(Vocals, b. 1966) After sharing a residency with Mark Chesnutt at The Cutters Club in Beaumont, Texas, Byrd followed his route to Nashville two years later. His eponymous 1993 album included ‘Holdin’ Heaven’, his first No. 1 hit. Nine years later, he returned to the top with ‘Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo’, one of several novelty singles. ...
1543–1623 English composer Byrd’s early life is shrouded in mystery. He may have been born in Lincoln, but his formative years must have been spent at least partly in London; at some point in his youth he studied with Tallis. In 1563 he was made organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral. He married in 1569 and in ...
(Steel guitar, 1920–2005) One of country music’s most influential steel guitar players, Gerald Lester Byrd was born in Lima, Ohio. He started out on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, where he backed singers such as Red Foley and began experimenting with various innovative tunings and playing techniques. In Nashville in the late 1940s and 1950s, he ...
The Byrds hired Gram Parsons (vocals, guitar, 1946–73) in 1968 because they needed a guitarist and pianist to fill the instrumental void left by the recent departure of David Crosby (vocals, guitar, b. 1941) and the earlier departure of Gene Clark (vocals, guitar, 1944–91). The remaining Byrds – Roger McGuinn (vocals, guitar, b. ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1968) Born in Texas and raised in Arkansas, Lawrence’s early influences included Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and George Strait. Moving to Nashville in 1990, he signed with Atlantic, who released his platinum debut album, Sticks And Stones (1991), which included four Top 10 singles, including the chart-topping title track. 1993’s ...
Melding folk with rock, smooth harmonies with jangling guitars, The Byrds enjoyed a short period during the mid-1960s when they were not only publicly acclaimed by their two biggest influences, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, but when they themselves also influenced those icons. Acoustic Folk Pop Jim McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III, 13 July 1942), ...
(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 ...
Brad Paisley (b. 1972) is that rare country music star whose guitar-playing prowess equals his singing and songwriting talent. Paisley recorded five gold or platinum albums between 1999 and 2008 and had 10 No. 1 singles on the country charts. His guitar playing on those records proved him to be one of the most accomplished pickers in Nashville. Brad Douglas Paisley ...
(Vocal duo, 1990–present) Prior to partnering Ronnie Gene Dunn (b. 1953), Leon ‘Kix’ Brooks (b. 1955) had made a 1989 solo album, after writing ‘I’m Only In It For The Love’, a 1983 chart-topper for John Conlee, and ‘Modern Day Romance’, a 1985 No. 1 for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In 1990, the two songwriters made ...
One of the best-known Renaissance music manuscripts, the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, was compiled by the musician Francis Tregian (1574–1619) during his imprisonment in London for recusancy from 1609 until his death. The manuscript contains an unusually wide-ranging collection of nearly 300 keyboard pieces by English composers (many of them also known for their Catholic sympathies), including Tallis, Byrd ...
Once hailed by the Pope as ‘Defender of the Faith’ against Martin Luther, Henry VIII made an about-face when he declared himself primate of the Church of England in order to grant himself a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The political, religious and social results of Henry’s action are well-known; the impact on music was ...
The electric steel guitar (also known as ‘Hawaiian guitar’ or simply ‘steel guitar’) is a solid-body, steel-strung instrument that relies on pickups and amplification to produce its sound. It has its origins in the Hawaiian music of the late-nineteenth century and is similar in sound and playing technique to resonator guitars such as the Dobro or National. Playing Technique The ...
Almost invariably with just one keyboard and a single set of strings and jacks, the spinet was essentially a smaller version of the harpsichord. Its name meant ‘little thorn’ (referring to the quill) and the mechanism for plucking the string and the resulting sound were both like those of the harpsichord. However, while the harpsichord’s strings were attached immediately ...
It is still possible to find old books which explain cheerily that the viol was an early version of the violin, now superseded. It is worth saying straight away that this is not true. These two related but different families of instruments both evolved from the early sixteenth century in northern Italy, but made different sounds and were played ...
The sole remaining mystery of the virginals is its name – and its singular plurality. A virginals ? Nor need there be two instruments to speak of a ‘pair’ of virginals. This was common parlance in Tudor times. Origins of the Virginals As to the singular or plural form, both are acceptable these days – but why ‘virginal’ in the ...
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...
CURATED
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.