(Vocal group, 1969–75) British supergroup Humble Pie were created around former Small Face Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals) and ex-Herd man Peter Frampton (guitar, vocals), with Greg Ridley (bass) and Jerry Shirley (drums). Initially combining acoustic and hard-rocking sets, the former were abandoned shortly before Frampton left to be replaced by Colosseum’s Dave Clempson. The band split in ...
Opera, with its unique blend of poetry, drama and music, has come a long way from its humble beginnings in ancient Greek theatre. The grandiose, all-encompassing music dramas of Verdi and Wagner may seem a world away from the era of Aristotle and Plato, but this noble civilization, which held music and theatre in high ...
Zither The zither is part of a group of instruments which are linked by the fact that sets of strings run parallel to their main body, and that – unlike the lute, lyre or harp – they can still be played even without a resonating device. In the concept’s least advanced state, native instruments exist which are little ...
The first African slaves arrived in America in 1619 and brought their music with them. From then until the Civil War of 1861–65, the music both fascinated and frightened the white slave owners who would flock to see the black people celebrating their weekly ‘day off’ in New Orleans’s Congo Square. At the same time, slave owners suppressed the ...
Manon and Werther have become Massenet’s most frequently performed operas, but several others are gaining ground, among them Hérodiade, Thaïs, Sapho, Cendrillon, Grisélidis, Chérubin and Don Quichotte, all recently revived. Both Manon and Werther – and the other operas as well – are about relationships. The tale of Manon explores a theme that ...
With Manon Lescaut, Puccini took his place at the head of the Italian operatic table. Ricordi worked hard to persuade Puccini of the dangers inherent in setting a story that had already received successful treatment by Massenet, but the young composer was not to be swayed. Puccini’s determination proved well-founded, for the opera received an ecstatic reception after ...
(Kärl Fe’-lip E-ma’-noo-el Bakh) 1714–88 German composer In the eighteenth century, ‘Bach’ usually meant C. P. E. Bach, not his father Johann Sebastian. Born in Weimar, he studied under his father, then read law at the university in Frankfurt an der Oder. He took up a post in Berlin at the court of Prince Frederick, later Frederick ...
(Saxophone, vocals, b. 1942–2008) This soul singer from Tennessee began his musical career as a saxophonist for Stax Records studio band The Mar-Keys. The album Hot Buttered Soul (1969) was his commercial breakthrough and Hayes became internationally famous with the soundtrack to the film Shaft (1971), the style of which anticipated disco. After leaving Stax, his records were ...
(Fränts Yo’-sef Hi’-dan) 1732–1809 Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was the most celebrated musician of the late-eighteenth century and the first of the great triumvirate (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven) of Viennese classical composers. A tireless explorer and innovator, he did more than anyone to develop the dramatic potential of the sonata style. When he composed his cheerful F major Missa brevis ...
(Guitar, singer-songwriter, b. 1934) Despite a humble vocal endowment, this acclaimed Canadian poet and novelist moved to the States in his mid-30s to make his first essay as a recording artist with 1968’s sparsely arranged and all-acoustic Songs Of Leonard Cohen, which included the much-covered ‘Bird On A Wire’. Reaching out to self-doubting adolescent diarists, it ...
(Vocals, songwriter, actor, b. 1942) Also a television host, composer and one-time representative for Vee-Jay records, Texas-born Davis is responsible for several bestselling songs, including ‘In The Ghetto’ and ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’, both 1969 US Top 10 hits for Elvis Presley. Davis himself topped the US pop chart in 1972 with the million-selling ‘Baby Don’t ...
Peter Frampton (b. 1950) rode a slow-developing wave of popularity that transported him from British teen idol to international pop megastar, only to see the wave crash in a show-business wipeout of legendary proportions. In the ensuing 30 years, Frampton has managed to mix a fair number of successes with disappointments while navigating much calmer musical seas. Frampton got ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1950) Beginning a solo career after leaving Humble Pie, his third album Frampton Comes Alive (1976) was a phenomenal success in America, becoming the best-selling live album of all time. The transatlantic hit ‘Show Me The Way’ featured Frampton’s trademark use of the talk box device. 1977’s million-selling I’m In You was a relative ...
January The Madcap Laughs Syd Barrett’s debut solo album The Madcap Laughs was released on 3 January 1970. Assisted, in part by Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters, bass player Jerry Shirley from Humble Pie, Willie Wilson from Quiver and even members of The Soft Machine it had been recorded at considerable expense over numerous sessions mainly due to ...
Ricky Skaggs was born on 18 July 1954, in Cordell, Kentucky, and from the age of five Skaggs and his trusty mandolin have been almost inseparable. A child prodigy, he was invited on stage to play a tune at a Bill Monroe concert at the age of six, and a year later, he appeared on ...
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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.