Fly Me Courageous

 Fly Me Courageous was the album that transformed Drivin N Cryin from a college-radio act into a nationally recognized rock band—and it showcased Jeff Sullivan’s drumming at its most powerful and commercially prominent.

The band originally slated producer Andy Johns (known for his work with Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Rod Stewart) to helm the sessions, but Johns fell ill. In his place, the band chose Geoff Workman, a British engineer-producer with credits including Queen and The Cars. The album was recorded at Kiva Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, and represented a deliberate hard-rock turn for the band.  Workman let the band perform as a self-contained unit and cultivated their emerging hard rock sound. 

The recording coincided with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in January 1991. The title track, “Fly Me Courageous,” was widely interpreted as a patriotic anthem—though the band’s own intentions were more ambiguous. The song reached No. 15 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and received heavy rotation on both rock radio and MTV. A second single, “Build a Fire,” also charted at No. 15 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and was featured in regular MTV rotation. Military personnel embraced the title track, and the band received invitations to play at Naval and Air Force bases, with pilots reportedly listening to the song before takeoff.

The album peaked at No. 90 on the Billboard 200 and earned RIAA Gold Certification in 1995, signifying sales in excess of 500,000 copies—a milestone that remains the high-water mark of Sullivan’s recording career. The band performed on Late Night with David Letterman, marking their highest-profile national television appearance. Tom Demalon of AllMusic called the album the band’s “finest moment, both commercially and artistically.”

The success of Fly Me Courageous launched extensive national tours that placed Sullivan on stages across the country. In the spring of 1991, the band toured with Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Sonic Youth; later that year, they shared stages with The Allman Brothers Band,  Soul Asylum and Lynyrd Skynyrd. These touring credits cemented Sullivan’s reputation as a formidable live drummer and Drivin N Cryin’s status as one of the premier rock acts from the southeastern United States.