(Vocals, b. 1963) Steeped in tradition, Mark Chesnutt has followed a path akin to his heroes Merle Haggard and George Jones. Following in his father’s footsteps as a honky-tonk singer aged only 17, he worked the local Beaumont, Texas, scene for a decade, finally breaking through with ‘Too Cold At Home’ (1990). Although his first ...
From the unlikeliest of beginnings in the British new wave of the late 1970s, Dire Straits became one of the biggest bands of the 1980s, due in large part to Mark Knopfler’s finger-picking guitar style, which has continued to define the sound of his solo work. Born in Glasgow in 1949, Knopfler spent his teenage years in ...
Mark Tremonti (b. 1974) rose to fame as the lead guitarist of Creed, enjoying enormous success at the turn of the twenty-first century with metal-influenced songs that crossed over to the pop charts. Tremonti’s tasteful power has garnered him many fans. His instructional DVD The Sound And The Story adds tips from several guitarists, including Michael Angelo Batio, ...
(Tenor saxophone, clarinet, b. 1961) Ken Vandermark studied film before turning to music with a trio in Boston in the mid-1980s. He moved to Chicago in 1989, playing reeds with a flinty, aggressive sound. His investigations of free improvisation won him a five-year MacArthur Foundation ‘genius’ grant in 1999 and he has used the funding to invest ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1956) Tennessee-born Collie toured the south-west in various bands before his 1982 move to Nashville and a residency at the Douglas Cafe. His debut album Hardin County Line (1990), gained critical acclaim, and although success has greeted such songs as ‘Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying’ (1992), and the albums Unleashed (1994) and ...
(Fiddle, guitar, b. 1961) O’Connor was a child prodigy who won the junior division of the National Old-Time Fiddlers Contest in 1974. Before he graduated from high school in 1979, he had won the all-ages Grand Masters Fiddling Championship and had released three albums for Rounder Records. Right after graduation, he joined The David Grisman Quintet for ...
b. 1960, English One of the most important talents on the contemporary British opera scene, Turnage produces work that expertly captures the times and culture within which he lives. A jazz enthusiast who has served as Composer in Association with both the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and English National Opera, he often attempts to combine numerous genres in his ...
b. 1960 English composer Turnage studied with Knussen at the Royal College of Music and later at the Tanglewood Music Center with Henze, who secured for him his first operatic commission for Greek, a setting of Steven Berkoff’s modern retelling of the Oedipus myth in London’s East End. Like his first major orchestral work, Night Dances (1980–81), much ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1957) Lauderdale pays his bills by writing hook-laden hits for mainstream-country performers such as George Strait, The Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill and Mark Chesnutt, but his own recordings reflect a penchant for traditional country and a quirky sense of humour that land him in the alt.-country category. He grew up in South ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1955) Johnny Cash’s daughter topped the country charts 11 times in the 1980s, starting with ‘Seven Year Ache’ (1981). Ten were solo hits and ‘It’s Such A Small World’ (1988) a duet with her then-husband, Rodney Crowell. In 1985, she won a Grammy for Best Country Female Vocal Performance. Covering her father’s ‘Tennessee ...
(Vocals, b. 1966) After sharing a residency with Mark Chesnutt at The Cutters Club in Beaumont, Texas, Byrd followed his route to Nashville two years later. His eponymous 1993 album included ‘Holdin’ Heaven’, his first No. 1 hit. Nine years later, he returned to the top with ‘Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo’, one of several novelty singles. ...
The young country movement was an industry-driven trend aimed at the mass market of teens and twenty-something music fans. Like the urban cowboys, young country artists often contemporized or diluted prevailing styles like honky-tonk and pop country for mass consumption. The early 1990s saw a continuation of the mid- and late-1980s neo-traditionalist movement and produced a glut of gifted young ...
The early nineteenth century was a period of insurgence in Europe, beginning with the French Revolution in 1789 to the uprisings in 1848. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain before spreading south to the rest of Europe, was also making its mark. These two strands of revolution caused transformations in society: growing awareness of national identity, ...
The early nineteenth century was a period of insurgence in Europe, from the French Revolution in 1789 to the uprisings of around 1848. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain before spreading south to the rest of Europe, was also making its mark. These two strands of revolution transformed society, with a growing awareness of national identity ...
Once hailed by the Pope as ‘Defender of the Faith’ against Martin Luther, Henry VIII made an about-face when he declared himself primate of the Church of England in order to grant himself a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The political, religious and social results of Henry’s action are well-known; the impact on music was ...
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.