Biography
Part of the Memphis underground pop milieu that gave rise to Big Star and Chris Bell, Van Duren has long been regarded as a cult hero by power pop devotees, having issued several albums that cultivated a devoted audience. Drawing heavily from the Beatles, Badfinger, and the Raspberries, his first record, Are You Serious?, arrived in 1978 and showcased a songwriter who possessed a firm grasp of melodic hooks together with capable musicianship on multiple instruments, yet repeated obstacles delayed any follow-up until Hailstone Holiday in 1999, which he recorded alongside Tommy Hoehn. Even so, Duren remained active on the Memphis music circuit through assorted projects well into the 2010s, and toward the close of that decade his trajectory received attention via both the documentary Waiting: The Van Duren Story and its companion soundtrack release.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1953, Van Duren experienced the same shift that affected countless rock enthusiasts upon witnessing the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He soon took up guitar and assembled his initial group, the Manor Serfs, at age twelve. During his college years he balanced studies with music, though after briefly attending Memphis State University to pursue history he withdrew. While developing a rock adaptation of the musical The Fantastiks he encountered Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, whose girlfriend appeared in the production. Through Stephens he connected with other pop enthusiasts who gathered at Ardent Recording Studio in Memphis, and in 1975 he tried out for the guitar position in Big Star after Chris Bell’s exit. The group disbanded shortly afterward, however, leaving him without the role. That same year Duren started cutting song demos featuring Stephens on drums. Andrew Loog Oldham, the former Rolling Stones manager and producer, learned of the material and subsequently oversaw several tracks. While pitching his recordings to labels, Duren joined the Baker Street Regulars, whose members also included Stephens, Chris Bell, and Mike Brignardello, the last of whom later joined Giant and maintained a lengthy career as a session player. Duren and Brignardello would additionally collaborate in Walk ’n’ Wall, which featured producer and engineer John Hampton on drums.
In 1977 Duren secured interest from Big Sound Records, the newly established imprint launched by producer Jon Tiven. He relocated eastward and, working at a Connecticut facility, recorded his debut album Are You Serious?, performing every instrument except drums. Big Sound issued the set in March 1978, where it earned favorable notices and intermittent radio exposure while Duren and his band traversed North America. He commenced a second album in 1979, yet once Idiot Optimism was finished the label had been acquired by another company that chose not to issue it. The record circulated only as rumor among power pop followers until a Japanese imprint finally released it in 1999. With that project stalled, Duren returned to Memphis and formed Good Question, a band that performed regularly in the Bluff City for nearly two decades and issued two studio albums: Thin Disguise in 1986 and Chronicles in 1991. During the 1990s he also began writing and tracking material with songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim Horrigan, a partnership that eventually yielded the 2012 album Her Name Comes Up.
Late in the decade Duren concentrated on another partnership, teaming with longtime acquaintance and fellow Memphis power pop figure Tommy Hoehn. The pair recorded two albums at Ardent Studios—Hailstone Holiday in 1999 and Blue Orange in 2002—although plans for a third were abandoned after Hoehn encountered health difficulties and ultimately succumbed to cancer in 2010. Duren resumed solo recording for Open Secret in 2005 and Resonance Road in 2010, projects that ventured into less overtly pop and more exploratory territory. He subsequently formed the duo Loveland Duren with vocalist and songwriter Vicki Loveland; they appeared frequently across the South and released Bloody Cupid in 2013 and Next in 2016.
