(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1956) Lovett’s music spans folk, swing, jazz and country and has remained innovative since his eponymous 1986 album, which included his only Top 10 single, ‘Cowboy Man’. Touring with his so-called Large Band, which features the talents of Victor Krauss (brother of Alison), cellist John Hagen and harmony vocalist Francine Reed ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1957) The daughter of a coal miner, Loveless took her stage name from her first husband, Terry Lovelace, drummer with the Wilburn Brothers, with whom she toured. In 1985, after the marriage crumbled, she moved to Nashville and her first Top 10 single, ‘If My Heart Had Windows’ (1988), ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1956) Texan Robert Earl Keen Jr. first came to notice with his self-financed 1984 album No Kinda Dancer, which included ‘The Front Porch Song’, co-written with Lyle Lovett. Keen’s raspy vocals coupled with his conversational-styled songs have produced such albums as West Textures (1989) and What I Really Mean (2005). Styles & Forms | New ...
Labelled the ‘first lady of country music’, Virginia Wynette Pugh was born on 5 May 1942, in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Throughout the early 1960s she worked as a waitress and beautician – among other jobs – and only dreamed of stardom. It was not long coming, but like many of her contemporaries, Loretta Lynn, Connie Smith ...
When Steve Earle (b. 1955) was released from prison on 16 November 1994, it had been four years since he had released a studio album and three years since he’d done a tour. During that time lost to heroin and crack, much had changed in the world of country music. The charismatic but mainstream-pop-oriented Garth Brooks (b. 1962) was ...
Hank Williams Jr. (b. 1949) was only three years old when his daddy died, and he barely knew the man who was, arguably, the greatest honky-tonker of them all. But his widowed mother groomed her baby boy to imitate his papa as closely as possible. He was on stage by eight, in the recording studio by 14 ...
New country took many years and miles of travel before its current evolution – not least the new traditionalist movement of the 1980s, which returned country music to its roots. Garth Brooks (b. 1962) did it far more quickly, but that’s a different story. Sometimes it seemed like these artists were chipping away at a mountain with nothing more ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1939) Texas-born Williams worked in 1964 with folk trio The Pozo-Seco Singers. Encouraged by producer Cowboy Jack Clement, his solo career began in 1971, and resulted in gentle hits like ‘Amanda’ (1973), ‘You’re My Best Friend’ (1976) and ‘Tulsa Time’ (1978). He enjoyed immense popularity in the UK, where he had success with ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2007–present) An English folk-rock quartet from West London led by Marcus Mumford and featuring fellow multi-instrumentalists Ben Lovett, Ted Dwayne and ‘Country’ Winston Marshall. Their debut album Sigh No More (2009) peaked at No. 2 in the UK but topped the charts in Ireland and Australia. They received two Grammy nominations in 2010 and their second album ...
Guitarist Pat Metheny emerged in the mid-1970s with a fully realized approach to his instrument that was wholly unique for its time, offering a refreshing alternative to both bop and fusion styles. His sweeping, warm-toned, reverb-soaked lines and liquid phrasing, once described by Down Beat magazine as ‘the sound of wind through the trees’, had a huge ...
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.