Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom Thacker (rhythm and lead guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Frank Zummo (drums).
In 1999, Sum 41 signed an international record deal with Island Records and released its first EP, Half Hour of Power, in 2000. The band released its debut album, All Killer No Filler, in 2001. The album achieved mainstream success with its first single, "Fat Lip", which reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and remains the band's most successful single to date. The album's next singles "In Too Deep" and "Motivation" also achieved commercial success. All Killer No Filler was certified platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom and triple platinum in Canada. In 2002, the band released Does This Look Infected?, which was also a commercial and critical success. The singles "The Hell Song" and "Still Waiting" both charted highly on the modern rock charts.
The band released its next album, Chuck, in 2004, led by singles "We're All to Blame" and "Pieces". The album proved successful, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200. In 2007, the band released Underclass Hero, which was met with a mixed reception, but became the band's highest-charting album to date. It was also the band's last album on Aquarius Records. The band released the album Screaming Bloody Murder, on Island Records in 2011 to mixed reception. It also fell short of its predecessors' commercial success. The band's sixth studio album, 13 Voices was released in 2016, through Hopeless Records. IMPALA awarded the album with a double gold award for 150,000 sold copies across Europe. The band's seventh studio album Order in Decline was released on July 19, 2019. The band's eighth and final studio album, Heaven :x: Hell, was released on March 29, 2024. The band disbanded in March 2025, following a final worldwide headlining tour and their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
The band often performed more than 100 times each year and held long global tours, most of which lasted more than a year. The group was nominated for seven Juno Awards and won twice – Group of the Year in 2003, and Rock Album of the Year for Chuck in 2005. Sum 41 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song "Blood in My Eyes". From their formation to 2016, Sum 41 were the 31st best-selling Canadian artist in Canada.
History
1994–1998: Formative years Sum 41 has its origins in the band Kaspir, which was formed by Deryck Whibley and Grant McVittie in 1994, inspired by Weezer and Nirvana. As time went on, the band's drummer was replaced by Steve Jocz and the music became increasingly inspired by NOFX, particularly their 1991 album Ribbed. Seeing this change as too sonically dissimilar to their original sound, they decided to form a new band and to change their sound because they sounded "like the early nineties rock music we used to listen to, and don't anymore". The band chose the name "Sum 41" after looking at the calendar and counting how many days it had been from the start of their summer break to the day the Warped Tour was on and seeing that it was forty-one days. The band debuted its new name during Supernova's Battle of the Bands on September 28, 1996. The first lineup to use this name included Whibley, Jocz, McVittie and Jon Marshall. Another early member was bassist Richard Roy who shortly replaced McVittie.
Their first televised live performance was at Jonopalooza, on the Canadian teen talk show Jonovision hosted by Trailer Park Boys star, and Canadian comedian, Jonathan Torrens.
The band met their manager and producer Greig Nori, also the lead vocalist of the band Treble Charger, in 1996 at Jonopalooza, and Whibley convinced Nori to watch his band perform. Nori was not impressed with the band's songs or the original vocalist Jon Marshall and advised Whibley to be the vocalist instead causing Marshall to leave. With Whibley moving to lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Dave Baksh, a friend of Deryck and Steve and fellow student at Exeter High School, joined as lead guitarist. During the band's first tour in New Brunswick, the band was involved in a near-fatal car accident, when their Ford Econoline van was broadsided by an F-150; Roy, who was driving the van, quit the band after returning home. Mark Spicoluk briefly filled in as the band's new bassist in 1998, until he was replaced by Jason McCaslin, another friend of the band's and student at Exeter High School, in 1999. Event occurs from 5:51 to 6:19. In 1996, the band opened for Len.
1998–2000: Half Hour of Power
In 1998, the band recorded a demo tape on compact cassette which they sent to record companies in the hope of getting a recording contract.
From 1999 to 2000, the band recorded several new songs. The Introduction to Destruction and later the Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's DVDs both contain the self-recorded footage, which show the band performing a dance to "Makes No Difference" in front of a theatre.
After signing with Island Records in 1999, Sum 41's first EP, Half Hour of Power, was released on June 27, 2000. The first single released by the band was "Makes No Difference", which had two different music videos. The first video was put together using the video clips sent to the major label, and the second showed the band performing at a house party. The album was certified platinum in Canada.
2001–2003: All Killer No Filler and Does This Look Infected?