After years as a regional mainstay and favorite among power pop collectors, Van Duren appeared headed toward wider notice when two Australian listeners, Wade Jackson and Greg Carey, discovered Are You Serious? and Idiot Optimism and questioned how such a distinctive talent had missed mainstream success. Their interest prompted a documentary chronicling his circuitous path, and Waiting: The Van Duren Story screened at festivals beginning in 2018. Omnivore Records issued an accompanying soundtrack containing both studio tracks and uncommon live recordings in February 2019. In 2023 Van Duren supplied further evidence of his stage work with Good Question through the archival album Cartwheeling: Live in Memphis, which captured an intimate January 1992 performance that incorporated songs written for the never-completed follow-up to Thin Disguise along with selections spanning his career and a version of the Beatles’ “Got to Get You into My Life” that the band prepared during a rehearsal the day of the show.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1953, Van Duren experienced the same shift that affected countless rock enthusiasts upon witnessing the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He soon took up guitar and assembled his initial group, the Manor Serfs, at age twelve. During his college years he balanced studies with music, though after briefly attending Memphis State University to pursue history he withdrew. While developing a rock adaptation of the musical The Fantastiks he encountered Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, whose girlfriend appeared in the production. Through Stephens he connected with other pop enthusiasts who gathered at Ardent Recording Studio in Memphis, and in 1975 he tried out for the guitar position in Big Star after Chris Bell’s exit. The group disbanded shortly afterward, however, leaving him without the role. That same year Duren started cutting song demos featuring Stephens on drums. Andrew Loog Oldham, the former Rolling Stones manager and producer, learned of the material and subsequently oversaw several tracks. While pitching his recordings to labels, Duren joined the Baker Street Regulars, whose members also included Stephens, Chris Bell, and Mike Brignardello, the last of whom later joined Giant and maintained a lengthy career as a session player. Duren and Brignardello would additionally collaborate in Walk ’n’ Wall, which featured producer and engineer John Hampton on drums.
In 1977 Duren secured interest from Big Sound Records, the newly established imprint launched by producer Jon Tiven. He relocated eastward and, working at a Connecticut facility, recorded his debut album Are You Serious?, performing every instrument except drums. Big Sound issued the set in March 1978, where it earned favorable notices and intermittent radio exposure while Duren and his band traversed North America. He commenced a second album in 1979, yet once Idiot Optimism was finished the label had been acquired by another company that chose not to issue it. The record circulated only as rumor among power pop followers until a Japanese imprint finally released it in 1999. With that project stalled, Duren returned to Memphis and formed Good Question, a band that performed regularly in the Bluff City for nearly two decades and issued two studio albums: Thin Disguise in 1986 and Chronicles in 1991. During the 1990s he also began writing and tracking material with songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim Horrigan, a partnership that eventually yielded the 2012 album Her Name Comes Up.
Late in the decade Duren concentrated on another partnership, teaming with longtime acquaintance and fellow Memphis power pop figure Tommy Hoehn. The pair recorded two albums at Ardent Studios—Hailstone Holiday in 1999 and Blue Orange in 2002—although plans for a third were abandoned after Hoehn encountered health difficulties and ultimately succumbed to cancer in 2010. Duren resumed solo recording for Open Secret in 2005 and Resonance Road in 2010, projects that ventured into less overtly pop and more exploratory territory. He subsequently formed the duo Loveland Duren with vocalist and songwriter Vicki Loveland; they appeared frequently across the South and released Bloody Cupid in 2013 and Next in 2016.
After years as a regional mainstay and favorite among power pop collectors, Van Duren appeared headed toward wider notice when two Australian listeners, Wade Jackson and Greg Carey, discovered Are You Serious? and Idiot Optimism and questioned how such a distinctive talent had missed mainstream success. Their interest prompted a documentary chronicling his circuitous path, and Waiting: The Van Duren Story screened at festivals beginning in 2018. Omnivore Records issued an accompanying soundtrack containing both studio tracks and uncommon live recordings in February 2019. In 2023 Van Duren supplied further evidence of his stage work with Good Question through the archival album Cartwheeling: Live in Memphis, which captured an intimate January 1992 performance that incorporated songs written for the never-completed follow-up to Thin Disguise along with selections spanning his career and a version of the Beatles’ “Got to Get You into My Life” that the band prepared during a rehearsal the day of the show.
Albums
Cartwheeling: Live In Memphis
2023
Waiting: The Van Duren Story (Original Documentary Soundtrack)
2019
Her Name Comes Up
2012
Idiot Optimism
1999
Are You Serious?
1977
Singles
Live
