Joseph Vernon Turner was born on 18 May 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. He dropped out of school after sixth grade and worked with blind singers on the streets. The blues was in the air in Kansas City and when Turner joined in with the street singers he would make up blues lyrics. Turner was functionally illiterate and never learned ...
(Vocals, 1911–85) Big Joe Turner’s tenure as ‘Boss of the Blues’ is dominated by one song, ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’, which became an early rock’n’roll anthem as recorded by white artists Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. But Turner’s long career and legacy of R&B hits includes boogies like ‘Roll ‘Em Pete’, the seminal blues of ‘Cherry Red’, and ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1903–82) Joe Lee Williams was born in Crawford, Mississippi to tenant farmer parents and by the age of five he was playing a homemade guitar. He left home in 1915 to hobo through the South. Williams worked tent shows and medicine shows with a jug band and as a soloist from 1918–24. Often accompanied by Little ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1939) Shaver arrived in Nashville in 1968, sold songs to Kris Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall, and wrote all but one song on Waylon Jennings’ 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes. That led to Shaver’s own debut later the same year with Old Five And Dimers Like Me. Shaver had his songs recorded by Elvis ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1965–70) One of the more doctrinal psychedelic groups that flourished in flower-power San Francisco featured Country Joe McDonald (vocals) and Barry ‘Fish’ Melton (guitar). Both Electric Music For The Mind And Body and Together made the US album Top 40, and ‘I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag’ was taken up as an anti-Vietnam war anthem. ...
Joe Bonamassa, born in 1977, began playing guitar at the age of four on a small instrument given to him by his father. By the age of seven, he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan songs on a full-size guitar. Bonamassa began performing in upstate New York at the age of 10 and was discovered by the blues great ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1941) Discovered by TV producer Jack Good, guitarist Brown backed visiting American stars including Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, before launching his own career as a rocking Cockney with a handful of UK hit singles, before The Beatles changed the world. After appearing in British pop films and London theatre, Brown formed ...
(Vocals, b. 1944) A UK Top 50 entry with 1968’s self-penned ‘Marjorine’ prefaced a sweaty and chart-topping overhaul of The Beatles’ ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’. This domestic success was not repeated in North America. Nevertheless, he became a bigger star there following a show-stealing performance at Woodstock (1969) and hit revivals in 1970 of The Beatles’ ...
(Vocals, b. 1954) Sharp-suited keyboardist and singer Jackson, from Portsmouth, rode the new wave with quirky love songs such as ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him’, and a varied US Top 20 album Look Sharp (1979). He then reverted to his musical background in jazz. With 1981’s Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive he updated big band swing. More ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1949) A passionate, gospel-influenced singer, Walker came up in the 1960s on the San Francisco blues scene. In 1975 he began singing with the Spiritual Corinthians, remaining on the gospel circuit until 1985 when he formed his own band, the Boss Talkers. He recorded some strong albums during the 1980s for the ...
(Various saxophones, clarinet, drums, b. 1952) The son of Cleveland saxophonist Tony ‘Big T’ Lovano, Joe Lovano attended Berklee School of Music before working in organ groups. He was in Woody Herman’s 1970s Thundering Herd and Mel Lewis’s Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, freelanced extensively and joined drummer Paul Motian’s trio with Bill Frisell in 1990. He has ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1921–86) Known as ‘king of the strings’ for his ability to play virtually any string instrument, Joe Maphis was an active session musician, a cast member of Town Hall Party, and his inventive skills on the double-neck Mosrite inspired many, including a young Larry Collins (of The Collins Kids). He sang with his ...
California native Joe Pass (1929–94) developed a thoroughly precise jazz technique that propelled him to virtuoso status alongside pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, with whom he made a series of essential recordings for the Pablo label in the Seventies. Pass was raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He took up guitar after being inspired by singing cowboy Gene Autry. ...
(Guitar, 1929–94) Although drug addiction nearly killed the promising career of Joe Pass, he became one of the most influential and beloved guitarists in jazz. As a young man Pass played with various swing bands, then fell into heroin abuse while in the military. He recorded his first album while in rehabilitation in 1962, showcasing his impressive ...
One half of the infamous ‘Toxic Twins’, along with vocalist Steven Tyler, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry projects a swagger and ultra-cool stage presence that few guitarists can match. Fewer still possess his capacity for muscular, gritty soloing and hook-laden riffing. For over 30 years now, Perry and his stinging guitar tone, generated most often via his signature Gibson ...
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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
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sweep of incredible photographs.