Sum 41's first full-length album, All Killer No Filler, was released on May 8, 2001. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in August 2001. "Fat Lip", the album's first single, achieved significant chart and commercial success; it topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as many other charts around the world. The song remains the band's most successful to date. After "Fat Lip", two more singles were released from the album: "In Too Deep" and "Motivation". "In Too Deep" peaked at number 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, while "Motivation" peaked at number 24 on the same chart. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number nine on the Top Canadian Albums chart. The album was a commercial success, and was certified Platinum in the United States, UK, and triple platinum in Canada The album's name was taken from the initial reaction from Joe Mcgrath, an engineer working in the studio.
The band spent much of 2001 touring; the group played over 300 concerts that year before returning to the studio to record another album. The band took part in the 2001 Vans Warped Tour and the Campus Invasion Tour. In April 2002, the band went on a month long tour called the Sum Like it Loud Tour.
On May 3, 2002, Spider-Man was released in theaters which featured an extended version of the song from Sum 41's first album "Half Hour of Power" called "What We're All About", which in the album was combined with another short song called "Dave's Possessed Hair". The song was listed on the album as "Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About".
In October 2002, the band went on a month long tour called the Sum on Your Face Tour. On November 26, 2002, the group released its second album, Does This Look Infected? The special edition came with a DVD, Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's. Whibley said of the album: "We don't want to make another record that sounds like the last record, I hate when bands repeat albums." The album featured a harder and edgier sound, and the lyrics featured a more serious outlook. The album peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number eight on the Top Canadian Albums chart. It was certified Platinum in Canada and gold in the United States.
The first single released from the album was "Still Waiting", which peaked at number seven on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The second single, "The Hell Song" peaked at number 13 on the chart. "The Hell Song"'s music video depicted the band members using dolls with their pictures on them and others, such as Korn, Kiss, AC/DC, Snoop Dogg, Destiny's Child, Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, and Pamela Anderson. The third single, "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)", had a video released exclusively in Canada and on the band's website, featuring live shots of the band. The video also appeared on the group's live DVD, Sake Bombs and Happy Endings (2003), as a bonus feature. The band again began a long tour to promote the album before recording the group's third studio album.
2004–2005: Chuck
In late May 2004, the band travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with War Child Canada, a branch of the British charity organization War Child, to document the effects of the country's civil war. There had been a stoppage in fighting for almost a year and a half, yet days after arriving, fighting broke out in Bukavu near the hotel where the band was staying. The band waited for the fighting to die down, but it did not. A UN peacekeeper, Charles "Chuck" Pelletier, called for armoured carriers to take the hotel's occupants out of the hot zone. After nearly twenty hours, the carriers arrived, and the band and forty other civilians were taken to safety.
In honour of Pelletier, Sum 41 named its next album Chuck; it was released on October 12, 2004. The album charted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums chart. The album received positive reviews, and was certified Platinum in Canada and gold in the United States.
The first single from the album was "We're All To Blame", which peaked at number 10 on the Alternative Airplay chart. It was followed by "Pieces", which reached the top of the charts in Canada. In 2004, the band went on a co-headlining North American Tour with Good Charlotte. The band joined Mötley Crüe on their Carnival of Sin summer tour as an opening act.
A documentary of the band's experience in Congo was made into a film called Rocked: Sum 41 in Congo and later aired on MTV. War Child released it on DVD on November 29, 2005, in the United States and Canada. Following the album's release, the band went on a tour with Good Charlotte until 2006. On December 21, 2005, Sum 41 released a live album, Happy Live Surprise, in Japan. The CD contained a full concert recorded live in London, Ontario. The same CD was released March 7, 2006, in Canada under the name Go Chuck Yourself. The band played videos before its set that were deemed "unsuitable for children". Controversy arose over some of the videos' violent content.
2006–2008: Baksh's departure and Underclass Hero
On May 10, 2006, Dave Baksh, via a statement through management, announced that he was leaving Sum 41 to work with his new band, Brown Brigade, which has a more "classic metal" sound. Baksh cited "creative differences" as the reason for his departure, but claimed that he was still on good terms with the band. The next day, Whibley confirmed Baksh's official departure and announced that the band would only replace him with a touring guitarist, who would not have any decision-making power in the band or be in videos, photo shoots, or albums. The band hired Gob frontman and guitarist Tom Thacker to replace Baksh.
On April 17, 2007, the band released a song on iTunes, "March of the Dogs". Whibley was threatened with deportation from the United States for the song, because he metaphorically "killed the president" on it. The band's fourth studio album, Underclass Hero was released on July 23, 2007.