Blues Rock

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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1973–present) A hard-rocking quintet whose no frills approach garnered them a huge following, AC/DC were formed in Sydney in 1973 by expatriate Scottish brothers Angus and Malcolm Young (both guitar). Bon Scott became lead singer in 1974. After two Antipodes-only albums, the band moved to America where their fifth album for Atlantic Records, Highway To Hell (1979), produced by Mutt Lange, established them in the big league, selling over six ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1970–present) This best-selling American heavy rock band, frequently compared to The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, centred on the relationship between principal members Steven Tyler (vocals) and Joe Perry (guitar). The pair came together in Boston, Massachusetts, with Joey Kramer (drums), Brad Whitford (guitar) and Tom Hamilton (bass). Their first album Aerosmith (1973) was an immediate success, paving the way for the multi-platinum Toys In The Attic (1974) and ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Guitar, vocals, 1928–84) The late ‘Godfather of British blues’ emerged from London’s traditional jazz scene to found Blues Incorporated in 1962. Among those passing through the ranks of this loose if inspirational amalgam were subsequent members of The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin. In the late 1960s, Korner too made the charts as singer with CCS, whose biggest hit, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ became the theme ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Blues-rock guitarist Alvin Lee was born Graham Barnes in Nottingham in 1944. Inspired by rock’n’roll guitarists Chuck Berry and Scotty Moore, Lee began to play at the age of 13, and formed his first band, Ivan Jay & The Jaymen, in 1960. Lee became lead vocalist in 1962 when the band changed their name to The Jaybirds and played Hamburg’s Star Club. They moved to London in 1966, eventually settling on ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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AC/DC guitarist Angus Young – all five feet two inches of him – is a larger-than-life figure. Rising up from working-class Scottish roots to become the heart and soul of one of the greatest rock’n’roll bands of all time, Young, with his schoolboy outfit and Gibson SG in hand, has become the definitive rock-guitar icon. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in March 1955, Young moved to Australia with his family in the ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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‘Resurrection Shuffle’, 1971 Keyboardist/vocalist Tony Ashton and drummer Roy Dyke were seasoned 1960s beat group musicians who had played behind George Harrison on his Wonderwall Music LP. In 1969, they met bassist Kim Gardner to form AG&D, and had a No. 3 hit with ‘Resurrection Shuffle’. Having recorded three LPs by 1972, nothing else matched ‘Shuffle’’s hit appeal, and the trio – augmented by guitarist Mick Liber – finally split that ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1969–73, 1980–83) A British progressive rock band founded by ex-Crazy World Of Arthur Brown members Vincent Crane (organ) and Carl Palmer (drums), plus bassist Nick Graham. After one self-titled album in 1970, Palmer and Graham left and were replaced by John Cann (guitar, vocals) and Paul Hammond (drums), scoring two UK hit singles ‘Tomorrow Night’ and ‘Devil’s Answer’ but fragmenting after two albums, Atomic Rooster finally folded after one ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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The bluesman who took the blues into the mainstream, B.B. King (b. 1925) is also its ambassador to the world. His solid, seasoned style is heard internationally. King’s style draws on the Mississippi blues of Elmore James and Muddy Waters, the Chicago blues of Buddy Guy and Magic Sam, and the West-Coast blues of T-Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson, all filtered through his distinctive vibrato and the phrases that flow out ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1925) Riley B. King, from Indianola, Mississippi, is arguably the last surviving authentic blues artist. Orphaned, he took up guitar aged 15, turning professional after US military service. In 1947, he moved to Memphis and lived with cousin Bukka White. There, he worked on a local radio station, acquiring his B.B. (‘Blues Boy’) epithet, also working with Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace. First recording in 1949, his breakthrough ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1973–84) This hard-driving Canadian rock band were assembled by former Guess Who members Randy Bachman (guitar, vocals) and Chad Allen (keyboards) with Robbie Bachman (drums) and Fred Turner (bass). Third brother Tim Bachman soon replaced Allan and the band’s commercial breakthrough came with Bachman-Turner Overdrive II (1974) and the US hit ‘Takin’ Care Of Business’. In Britain, they are best remembered for the 1975 single ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Billy F. Gibbons (b. 1949), also known as the Reverend Willie G, led his Texas boogie band, ZZ Top, to international superstardom in the early days of MTV, combining a unique image with driving Southern rock and a series of eye-catching videos. At the music’s core was Gibbons’ tasteful blend of rhythmic crunch and fiery soloing, created on his 1959 Gibson Les Paul, named ‘Miss Pearly Gates’. Gibbons grew up in ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1969) Billed as ‘the supergroup of all times’, Steve Winwood (keyboards, vocals), Eric Clapton (guitar), Rick Grech (bass) and Ginger Baker (drums) were an amalgam of ex-members of Cream, Traffic and Family. Launched with a free concert in London’s Hyde Park, they broke up after a troubled US tour. Winwood then reformed a Traffic that was to recruit Grech in 1970, while Clapton recorded a solo album and Baker ...

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
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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1944) The smooth, sophisticated pop of the enormously successful 1976 album Silk Degrees remains William ‘Boz’ Scaggs’ best-known work. Previously a member of The Steve Miller Band, Scaggs first recorded solo in 1965, but it was his seventh album which brought him widespread acclaim and spawned three hit singles, plus a cover of ‘We’re All Alone’ by Rita Coolidge. His increasingly sporadic output since Silk Degrees has failed ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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One of the young gunslingers who invigorated the blues in the 1960s, Buddy Guy (b. 1936) wowed audiences with high-octane guitar histrionics and energy that were matched by a tortured vocal manner. Guy is a master of dynamics, allowing a song to drift towards oblivion before suddenly bringing it back to a crescendo of intensity. Notable fans have included Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Guy is essentially a live ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
428 Words Read More
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