(Vocals, b. 1930) Robert Calvin Brooks was born in Rosemark, Tennessee. He began recording in 1951 and was associated with B.B. King, Little Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and others in Memphis. A suave, deep-voiced blues romantic, he signed with Duke Records in 1952 and was one of the most consistent hitmakers in the soul ...
(Trumpet, cornet, guitar, 1915–76) After Bobby Hackett was praised in Down Beat by Boston critic George Frazier in 1937, he headed to New York and settled into a group of neo-traditional players loosely associated with Eddie Condon. Although a lifelong fan of Louis Armstrong, Hackett’s gentle, fluid lyricism made him a more logical descendent of ...
(Vocals, b. 1950) A vocal gymnast and daring improviser, McFerrin is one of the most distinctive and uncategorizable singers in contemporary music. His remarkable range (he makes uncanny leaps from deep bass tones to the highest falsetto zone), elastic delivery and incredibly open-minded nature allow him to convincingly cover everything from pop, R&B, jazz and rock to ...
(Guitar, bass, harmonica, b. 1940) Rush’s mix of vaudeville stage antics and soul-blues grooves has made him the king of the modern chitlin circuit. Born in Homer, Louisiana, Rush moved with his family to Chicago in 1953, already mesmerized by Muddy Waters and Louis Jordan. He emerged from the West Side blues scene in the ...
(Vocals, b. 1935) This gifted Ironton, Ohio-born singer possesses a laconic, empathic baritone voice that has made him one of country’s most adventurous and imaginative song interpreters. During the 1960s, Bare found pop chart success and popularity with folk audiences with wistful, pop-flavoured crossover ballads like ‘Detroit City’ (1963) and ‘Streets Of Baltimore’ (1966). He was ...
(Singer-songwriter, 1936–73) Aged 20, New York-born Walden Robert Cassotto’s chart career started with the novelty million-seller, ‘Splish Splash’. Leading The Rinky Dinks, he next charted with ‘Early In The Morning’ (later a hit for Buddy Holly), and in 1957 ‘Queen Of The Hop’ also sold a million. His major breakthrough was 1959’s million-selling ‘Dream Lover’, followed by ...
(Vocals, b. 1942) Philadelphia-born Robert Ridarelli regularly appeared on Paul Whiteman’s TV talent show, and played with Frankie Avalon in Rocco and The Saints, before signing with the local Cameo label in 1959. His biggest success was 1960’s million-selling US Top 3 hit, ‘Wild One’, although the same year’s ‘Volare’ (US Top 5) has aged better. Probably ...
(Vocals, b. 1943) The former Robert Velline was prominent among a crop of insipidly handsome boys-next-door who thrived in the early 1960s, having deputized on stage for Buddy Holly the evening after the Texan’s fatal plane crash in 1959. Vee’s hits included ‘Rubber Ball’, ‘Take Good Care Of My Baby’ – a US No. 1 – ‘Run To Him’ ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1934–42) The Blue Ridge Playboys were a key early western-swing band. Based in Houston, they were formed in 1934 and were fronted by fiddler Leon ‘Pappy’ Selph (1914–99). Although Selph remained musically active to his death, the original band broke up soon after the US entry into the Second World War. The Playboys were not particularly ...
(Vocal duo, 1936–76) This prettiest and most poignant of country harmony duos was first heard on southern radio in 1935. The North Carolina-born Bolick brothers – Bill (b. 1917) and Earl (1919–98) – also recorded prolifically, accompanying themselves on mandolin and guitar, from 1936 to 1951, making definitive discs of traditional Americana like ‘Down On The Banks ...
(Vocal group, 1958–present) 1963’s ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’ came close to topping the UK chart, and it was to be one of the first examples of Merseybeat to enter the US Top 30. After a soundalike follow-up, ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’, peaked at a domestic No. 11, further hits were sporadic, though 1964’s ‘You’re No Good’ was ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1927) Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy came up in Memphis, playing with Howlin’ Wolf, Little Junior Parker and Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland before gaining serious attention with Memphis Slim’s band from 1952 to 1959. In the 1960s Murphy contributed to sessions by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Chuck Berry and Otis Rush, and was a crowd favourite ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1933) Glaser was already a successful mainstream-country artist with 13 Top 40 hits to his credit when he joined Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter on the landmark 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws. Tompall had grown up in rural Nebraska with his brothers Jim Glaser (vocals, guitar, harmonica, b. 1937) ...
Though art music since the war tended more often to define itself in opposition to rock and commercial pop music, signs of mutual regard were already emerging in the 1960s. While it is Stockhausen’s face that stands out from the crowd on the front cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it was Berio ...
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) is said to have written the first film score with L’assassinat du duc de Guise (‘The Assassination of the Duke of Guise’, c. 1908). Many composers in the US and Europe followed suit, although few wished to make a career in films. A famous exception was Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957), whose scores include the Academy Award-winning The ...
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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.