• 1977-

  Isaiah TaylorBass

  Pat CareyGuitar

  Hershel SmallGuitar

  Nehemiah HieldVocals1982-1999

  Jeffrey CheaKeyboards1991-

  Anthony "Monks" FlowersPercussion1991-

  Rik CareyVocals1999-

  Omerit HieldVocals1999-
• Hailing from New Providence, Bahamas, the Baha Men might be the world's most famous Junkanoo band, known for high energy and positive vibes. Junkanoo is a dance music that originated in the Bahamas but has roots in West Africa.
  
  "People think of junkanoo as a sound, but it's really a culture, a lifestyle," Baha Man Rik Carey told Songfacts. "We have a festival every year and junkanoo events all year round. The tourists, it's something to look forward to for them. They come here and spend all this money in Atlantis and all the expensive resorts, but really they're not getting the Bahamian experience. Every time I meet up with tourists, I try to encourage them to get off the Paradise Island side and go in the countryside and explore. Check out the junkanoo sites where everything is happening. They're never disappointed."
• Popular in Japan for years, they did not hit in the US or UK until "Who Let The Dogs Out," one of the most distinctive and memorable hits of 2000. Dubbed an overnight success, the band had actually been grinding away since 1977 and had already broken into European charts with songs like their 1994 remake of "Dancing In The Moonlight."
• The band started with nine members. They went through multiple personnel changes over the years but always retained a large lineup.
• They appear throughout the 1994 movie My Father The Hero as a band playing at the resort.
• Lead vocalist Rik Carey is the son of founding member Patrick Carey. He officially joined the band's lineup in 1999.
• They started as a cover band under the name High Voltage in The Bahamas, where they would perform popular hits for tourists. They took on the Baha Men name in 1991.
• Baha Men are frequently talked about as "one-hit wonders," but that's not exactly true. They followed up "Who Let The Dogs Out" with another US Billboard Hot 100 hit, "You All Dat," which hit #94. They also broke into the charts of multiple other countries with a few of their songs.
• "Who Let The Dogs Out" is a remake of "Doggie" by a musician named Anslem Douglas, who also barked in his version. Douglas wasn't the first to put the phrase together with the woofs, and was subjected to various lawsuits from people who claimed they were. A filmmaker named Ben Sisto spent about eight years sorting it out in a documentary called Who Let the Dogs Out.
• When "Who Let The Dogs Out" was big, Baha Men toured as the opening act for N' Sync, and later toured with 98 Degrees and on various package tours. Most of their appearances since have been at festivals or at Disney World, where they've played the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
• On July 10, 2026, young keyboardist Mateo Winder died in a plane crash on the way to North Andros, Bahamas. He'd just joined the band in 2025.

Comments: 1

• Kevin Quinn from Cmch, NjTell me about it, Baha Men, eh, hardly a one-hit wonder.

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