(Songwriters, 1940s–80s) Husband-and-wife songwriting team Boudleaux (1920–87) and Felice (1925–2003) Bryant composed many country classics, including ‘Bye Bye Love’ (popularized by The Everly Brothers), ‘Rocky Top’ (first popularized by The Osborne Brothers and covered by dozens of others) and ‘Let’s Think About Living’ (Bob Luman). Styles & Forms | Nashville & Beyond | Country Personalities | Johnny Cash | ...
The Everlys were born into a country music family; Don on 1 February 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky; Phil in Chicago – where father Ike had moved to play in bands with his brothers – on 19 January 1939. The family moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, to a regular slot on a local radio station, and Ike and Margaret’s ...
The 1950s was the decade when the straitjacket imposed by the recent world war was loosened a little – and rock took full advantage. The Sun studios in Memphis and Chess Records in Chicago were the places to be as the likes of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry turned the existing generation gap into a chasm. Though he ...
Just as sports have their pantheon of greats, the country-music industry established its own Hall Of Fame in 1961 to honour its most influential figures and deepen public understanding and appreciation of the music’s rich heritage and history. A Pantheon Of Country Stars As of 2005, 62 artists and industry leaders – starting with Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933) and songwriter ...
Since his emergence in the mid-1950s, alto saxophonist and creative composer Ornette Coleman has risen above controversy to become a respected elder statesman of jazz. Born in 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, Coleman taught himself the saxophone through trial and error. By avoiding chord structures and set rhythms in favour of melodic experimentation, he developed the new ...
(Producer, record executive, 1915–98) This influential Westmoreland, Tennessee-born record producer started out as a piano player in pop dance bands before being hired as an assistant to pioneering Nashville producer Paul Cohen at Decca. From the late 1950s until the 1980s, Bradley produced the records and helped shape the musical identities of a host of stars, ...
(Steel guitar, 1924–2003) Initially influenced by Earl ‘Joaquin’ Murphy, Wesley Webb West picked up the nickname ‘Speedy’ for his skills as a steel guitarist, playing with Spade Cooley and Hank Penny before joining forces with the equally adroit guitarist Jimmy Bryant (1925–80). Together they claimed the title ‘The Flaming Guitars’. Besides producing dazzling, ‘hard to believe’ recordings ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1984–present) The Nashville Bluegrass Band put the blues back into bluegrass with their frank borrowings from black gospel quartets and country bluesmen. The band was founded in 1984 by Alan O’Bryant (vocals, banjo, b. 1955), Pat Enright (vocals, guitar, b. 1945), Mike Compton (mandolin, b. 1956) and bassist Mark Hembree, with Stuart ...
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.