that is guaranteed to make you smile-totally great driving music. However, while the bass may have stayed more or less the same, the band has tweaked their sound over the decades, and listening to a greatest hits collection you will notice that the sound travels from bubblegum psychedelia to more electronic-tinted prog rock. Back home, where they're regulars on pub jukeboxes, fans familiarly refer to the boys as just The Quo or Quo. Not surprisingly, the band was founded by bassist Alan Lancaster in 1962. Recording and performing under the name The Spectres, Status Quo were originally formed by members of various garage-pop bands gigging around England at the time. The Spectres released a couple singles under a deal with Picadilly Records, but ultimately success eluded them. In 1968, the band released their trippy break-through smash, "Pictures of Matchstick Men", which would prove to be a big enough hit to found a career on. Follow-up singles from this psyche period included "Ice In the Sun" and "Black Veils of Melancholy." However, as the freak-beat scene began to die down, Status Quo made the deliberate decision to change their musical direction and focus instead on driving, up-tempo boogy rock. Status Quo abandoned their hip polyester butterfly collars in favor of old jeans and t-shirts, a look that would become thoroughly associated with the hard-working band. In 1972, Status Quo released their landmark album Piledriver, which was a perfect example of their heavy new sound. Subsequent Status Quo hits have included "Paper Plane", "Down Down", "Caroline" and "Rockin' All Over the World."

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