Wilco: The First Four

Jeff Tweedy's maturation from Uncle Tupelo co-creator to full fledged Wilco bandleader to household name.

It took less than a month for Jeff Tweedy to form a new band after Uncle Tupelo broke up. Jay Farrar, his Tupelo co-creator called the band quits in May of 1994 and went on to form his own new group, Son Volt.

Tweedy collected the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo, christened themselves Wilco, and set to work stepping out of the shadow of his former bandmate and establishing his own, new identity.

Quickly writing new songs and assembling his players for recording, Tweedy knew that timing was crucial. It was important that he build on the momentum of the final Uncle Tupelo record, Anodyne, and the critical success it had garnered.

Wilco was comprised of Tweedy, and former Tupelo bandmates John Stirratt (bass), and Ken Cooper (drums) along with guitarist Brian Henneman of The Bottle Rockets. The band also employed a handful of veteran session players for the recordings as well, including famous pedal steel player, Lloyd Maines.

The first Wilco LP, A.M. was released on March 28, 1995 to m…