Following the breakup of their Virginia-based band Citizen 23 in 1981, guitarist/vocalist Don Fleming, keyboardist Elaine Barnes, and bassist Stephen Soles moved to Washington, D.C. and formed the Velvet Monkeys. Drummer Jay Spiegel joined soon after. Fleming would remain the group's lone constant member through the next decade of its existence. The group's debut album Everything is Right was issued in 1982 (with cover art by Bob Raiter), followed by Future in 1983 and Rake in 1990. Numerous musicians cycled through the band during its lifetime.