(Vocals, b. 1951) Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Isaacs is one of the top reggae artists of the last four decades. After a handful of records for smaller labels he started his own African Museum label with fellow singer Errol Dunkley. He also recorded for myriad other producers, and discs with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Sly and Robbie ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1975–present) Original lead vocalist Paul Di’Anno led this East London heavy metal outfit to No. 4 on the UK chart in 1980 with their self-titled debut. New singer Bruce Dickinson went three places better with 1982’s The Number Of The Beast. The band soon became Britain’s top metal group, with their hard rocking, if slightly tongue-in-cheek ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1985–present) Fronted by ginger-haired Mick Hucknall, this Manchester band remain the finest exponents of blue-eyed soul, even though no other original members remain. By 1990, they already had 12 sophisticated hits to their name and spent the decade adding another dozen to the locker. Stars (1991) was a tour de force and Life (1995) was ...
(Production team/rhythm section, 1975–present) Sly Dunbar (drums) and Robbie Shakespeare (bass) both worked for various reggae artists, including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, before coming together at Kingston’s Channel One Studio in the mid-1970s, where their innovative, but funky combination powered the new ‘rockers’ sound. They backed practically every Jamaican artist of note, from Peter Tosh to ...
Dancehall reggae is a vivid example of how the music perpetually reinvents itself to refresh its rebel spirit and to keep itself relevant to its primary audience: downtown Kingston (both spiritually as well as geographically). it began to appear on the sound systems at the beginning of the 1980s, when roots reggae had reached a world stage through the likes ...
Ragga (short for ‘ragamuffin’) is the term for later-model dancehall reggae adopted by the sound system crowds to highlight their existence somewhere outside polite Jamaican society. Ragga is the all-digital style that came about in the mid-1980s, which took computerization to such a degree that, for the first time, reggae rhythms were made with no bass line. Ragga ...
From the late sixteenth century, castratos were engaged as singers by the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Although castration had been forbidden by Pope Gregory XIII, some children who had suffered mutilation were trained as castrato singers. Their voices were found to be much stronger, and their vocal ranges wider, than those of falsettists, whom they gradually ...
From its roots, country music has been associated with simplicity – in melody, in subject-matter and in instrumentation, and it is this that has perhaps ensured its longevity. However, all good musicians make their craft look simple, and the history of country music is packed with virtuosos, from the pioneering banjoist Earl Scruggs, through ...
Acoustic Guitar Throughout its history, the guitar has – perhaps more than any other instrument – managed to bridge the gap between the often disconnected worlds of classical, folk and popular music. Its roots go back to Babylonian times; by the 1500s it was prevalent in Spain, and is still sometimes called the Spanish guitar. Medieval versions – ...
The seven centuries covered here saw, essentially, the making of modern Europe. They saw the rise of the papacy and its numerous conflicts. They saw the shaping and reshaping of nations and empires. Yet beyond, and often because of, these conflicts and changes, they also saw the formation of great cultures. As nation met nation in ...
(Dance/vocal group, 1999–present) Like Blondie before them, Goldfrapp are often mistaken for a mere solo artist. They are in fact a duo – captivating vocalist Alison Goldfrapp certainly steals the limelight, while Will Gregory dwells in the shadows on stage. Something of a mix between electro, burlesque, the surreal and good old-fashioned pop, their sound ...
(Kärl’-hints Shtôk’-hou-zen) 1928–2007 German composer Stockhausen studied with Frank Martin (1890–1974) and then with Messiaen in Paris, where he met Boulez. Stockhausen’s use of serialism differs from Boulez’s: whereas the latter wanted to find a means of creating relations between diverse elements, the former was concerned to provide a smooth path between extremes. This can be clearly seen in ...
As a session guitarist, co-leader of the smash late-Seventies band Chic and star-making producer, Nile Rodgers (b. 1952) combined genres to create unexpected hits seemingly out of thin air. His funky guitar playing (along with partner Bernard Edwards’ bass) helped make Chic the most successful non-disco disco band, and his innate sense of rock and soul made a ...
Bill Monroe invented the ‘high, lonesome’ sound of bluegrass vocals, but The Stanley Brothers perfected it. Ralph and Carter Stanley refined those vocals into close, three-part harmonies that were unprecedented at the time and which have had a lasting influence ever since. If Bill Monroe And The Blue Grass Boys set the standard for bluegrass picking, The ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1984–97, 2004–present) Pioneers of British indie rock, the band’s fizzing post-punk guitars and homely, oddball lyrics took them to the UK Top 50 with George Best (1987). David Gedge (vocals, guitar), Pete Solowka (guitar), Keith Gregory (bass) and Shaun Charman (drums) filled their debut major label outing with Ukrainian songs from Solowka’s heritage. After ...
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.