Letters to Cleo

Letters to Cleo is an American alternative rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for the 1994 single, "Here & Now", from their full-length debut album, Aurora Gory Alice which topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's members are Kay Hanley, Greg McKenna, Michael Eisenstein, Stacy Jones, Scott Riebling, and later, Tom Polce and Joe Klompus.

The group disbanded in 2000 but reunited for a small tour in 2008. In 2016, the band reunited, and on October 14, 2016, released an EP, titled Back to Nebraska.

In 2025, Jeff Mezydlo of Yardbarker included the band in his list of "20 underrated bands from the 1990s who are worth rediscovering".

Guitarist Greg McKenna and singer Kay Hanley formed the band Letters to Cleo in 1990. The band was initially called Rebecca Lulu, with Tad Bouve on guitar and Ted Garland on drums with several musicians filling in on bass. In its early phase, the band enlisted various guest players, including a brief period with Abe Laboriel, Jr. as drummer in 1993. The band released a 45 single of "Here & Now" with Rimshak featuring Abe Laboriel on drums with Brian Karp on bass. The band's definitive lineup of Hanley, McKenna, Michael Eisenstein on guitar, Stacy Jones on drums, and Scott Riebling on bass, was established in 1994. The band changed its name to Letters to Cleo in 1990. The name "Letters to Cleo" is a reference to Hanley's childhood pen pal. They spent their summers together in Canada, and they wrote each other letters to keep in touch over a ten-year period. At some point Cleo moved without giving Hanley her new mailing address, and Hanley's letters to Cleo were returned to sender. Hanley rediscovered a box of these letters during the band-naming process, and the band adopted the name. Hanley called it "the least crappy of all the names" they came up with at the time.

Letters to Cleo played gigs in several Boston clubs, including T.T. the Bear's Place and The Rathskellar. The band could not seem to find success and was close to breaking up when it recorded their first full-length album, Aurora Gory Alice; Hanley had already started another band on the side at the time. The album was released on CherryDisc Records, a Boston-based independent record label, in 1993. The album received extensive airplay around New England. In 1994, the Billboard published a review of the album and the next day the band played a much-hyped show at South by Southwest in Austin, which made several recording labels very interested in signing the band. Letters to Cleo decided to sign a record deal with Giant Records, a Warner Brothers subsidiary, in 1994, and it re-released Aurora Gory Alice worldwide in 1995.

Soon after signing the deal, their new record label was asked to compile a soundtrack for "Melrose Place", and the record label decided to put "Here & Now" on it. "Here & Now" was an instant hit, and the song reached number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Singles chart.

On August 1, 1995, Letters to Cleo released a follow-up album, Wholesale Meats and Fish. Its release was followed by extensive tours with Our Lady Peace, Sponge, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and others. The single "Awake" achieved moderate rotation on alternative radio. The band also recorded a cover of The Cars song "Dangerous Type" for the major motion picture The Craft.

In 1997, Stacy Jones left the band to join Veruca Salt and was replaced by Tom Polce. That same year, the band released their third album Go!. After a short tour, Polce left the band and was replaced by drummer Jason Sutter. In late 1997, Letters to Cleo parted ways with their record label Giant/Revolution.