(Singer-songwriter, b. 1949) New Yorker William Martin Joel released his first solo album in 1972, and broke into the US Top 30 with his second set, Piano Man, in 1975. The quality of his classic pop rock songwriting and equal skill with a ballad was obvious, and ‘Just The Way You Are’ became his first major hit in 1977. 1980’s chart-topping Glass Houses also furnished his first No. 1, the infectious ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1947) Possessing the voice of an angel, Harris is one of the most adventurous country artists of the past four decades. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she released a folk album in 1969; but it was her duets with Gram Parsons in the early 1970s that set her on the road. Fine solo sets with Parsons’ backing musicians, including the legendary James Burton (guitar) and Glen D. Hardin (piano) followed. In ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1943) A child jazz guitar prodigy, Benson later recorded with giants of the genre Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. In his mid-30s he followed in the crossover footsteps of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Louis Armstrong, reinventing himself as a honey-toned, R&B singer. 1976’s Breezin’ set him on his way, and he consolidated his pop star status with In Flight (1977) and 1980’s Give Me The Night, the title ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1963) Born Georgios Panayiotou of North London, Greek-Cypriot heritage, Michael served a very public initiation with teeny-boppers Wham!. In the mid-1980s he released a pair of solo singles, ‘Careless Whisper’ and ‘A Different Corner’, dissolving Wham! in 1986. He re-emerged in 1987 with the pristine adult pop of Faith, which hooked the American market. A series of singles, including ‘Father Figure’, ‘One More Try’ and ‘Monkey’, performed better in ...
(Vocals, b. 1951) Indiana-born Mellencamp endured several years of hard apprenticeship and some unsuccessful recordings for MCA before he was rechristened John Cougar by Bowie’s manager Tony DeFries. His 1979 debut album charted in the US, and a handful of minor hits followed. In 1982, American Fool made him a big star in the States, and delivered a No. 1 in ‘Jack And Diane’. His style of mildly gritty Stones-influenced pop ...
(Singer-songwriter, piano b. 1958) Catherine ‘Kate’ Bush CBE was the first female singer to top the UK charts with a self-penned song (‘Wuthering Heights’, 1978). She is a versatile and sometimes surreal songwriter whose work involves adventurous sound experimentation. The subject matter of her songs has embraced everything from Emily Brontë’s characters to controversial psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (‘Cloudbusting’, 1985). Often perceived as a perfectionist (a charge she denies), she has frequently ...
(Singer-songwriter b. 1957) Nick Cave (vocals) began his fascinating career in Boys Next Door, who became The Birthday Party: Mick Harvey (guitar), Tracy Pew (bass), Phil Calvert (drums). A gothic, blues punk band of fearsome intensity, showcasing Cave’s brutal, Captain Beefheart-style lyrics, they released three albums, 1981’s Prayers On Fire being the pick. 1982’s Junkyard is the sound of the band falling apart. Cave regrouped, retaining Mick Harvey and adding guitarist Blixa ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1950) Gabriel left Genesis in 1975. His first solo album produced the intriguing hit ‘Solsbury Hill’, telling of that departure. In 1980, the avant-pop of ‘Games Without Frontiers’ began a run of accessible art rock albums and singles including the political ‘Biko’, 1982’s Peter Gabriel (Security in the US), and 1986’s triumphant world-music influenced So and its mega-hit ‘Sledgehammer’. Gabriel now spends much of his time on his influential ...
(Vocals, b. 1951) The London-born drummer and vocalist from Genesis established himself as an unlikely pop star in the early 1980s, alternating between atmospheric ballads such as ‘In The Air Tonight’ and ‘One More Night’, and up-tempo, soul-based numbers and covers, including ‘Easy Lover’, ‘Sussidio’ and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’. Enormous selling albums Face Value (1981), No Jacket Required (1985) and … But Seriously (1989) made him one of the most ...
The most innovative, mercurial and controversial black rock star since Jimi Hendrix, Prince is also one of the most mysterious. He was born Prince Rogers Nelson, 7 June 1958. His father was the leader of a local jazz band, his mother was a singer. He formed his first band at 14 and signed a self-production deal with Warner Brothers in 1977. Controversial Star His debut, For You (1978), was almost entirely self-written ...
(Drums, singer-songwriter, b. 1945) Wyatt became drummer and vocalist with jazz-rockers Soft Machine. Forming Matching Mole in 1971, he overcame being wheelchair-bound after an accident to record solo classics such as Rock Bottom (1975), and had an unlikely hit single with The Monkees’ ‘I’m A Believer’. In 1983, he charted again with Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’. 2003’s Cuckooland proved his continuing creativity. His expressive vocals can be heard guesting with many artists, ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1950) Petty, born in Gainsville, Florida, formed his long-time backing band The Heartbreakers from Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums). An eponymous album in 1977 was a hard-hitting brand of country rock, with plenty of modern attack, rootsy authenticity and good tunes. The UK was impressed, but it was not until 1979’s Damn The Torpedoes that the US took a native son ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1949) Born in Pomona, California, Waits has built an extremely well-regarded career as a gravel-voiced documentarian of American low-life. The Eagles covered ‘Ol ’55’ from his jazzy debut Closing Time (1973). On Blue Valentine (1979) and the US Top 100 Heartattack And Vine (1980) he introduced a rockier sound. Then came his move into the trailblazing, percussive sounds of Swordfishtrombones (1983) and the UK Top 30 Rain Dogs (1985), ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1964) Cleveland, Ohio-born Chapman became an overnight success with her expressive self-titled debut in 1988 after appearing at a Nelson Mandela benefit gig at Wembley Stadium. Her emotive voice and politicized pop folk chimed with the opposition to the Thatcher/Reagan axis, and it went to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, with ‘Fast Car’ hitting the singles charts. Chapman continued the sterling work, albeit with less commercial ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.