In the 25 years before cancer ended his life at the age of 46, Mick Ronson (1946–93) became a guitar icon through his seminal work as part of David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars band, work that would lead to production and performance assignments with artists such as Ian Hunter, Lou Reed and Morrissey, as well as American ...
Blues-rock guitarist Mick Taylor was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire in 1949. A guitarist from the age of nine, he was in his teens when he formed a group with some school friends that subsequently evolved into the Gods. Taylor made two singles with the band. When Eric Clapton failed to turn up for a Bluesbreakers gig in Welwyn Garden ...
(Guitar, b. 1925) McHouston Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally a jazz player, he switched to blues after seeing guitarist Pee Wee Crayton. He began his recording career at Savoy in 1952 and became the first-call guitarist for R&B session work in New York. He teamed with vocalist Sylvia Vanderpool and, as Mickey & Sylvia, ...
(Songwriter, vocals, 1940–2002) Houston, Texas-born Milton Sim Newbury Jr. was a contemporary of Kris Kristofferson; and, like Kristofferson, he greatly expanded the thematic and emotional parameters of country songwriting in the late 1960s and the 1970s with his intensely introspective songs. ‘Sweet Memories’ (recorded by Willie Nelson, among others) and ‘American Trilogy’ (popularized by Elvis ...
One of the great chameleon figures in rock, David Bowie has also been among the most influential. Born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947, his earliest records with The King Bees, The Mannish Boys and The Lower Third were unsuccessful. In 1966 he changed his name to David Bowie and combined his songwriting with an interest in ...
Veteran Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards (b. 1943) was born in Dartford, Kent. After being expelled from technical school in 1958, Richards attended Sidcup Art College. The art-school environment was crucial to Richards’ development, as it was for many of his generation. Here he was able to nurture his passion for rhythm and blues, finding many fellow ...
The early 1970s music scene saw rock and pop continue to separate, with the latter usually aiming for not only an ever-younger audience, but also an increasingly middle-aged one. Three major strands of new pop defined both this process and pop’s increased preoccupation with different forms of escapism. Glam rock was a peculiarly English phenomenon, signalling a return to ...
David Bowie has inspired more musicians than most recording artists, but he naturally also had his own formative influences. Who Does He Love ? It almost goes without saying that Elvis Presley was important to him: few of the musicians who became teenagers in the Sixties weren’t overwhelmed by The King’s stunning larynx and greaseball beauty. Perhaps revealingly, Bowie ...
Bowie’s eponymous debut album appeared in June 1967. David Bowie was the work of a man who didn’t yet know quite what to do with his talent. However from 1971 to 1973 Bowie would, with the aid of a newly assembled band, produce a trio of albums that for many are both his finest moments and high watermarks in ...
Bass Drum The dominant feature of every military band is its big bass drum. Throughout the history of percussion instruments, this drum has been the mainstay of time-keeping, whether it is used for a marching army or in a late-twentieth century heavy metal band. Early versions of the bass drum (it was certainly known in Asia around 3500 BC) ...
In 1949, two apparently small events took place, which in hindsight were to have monumental significance for popular culture. The first of these saw Billboard magazine change the name of its ‘Race Records’ chart to the more relevant and politically correct ‘Rhythm & Blues’ chart, reflecting the success of the American dance music of the moment. Meanwhile, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1962–67) Alexis Korner (guitar, piano, vocals), born in Paris, France in 1928, was considered to be the father of electric British blues. When he and Cyril Davies (harmonica, vocals) formed Blues Incorporated in 1962 with Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone), Andy Hoogenboom (bass), Ken Scott (piano) and Charlie Watts (drums), their amplified line-up met with ...
Blues-rock guitarist Alvin Lee was born Graham Barnes in Nottingham in 1944. Inspired by rock’n’roll guitarists Chuck Berry and Scotty Moore, Lee began to play at the age of 13, and formed his first band, Ivan Jay & The Jaymen, in 1960. Lee became lead vocalist in 1962 when the band changed their name to The Jaybirds ...
(Vocals, 1983–2011) Winehouse’s distinctive brand of white soul and R&B rocketed her to fame in 2006 with breakthrough second album Back To Black. Public interest in the beehive-hairstyled Winehouse was fuelled just as much by her hedonistic lifestyle as her sultry vocals, but her success, both commercially and critically, was undeniable. The Mark Ronson-produced album won five ...
One of the greatest achievements any guitar player can attain is an immediately recognizable signature tone and style. And though many guitarists have realized this goal, few have done it as emphatically as Police guitarist Andy Summers (b. 1942). From the chord stabs of ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ to the arpeggios of ‘Message In A Bottle’ ...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.
