Though guitar playing in the 1980s was often thought of as a ‘guitar Olympics’ of sorts, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora typically eschewed fretboard flights of fancy in favour of melodic, tastefully arranged solos designed to serve the band’s infectious hit songs. While this approach has kept him on the outside of the guitar-hero clubhouse, his impact on ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1941) His Brooklyn busker’s bark and percussive fretboard style was a familiar sound in New York folk clubs in the mid-1960s, mingling a minority of self-compositions with idiosyncratic arrangements of Bob Dylan, Lennon-McCartney, Gordon Lightfoot and other contemporary songwriters. 1967’s Mixed Bag was the vehicle of an international breakthrough that rebounded on the ...
(Vocals, b. 1949) Alabama-born Richie was in several R&B bands before he signed to Motown with The Commodores. He penned and sang most of their biggest hits like ‘Easy’, ‘Three Times A Lady’ and ‘Still’, all massive smashes during the 1970s. He branched out with Diana Ross on 1981’s ‘Endless Love’. He then went solo and his skill as a ...
America’s leading hard rock band in the 1980s, Bon Jovi have broadened their appeal still further by combining their musical aggression with catchy pop songs to achieve a universal appeal. The band was formed in 1983 in New Jersey by singer Jon Bon Jovi (b. John Francis Bongiovi, 2 March 1962), guitarist Richie Sambora (b. 11 July 1969), keyboard ...
A pioneering hard-rock guitarist with a tone as big as his waistline, Leslie West (b. 1945) is one of the most underrated guitar heroes in rock history. Best known as the leader of the hard-rock trio Mountain, which was named by VH1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Bands of All Time, West’s monster guitar sound ...
Orianthi Panagaris (b. 1985) was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Greek and Australian parents. She began playing piano at age three, switched to acoustic guitar at six, and to electric at 11. After listening to a lot of Whitesnake, Van Halen and Def Leppard, she was wowed by Carlos Santana at a concert in ...
Perhaps no other artist has forged so eclectic a career as guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer-technologist-experimenter Todd Rundgren (b. 1948). In his 40 years on the rock scene, Rundgren has pursued interests ranging from pop songcraft to experimental composition with his band Utopia, and from innovative record production to nostalgic reinvention tours with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band and The New Cars. Rundgren’s guitar ...
Alabama, who appropriately came from Fort Payne, in Alabama, emerged into the spotlight in 1980, when ‘Tennessee River’ topped the Billboard country charts. Three group members – Randy Owen (guitar, lead vocals, b. 1949), Teddy Gentry (bass, vocals, b. 1952) and Jeff Cook (keyboards, fiddle, vocals, b. 1949) – were ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–68) Migrating from New York to Los Angeles, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay rehearsed with a third singing guitarist, Canadian Neil Young, who recommended Bruce Palmer (bass) and Dewey Martin (drums). 1967’s Buffalo Springfield was remarkable for an acoustic bias and clever vocal harmonies. A hit single, ‘For What It’s Worth’, and healthy sales ...
January The Bookmobile And European Tour ‘It was a travelling library that was found in Phoenix, Arizona, and converted into an RV [recreation vehicle],’ Billie Joe told a TV interviewer in 1994 when discussing the Bookmobile inside the vehicle. ‘A lot of people come up to us and say, “Do you have books for sale in there ?”. ...
The self-proclaimed ‘King of Pop’, Michael Jackson (1958–2009) was the biggest star of the 1980s following the success of Thriller (1982), which remains the world’s best-selling album with sales of more than 110 million. The King Of Pop The youngest member of The Jackson Five, Jackson signed a solo deal in 1971 with Motown Records, aged 13. Within a ...
Canadian rock legend Neil Young (b. 1945) has become respected as much for his playing as for his composing and vocal work with his occasional partners Crosby, Stills & Nash. Born in Toronto, Canada, Young got a ukulele from his father for Christmas in 1958. In 1960, Young moved to Winnipeg with his mother. A poor student ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1968–80s) Poco was formed in 1968 by two former members of the splintered Buffalo Springfield, Richie Furay (vocals, guitar, b. 1944) and Jim Messina (vocals, guitar, b. 1947). They signalled their commitment to the new country-rock sound in Los Angeles by hiring full-time steel guitarist Rusty Young (b. 1946) as well as George ...
Stephen Stills (b. 1945) turned acoustic guitar into a fiery blues instrument as a solo artist and performer. That alone might have made him a rock icon, but of course Stills was also busy producing, composing and singing with the most popular rock vocal group of all time, creating hit singles on his own, teaming up with ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2000–06, 2011–present) The Darkness – Justin Hawkins (vocals), Dan Hawkins (guitar), Ed Graham (drums) and Richie Edwards (bass) – are the most unlikely rock stars. Good looks and credibility take second place to stadiums full of fans and steely rock riffs transplanted straight from their heroes, Queen. After wittily titled singles and Christmas offerings, debut ...
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David Bowie
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