(Vocals, songwriter, 1925–82) One of country music’s most versatile singers and energetic stage performers, Martin David Robison, born near Glendale, Arizona, possessed a fluid, empathetic baritone that enabled him to master a variety of music idioms, including country, pop and western (cowboy) songs. One of the most popular figures on the Grand ...
British singer-songwriter and guitarist John Martyn (b. 1948) was born Iain David McGeachy in England. In his 40-year career he has released 20 studio albums. Martyn’s parents divorced when he was five, and he spent his childhood in England and Scotland. Martyn’s musical career began when he was 17. He blended blues and folk into a unique style, working ...
Many guitarists of the ‘shred’ variety unfortunately stick to scalar lines and diatonic arpeggios in straight major or minor keys. Marty Friedman (b. 1962) is not one of them. Indeed, Friedman’s tendency towards Eastern, Middle Eastern and other ethnic sounds has distinguished him as one of the most musically gifted super-pickers the guitar world has ever seen. Martin Adam ...
(Vocals, guitar, mandolin, songwriter, b. 1958) Aged only 13, Mississippi-born Stuart joined bluegrass legend Lester Flatt and Nashville Grass for six years until Flatt’s death. After this he enjoyed a six-year spell in The Johnny Cash Show. His first significant solo album was Busy Bee Café (1982). The title track of Hillbilly Rock (1990) largely sums ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1939) London-born Reginald Smith enjoyed 15 UK hit singles between 1958 and 1962. He appeared regularly on early British TV pop shows: 6.5 Special and Oh Boy, and was the star of Boy Meets Girls, where he met and married his wife, a member of The Vernons Girls, but marriage affected his popularity. ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1948–2009) A Scottish singer-songwriter (real name Iain McGeachy) who mixed folk, blues and jazz and developed his trademark guitar sound by use of the Echoplex, a tape delay machine, Martyn made his debut with 1968’s London Conversation and after two albums with then wife Beverly, he released the seminal Solid Air (1973), a ...
(Producer, executive, 1902–82) London, England-born Don Law was one of the most influential producers in modern country music. As head of Columbia Records’ country division in the 1950s and 1960s, he produced cornerstone artists such as Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Ray Price and Johnny Horton. Columbia Records, under Law’s tenure, was also at ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1937) Alabama-born Norma Jean Bowman moved to Nashville with her husband, Jack Pruett (guitarist with Marty Robbins for 14 years), in 1956. In 1963, she became a songwriter for Robbins, gaining her own record deal with Decca in 1971. ‘Satin Sheets’ (1973) was her biggest hit, a three-week No. 1 that also ...
James Travis Reeves, born in Galloway, Texas, on 20 August 1924, was one of the most talented singers to find his voice and define his musical style during the late 1950s’ emergence of the Nashville sound. Like Eddy Arnold and Ray Price (in his post-honky-tonk years), Reeves possessed a warm, reflective baritone that conveyed warmth and ...
The myths, legends and lore of the Wild West, for better or worse, have done much to shape the American character. They have given rise to the nation’s lingering infatuation with guns, outlaws, the rugged ethos of self-reliance, individualism and a world with simplistic definitions. These themes, usually portrayed in an earnest and nostalgic ...
There is no distinct boundary line between the early and old-time country era, when the music was still relatively unshaped by the American mainstream, and the modern age, when country music’s popularity and ubiquity have made it very much a part of the mass culture. But it was in the 1920s, due to the emerging radio and ...
The Nashville sound has been both praised and maligned. Occasionally called ‘crossover country’, ‘easy listening country’ or ‘countrypolitan’, it was a trend more than an innovation. As such, it arose as much from commercial considerations as it did from personal artistry. All through the decades there have been periodic cross-pollinations between the country world and the wider pop audience. From ...
The 1950s and 1960s were milestone decades for country music. It was during these years that the stylistic tensions between traditional and contemporary, rural and urbane, became sharply delineated and the first ideological and aesthetic battle lines between the traditionalists and modernists were drawn in the sand. Out of this tension arose bold innovation and refreshing diversity. The 1950s ...
The Nashville sound, which has been as much praised as maligned, was a classic example of Nashville’s burgeoning record industry flexing its newfound muscles and making an intentional grab at the brass ring of increased record sales. Occasionally called ‘crossover country’, ‘easy-listening country’ or ‘countrypolitan’, the Nashville sound was as much a product of commercial calculation as artistic inspiration. ...
The singing cowboys did not have the monopoly on country music on the silver screen, although it was their breed that first caught Hollywood’s attention. By the time the 1940s rolled around, several of Nashville’s top stars found that they could expand their careers by bringing their talents to the vast new audiences. Singing Stars In the earlier decade ...
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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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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
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