(Vocal/instrumental group, 1985–present) Axl Rose (b. William Bailey, vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (b. Jeffrey Isbell, guitar) were joined by Slash (b. Saul Hudson, guitar), Duff McKagan (bass) and Steve Adler (drums) to form a band that gave the heavy rock scene a mighty shaking. Signed to Geffen – after the 1986 EP Live ?1*@ Like A Suicide ...
Queen guitarist Brian May is among the most recognizable players in the world. His distinctive tones, created by the home-made guitar he built when he was 16 and has used throughout his career, are integral to the sound of Queen. Many of the sounds he produced were so innovative that the first seven Queen albums pointedly stated that no ...
One of the founding fathers of rock’n’roll, Charles Edward (Chuck) Berry was born in 1926 in St Louis, Missouri, to a middle-class family. His interest in the blues began in high school, where he gave his first public performance. In 1944, he was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to three years in an Intermediate Reformatory ...
When 1980s hair-metal band White Lion released the video for their breakthrough hit ‘Wait’ in 1987, guitar fans saw arguably the second coming of Eddie Van Halen. Guitarist Vito Bratta brought forth tasty rhythm-guitar parts, masterly single-note technique, and above all, a two-hand tapping technique that, while in the style of Van Halen, found a ...
Louisiana native James Burton (b. 1939) is one of several guitarists weaned on country music who parlayed his unique talent into session and tour work with rock musicians while maintaining his ties to the country community. Burton first achieved local fame as a backing musician on the popular ‘Louisiana Hayride’ radio show, which spotlighted a young Elvis and rivalled ‘The ...
Progressive-rock pioneers King Crimson have seen a revolving door of band members through its almost 40-year existence, including such highly respected musicians as bassists Greg Lake, John Wetton and Tony Levin, drummer Bill Bruford and guitarist Adrian Belew. But one figure has remained steadfast, and that is guitarist Robert Fripp (b. 1946). Born in Wimborne Minster, ...
Although he did not coin the term ‘rock’n’roll’ – which was an African-American slang term for sex – New York disk jockey Alan Freed did popularize it when he attached it to a teen-oriented form of music that evolved from a fusion of rockabilly, R&B and, to a lesser extent, gospel and boogie-woogie. In its early forms, ...
Children’s songs have evolved from mothers’ lullabies to teachers’ nursery rhymes to the singalong numbers of TV and film. Through all of their incarnations, they have retained the same stylistic values: a melodic, upbeat mood; a catchy, easily repeatable chorus; and lyrics that tell a story. Many popular musicians have released child-friendly songs. The 1960s, in particular ...
The years 1826–28 saw the deaths of the three greatest composers of their respective generations, Weber, Beethoven and Schubert. Only in the years that followed could early Romanticism really forge its own identity. The 1830s saw the flowering of a new generation of great composers, including Chopin, Schumann, Berlioz, Liszt and Mendelssohn, and for ...
Drum’n’bass was a kind of re-branding that came from the scene itself – the producer side that wanted to allow filmic sounds to speak for them rather than some patois MC. By downplaying the ragga, producers and DJs were effectively saying that they wished to communicate a message or mood sonically rather than verbally. Some have argued that drum’n’bass is ...
(Piano, 1897–1973) In the 1920s Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith was an obscure master of Harlem stride (a virtuoso style that evolved out of ragtime after 1919) whose brilliant technique influenced countless young pianists who heard him in person. His legend began to emerge in 1935 as stride was fading into nostalgia and he started to record regularly. For the next ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1911–82) Sam Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas. His father and two brothers were musicians and he learned guitar from an early age. He met and played with Blind Lemon Jefferson at the age of eight. He accompanied his cousin, Texas Alexander, for much of the 1930s, drifting through Texas. He was discovered ...
(Guitar, harmonica, vocals, 1910–76) Chester Arthur Burnett was born in White Station, Mississippi. Inspired by Charley Patton, Wolf earned his living as a farmer in the West Memphis, Arkansas area and was strictly a weekend performer until he was almost 40 years old. He got a radio spot in 1948 and the sound of that ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1943) This New Orleans guitarist started out accompanying R&B singers, but as a leader in the 1970s he developed a strong local following and gradually crossed over to wider audiences through appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He debuted on Rounder Records in 1986 with the funky Wolf Tracks, following up ...
(Drums, b. 1960) Watts played timpani in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra during his teens and vibraphone at Berklee School of Music, where he met the Marsalis brothers. He recorded with Wynton Marsalis from 1981 and then with Branford, following him into the house band of the televised Tonight Show. An explosive polyrhythmist who can also provide restrained ...
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...
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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.