Promotion and Release
Soon after the Lions sessions, V2 Records threw a "completion party" at The Bank in New York City, at which The Black Crowes performed four songs from the new album, five songs from their catalog and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well". The band then played scattered dates in the U.S. and UK, including an appearance on Later... with Jools Holland, ahead of Lions' release. During this sequence of concerts, every song from the album was performed except "Losing My Mind" and "Ozone Mama"; the remaining two would be played on the album-supporting tour.
Lions was released on May 7, 2001, in the UK and a day later in the U.S.; it subsequently debuted at its peak position of number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, and sold over 53,000 copies in its first week. As of January 2002, the album had sold 192,000 copies in the U.S.
Around the album's release, band members made numerous promotional appearances. Chris Robinson guested on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the day before the album was released in the U.S., and Chris and Steve Gorman appeared on The Howard Stern Show the following day. The band performed "Soul Singing" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 10, and was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk four days later. A second late night television performance of "Soul Singing" took place on June 6, this time on the Late Show with David Letterman.
"Lickin'" was the first single from the album; it peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks on May 19. The song's promotional video was a compilation of various takes of a static, low-angle shot of the band performing the song on a tiny stage. Second single "Soul Singing" peaked at number 12 on the same chart on August 18; its promotional video featured the band playing in a grassy field as the sun rises in the sky. A third single, "Miracle to Me", was canceled, but not before a promotional video was shot of the band ostensibly recording the song in a studio. Videos also were filmed for "Come On", "Greasy Grass River" and "Cypress Tree". Despite not playing on the album, Andy Hess appears in some of these videos, all of which are available as streaming media on the band's official website.
Read more about this topic: Lions (album)
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