(Vocal/instrumental group, 1988–99) Best remembered for the 1995 UK hit single ‘Wake Up Boo!’, The Radleys had been a previously struggling indie band. Formed in 1988 by Simon ‘Sice’ Rowbottom (guitar, vocals), Martin Carr (guitar), Timothy Brown, (bass) and Steve Drewitt (drums) they were second-generation shoegazers with ideas. Third album Giant Steps (1993) traded blows with memorable ...
The original boogie man, John Lee Hooker (1917–2001) sustained a career of more than 50 years with his incessant one-chord stomp and half-spoken vocal style. But behind the captivating, hypnotic rhythm, Hooker found his own deep blues – one with dark tones and mysterious flurries of notes – as he groped to express, often with a wicked ...
A rollicking, fast piano style characterized by repetitive eighth-note bass figures in the left hand, meshed with sharp, bluesy single-note runs in the right hand, boogie-woogie was an infectious form that had an immediate appeal to dancers. While the left hand remained tied to the task of covering driving bass lines in a kind of ‘automatic pilot’ ...
(Piano, organ, vocals, 1939–83) James Carroll Booker III was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied classical piano from the age of four and made his recording debut for Imperial at 14. He worked as a session musician in New Orleans from the mid-1950s and recorded for many different labels, as well as playing and arranging ...
(Vocals, b. 1934) Supposedly directly descended from US pioneer Daniel Boone, Florida-born Charles Eugene Boone’s 55th US hit, ‘Speedy Gonzalez’, in 1962 followed 10 million-sellers and six US No. 1s since 1955. His early hits were tame white versions of black R&B hits by Fats Domino (‘Ain’t That A Shame’), Little Richard (‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’) ...
(Instrumental group, 1962–71, 1973–77, 1994–present) Stax Records’ house band, Booker T. And The M.G.s also toured and recorded instrumentals in their own right. More than any other group they defined the sound of 1960s soul with their sparse, funky arrangements on hits for other Stax and Atlantic stars like Wilson Pickett, Sam and ...
(Bass, vocals, b. 1951) Formerly the bassist in James Brown’s backing group the J.B.s of which his driving, rhythmic playing was a prominent feature, Collins joined George Clinton’s musical collective in 1972, supplying bass and songwriting for Funkadelic. An outrageous showman, he founded Bootsy’s Rubber Band, whose first three albums, Stretchin’ ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–2003, 2009–present) Formed at London’s Goldsmiths College, Damon Albarn (vocals), Graham Coxon (guitar), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums) tuned into the vibe generated by The Stone Roses with baggy anthems ‘She’s So High’ and ‘There’s No Other Way’. Although Leisure (1991) showed a band adept at updating 1960s pop, Modern Life Is Rubbish ...
Originally coined as a criticism of the bands’ static stage performances – band members were said to stand stock still staring at their shoes – the so-called shoegazers played slow- or medium-paced rock, generally with heavily distorted or heavily reverbed guitars topped by dreamy, melodic and ethereal vocals. Influenced by the use of distorted guitars by The Jesus & ...
As is the case with pretty much all stars, before the beautiful butterfly came the unremarkable caterpillar. Bowie was born not on Mars but in Brixton, South London. He started life as David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947. His father was a promotions officer for the children’s charity Barnardo’s and his mother a cinema usherette. He had one ...
(Fer-rooch’-yo Boo-zo’-ne) 1866–1924 Italian-German composer Busoni was a child prodigy, giving concerts from the age of seven and starting to compose soon after. His music was formed from the fruitful tensions between his Latin and Teutonic ancestries and between his reverence for the past – J. S. Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) above all – and his openness to ...
(Le-le’ Boo-lan-zha’) 1893–1918 French composer Despite being an invalid for most of her short life, Lili Boulanger composed some outstanding works, in particular her gripping setting of Psalm 130, Du fond de l’abïme (‘Out of the Depths’, 1910–17) for soloists, choir and orchestra. Her talent was widely acknowledged, especially when, in 1913, she became ...
(Piano, arranger, 1909–85) Lloyd Colquitt Glenn Sr. was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He worked with several southwestern territory bands before joining Don Albert in 1934 in the role of pianist and chief arranger. He moved to California in the early 1940s. Glenn became the prototype of the studio pianist-arranger for blues and R&B record dates ...
(Pe-âr’ Boo-lez’) b. 1925 French composer and conductor A student of Messiaen and René Leibowitz (1913–72), Boulez is perhaps the arch-modernist of the twentieth century. His early piano works clearly show the influence of Schoenberg (Notations, 1945). A visit from Cage in 1949 sparked a friendship and correspondence that was to be central to the progress of twentieth-century music. He ...
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.