Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of House of Pain and other rappers. In 2000, he received a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with Latin rock band Santana for "Put Your Lights On". Formative years Everlast went to Taft High School in Los Angeles at the same time Ice Cube and N.W.A and the Posse member Krazy Dee were attending. Everlast states about N.W.A in an interview with LA Weekly: Career Late 1980s–mid 1990s: Early career and group's breakthrough Emerging as a member of Ice-T's group Rhyme Syndicate, Everlast's 1990 debut album Forever Everlasting was a commercial disappointment. Following the album's failure, Everlast teamed up with fellow Taft High alums DJ Lethal and Danny Boy to form the hip-hop trio House of Pain. The group was signed to Tommy Boy Records, and their 1992 self-titled debut album went multiplatinum, spawning the successful DJ Muggs produced single "Jump Around". Fashioning themselves as rowdy Irish-American hooligans (Lethal is actually Latvian-born), they toured with various rap and alternative rock bands such as the Ramones, Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine after their breakthrough. They participated together with Helmet, along with several other rap acts, on the influential 1993 rock-rap collaborative Judgment Night movie soundtrack (Everlast also played a villain in the film). The group eventually disbanded in 1996, and Everlast once again pursued a solo career. 1998–2001: Solo breakthrough Everlast's 1998 album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues was both a commercial and critical success (selling more than three million copies). Whitey Ford Sings the Blues was hailed for its blend of rap with acoustic and electric guitars, developed by Everlast together with producers Dante Ross and John Gamble. The album's lead single "What It's Like" proved to be his most popular and successful song, although the follow-up single, "Ends", also reached the U.S. rock top 10. Everlast followed-up this success by collaborating with Santana on the track "Put Your Lights On" on Santana's 1999 album Supernatural. It charted at No. 118 on the pop chart, but did considerably better with rock radio airplay, peaking at No. 8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks