(Singer-songwriter, b. 1962) This former jingle and session singer – a backing vocalist on Michael Jackson’s Bad tour – was already having her songs recorded by the likes of Eric Clapton when she finally secured a solo deal. Tuesday Night Music Club (1993) showcased her rootsy compositional and vocal style to great effect and was dragged up the charts by ...
(Banjo, guitar, vocals, b. 1937) James Dee Crowe was just a 19-year-old kid from Kentucky when he was hired by Jimmy Martin in 1956. By 1966 he had developed a banjo style that combined Earl Scruggs’ tumbling roll with Martin’s bouncy pulse. The line-up of Crowe, Bobby Slone, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1950) A member of The Hot Band from 1975–77 as Emmylou Harris’s duet partner, Crowell wrote contemporary classics for her, including ‘’Til I Gain Control Again’ and ‘I Ain’t Living Long Like This’. After a modest start in chart terms with Warner Bros. in the late 1970s, his second Columbia album, Diamonds ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–2002, 2005–present) Musically, The Black Crowes were a throwback to the classic rock swagger of The Rolling Stones. Formed in Atlanta, Chris Robinson (vocals), Richard Robinson (guitar), Jeff Cease (guitar), Johnny Colt (bass) and Steve Gorman (drums) combined hard touring and compelling albums such as Shake Your Money Maker (1990) and The Southern Harmony And ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1995–2004, 2009–present) One of the biggest post-grunge rock acts, formed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1995, Scott Stapp (vocals), Mark Tremonti (guitar, vocals), Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) self-financed their debut album My Own Prison (1998). This collection of powerful rock tunes and genuinely spiritual lyrics went on to spawn a ...
Vince Gill (b. 1957) broke out of a respected but static 10-year career as a bandmember and solo act and into country stardom with the 1990 hit ‘When I Call Your Name’. Gill was in the forefront of the neo-traditional country movement and became one of the biggest crossover singing stars in Nashville. It helped that he was an excellent country ...
After a decade that saw the art of the singer-songwriter being somewhat submerged by the demands of electronic over-production, disco crossover and relentless fashion horrors, the 1990s saw a rebirth of the solo artist with a genuinely individual style. This proved to be of particular benefit to female artists who, while still having to conform to demands for ...
West-coast city Seattle was the unanticipated epicentre of 1990s music as grunge, the biggest ‘back to basics’ movement since punk, shook traditional American rock – Nirvana was to enjoy iconic status for a spell until Kurt Cobain’s death. In the UK, the dance-rock of The Stone Roses, a holdover from the late 1980s, put Manchester briefly ...
Composed: 1846–47 Premiered: 1858, Warsaw Libretto by Włodzimierz Wolski Act I Guests are celebrating the betrothal of Janusz, a nobleman, to Stolnik’s daughter Zofia. They are interrupted by the voice of Halka, a serf whom Janusz promised to marry. She is now pregnant and yearns to be near him. Janusz fears that this news would ruin his ...
When the great Mississippi musician Riley King left the cotton fields to seek his fortune in Memphis in 1946, he had $2.50 in his pocket and a battered guitar in his hand. Today, his name is synonymous with blues music itself, yet his ascendance to the zenith of the blues world never altered his friendly, downhome ...
(Fiddle, vocals, 1875–1949) Carson’s June 1923 disc of ‘The Old Hen Cackled And The Rooster’s Going To Crow’ and ‘Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane’ was the first country record made in the South, in a temporary studio in Atlanta. A farmer by trade, Carson had been famous for years in Northern Georgia as an entertainer ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1974–82, 1991) This South-East London band led by singer David Sylvian (real name Batt) traced an odd career trajectory. Starting out playing guitar-based glam, they tried to fit in with punk, but found their forte in the new romantic era. Mick Karn (bass, saxophone), Rob Dean (guitar), Richard Barbieri (synthesizers), and Steve Jansen (b. ...
Though he has been cited by countless rock guitarists as a major influence, and despite the fact that he cofounded legendary metal band Scorpions, guitarist Michael Schenker (b. 1955) remains one of the most underrated and underappreciated guitarists of all time. Born in Sarstedt, Germany, Schenker was first turned on to the guitar when his older brother ...
(Vocals, banjo, guitar, 1942–2005) Englishman Pete Sayers visited Nashville in the mid-1960s, and remained there for five years. During this time he hosted his own daily television series. This gave him the confidence to set up his monthly version of the Grand Ole Opry back in Newmarket, where he hosted several television series, featuring guests ...
The ancestors of the indigenous peoples of North and South America migrated from Asia across the frozen Bering Strait over 20,000 years ago. Even after millennia, some characteristics are shared between Oriental and Amerindian music: monophonic forms, large intervals, a tense vocal style, rattles and frame drums, and the importance of music in healing rituals. ...
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.