(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 ...
(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, ...
(Vocals, 1924–75) Waverly, Tennessee-born George Morgan is best remembered for the smooth, late-1940s, chart-toppers ‘Candy Kisses’ and ‘A Room Full Of Roses’ (which also reached the pop Top 30). Morgan was a favourite on the Grand Ole Opry from 1948 until shortly before his death due to complications from open-heart surgery. He was the father of contemporary ...
Waylon Jennings (vocals, guitar, 1937–2002) was a teenage disc jockey in Lubbock, Texas, when he first met the hometown hero Buddy Holly (1936–59). Holly produced Jennings’ first single, ‘Jole Blon’, in September 1958, and hired Jennings as his bassist the following January. On 3 February 1959, Jennings was all set to take a charter ...
At the beginning of the 1970s, the influences in mainstream country music continued to originate from a wide spread of sources, the most dominant being the Nashville sound, which now had strong pop overtures alongside a greater distortion of country music itself. On the other hand, an innovative breed of songwriters were about to be heard, ...
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 ...
From its roots, country music has been associated with simplicity – in melody, in subject-matter and in instrumentation, and it is this that has perhaps ensured its longevity. However, all good musicians make their craft look simple, and the history of country music is packed with virtuosos, from the pioneering banjoist Earl Scruggs, through ...
Indie guitarist and producer Bernard Butler (b. 1970) was born in Tottenham, London. After learning violin as a child, he took up guitar at the age of 14, inspired by Johnny Marr, learning Smiths’ guitar parts by watching the band play live. He was also influenced by Bernard Sumner and Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame. After replying to ...
(Vocals, b. 1981) Britney Spears started life, after a short stage career, on American TV’s New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 onwards. Her debut single ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ (1998) was a masterly slice of melancholy pop that topped the charts – due in no small part to its suggestive video featuring the singer/actress in a ...
(Trumpet, 1929–88) Chet Baker was an icon of cool at the height of his fame in the 1950s. His recording of ‘My Funny Valentine’ with Gerry Mulligan in 1952 established him as a star of the emerging cool jazz genre; his boyish, film-star looks (later ravaged by drug abuse) and a light, seductively lyrical trumpet style assured his ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1997–present) Embrace – Danny McNamara (vocals), Richard McNamara (guitar), Steven Firth (bass), Mike Heaton (drums) and Mickey Dale (keyboards) – have had numerous career resuscitations in their decade-long existence. But the band started life as press-darlings after a number of singles on the fiercely independent Fierce Panda label. It was these early, near-demo quality recordings that caught ...
Jakey Lou Williams (b. 1957) was born in Norfolk, Virginia. His father was a member of the US Navy, which meant frequent relocation. Finally, however, the Williams family settled down in San Diego, California, where Jake began taking classical piano lessons. But, upon hearing his older sister’s Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Black ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2001–present) Maroon 5 – Adam Levine (vocals), James Valentine (guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards), Mickey Maddon (bass) and Ryan Dussick (drums, left 2006) – came to be in 2001 when Valentine joined flop band Kara’s Flowers. The release of 2002’s Songs About Jane was well received, but it was not until singles ‘This Love’ and ‘She Will ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1993–present) This Oxford group – Gary ‘Gaz’ Coombes (vocals, guitar), Mickey Quinn (bass) and Danny Goffey (drums) – delivered some of the finest and most chirpy pop to come out of the UK in the 1990s. Although ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ dealt with being busted for carrying cannabis, ‘Alright’, ‘Going Out’, ‘Richard III’, ‘Pumping On Your ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–77) The first glam rock band evolved from acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, formed by Marc Bolan (guitar, vocals) and multi-instrumentalist Steve Peregrine-Took. Mickey Finn (bongos) replaced Took in 1969 as Bolan began to deploy electric instruments. Shortening the name to T. Rex heralded a chart breakthrough in October 1970 with the single ‘Ride A White Swan’. ...
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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.