Psychedelic Rock

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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1945) Once lead guitarist with Bournemouth’s Tony Blackburn and The Rovers, Stewart’s commercial discography as a solo artist commenced with a 1966 Xerox of a Yardbirds LP track, ‘Turn Into Earth’. Very bound up in himself lyrically, he impinged on national consciousness via mild media uproar over his insertion of a rude word in autobiographical ‘Love Chronicles’, title track of a 1969 album. As a post-Woodstock singer-songwriter, he ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1966–70) This horn-laden outfit from south Wales had gained a formidable reputation for exacting musical standards and a natural vitality when they reached the UK Top 20 with 1967’s funereal-paced ‘Gin House Blues’. More nakedly commercial hits included a No. 1 with ‘(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice’ (which was covered by The Dave Clark Five for the US market). Following disbandment, Andy Fairweather-Low (vocals) had qualified success with, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–present) They were the most famous rock equivalent of a ‘brass band’ – founder member Al Kooper’s own description. With a sensational horn section always high in the mix, 1968’s Child Is Father To The Man established them a musicianly act that was to serve as role model for Colosseum and The Average White Band and the more sophisticated US jazz rock of Weather Report and Return To Forever. ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1988–present) This New York jam band initially favoured the extended blues rock format made popular by The Grateful Dead. John Popper (vocals, harmonium), Chan Kinchla (guitar), Bobby Sheehan (bass) and Brendan Hills (drums) built a solid following that was vastly amplified when aptly named fourth album – Four (1995) – sold four million copies on the back of the hit single ‘Run-Around’. Although Shehean died in 1999 – at ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
97 Words Read More

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–68) Migrating from New York to Los Angeles, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay rehearsed with a third singing guitarist, Canadian Neil Young, who recommended Bruce Palmer (bass) and Dewey Martin (drums). 1967’s Buffalo Springfield was remarkable for an acoustic bias and clever vocal harmonies. A hit single, ‘For What It’s Worth’, and healthy sales for two further albums did not forestall a rancourous split – though two of them ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1969–79) An experimental German outfit, Can were significantly influential on both rock and dance music. The band was founded by students of avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen: Holger Czukay (bass) and Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), with Michael Karoli (guitar), Jaki Liebezeit (drums) and, briefly, David Johnson (flute). American singer Malcolm Mooney joined for Can’s debut album Monster Movie (1969), which showcased the band’s lengthy, hypnotic improvisations, underpinned by cyclical, repetitive drumming. Mooney ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1965–70) One of the more doctrinal psychedelic groups that flourished in flower-power San Francisco featured Country Joe McDonald (vocals) and Barry ‘Fish’ Melton (guitar). Both Electric Music For The Mind And Body and Together made the US album Top 40, and ‘I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag’ was taken up as an anti-Vietnam war anthem. It was also a highlight of the group’s appearance at Woodstock, the ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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The first and arguably most famous of hard rock’s much touted ‘supergroups’, Cream comprised Eric Clapton (born Eric Patrick Clapp, 30 March 1945) on guitar/vocals, Jack Bruce (born 14 May 1943) on bass/harmonica/keyboards/vocals and Ginger Baker (born Peter Edward Baker, 19 August 1939) on drums, a trio who achieved lasting fame courtesy of their technically virtuosic, jam-and-solo-laden concerts and four psychedelia-fueled blues rock albums during the space of less than ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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As the guitarist in Pink Floyd, David Gilmour’s place in the pantheon of guitar heroes is guaranteed. But it’s not simply his playing on albums like The Dark Side Of The Moon that has assured his status. His meticulous attention to the sound and tone of his guitar in the studio and in concert has earned the universal admiration of guitarists, as well as millions of Pink Floyd fans. Gilmour was ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1968–76, 1984–present) Deep Purple have sold over 100 million records in a 38-year career – continuous apart from a hiatus between 1976 and 1984 – so are one of the more commercially successful rock bands in history. Though classed as contemporaries of fellow early 1970s trailblazers Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Purple were distinctly different, drawing on classical, jazz, R&B and (later) funk roots. They let live performance spread ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1946) After ‘Catch The Wind’ and ‘Colours’ charted in 1965, this projected English ‘answer’ to Bob Dylan lost impetus until he mined a seam of ‘sunshine’ pop with songs such as ‘Sunshine Superman’ – a US No. 1 – and ‘Jennifer Juniper’. After ‘Atlantis’ foundered in 1968’s UK Top 30, he bounced back briefly with ‘Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)’, a liaison with The Jeff Beck Group. ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Piano, singer-songwriter, b. 1942) A highly respected exponent of Southern R&B, Mac Rebennack had 15 years of recording and production experience as a session player before he released his first LP, 1968’s Gris Gris. Frequently adding jazz, rock, psychedelia and voodoo to the R&B mix, his prolific output is unpredictably eclectic, although his musical knowledge and connections are impeccable. He was an energetic fundraiser for his home town New Orleans following ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Eddie Hazel (1950–92) was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. He played guitar and sang in church. At the age of 12, he met Billy ‘Bass’ Nelson, and the pair sang and played guitar together. In 1967 the Parliaments, a Plainfield-based doo-wop band headed by George Clinton, hit the charts with ‘I Wanna Testify’. Clinton recruited Nelson for the backup band, and Hazel joined after a ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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‘What I Am’, 1989 Late 1980s folk rockers, Edie Brickell And The Bohemians were really riding on the talent of chief songwriter Edie Brickell. ‘What I Am’ was a Top 10 hit from their debut LP, Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, though the group disbanded after its 1990 follow-up, Ghost Of A Dog, failed to perform to expectations. Edie kick-started a solo career in 2003, with longtime Dylan sideman Charlie Sexton ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–73) In 1967, Family became popular on London’s ‘underground’ circuit. Not the least of their distinctions was singer Roger Chapman’s nanny-goat vibrato (which you either liked or you did not) other stalwarts were Charlie Whitney (guitar) and Rob Townsend (drums). UK Top 30 singles ‘No Mule’s Fool’, ‘Strange Band’, ‘In My Own Time’ and ‘Burlesque’ were but a surface manifestation of Family’s entries into the album lists, of which ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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