(Vocals, b. 1913) Australia’s first nationally famous cowboy singer was also a country-music pioneer in his home country. Dawson was born in Warrnambool, Victoria. He first recorded in 1941 and is best known for the song, ‘I’m A Happy Go Lucky Cowboy’. Styles & Forms | War Years | Country Personalities | Jim Denny | War Years | ...
(Vocals, songwriter, bandleader, 1912–96) Louisiana-born Theron Eugene Daffan was a noted songwriter and popular bandleader who helped pave the way for honky-tonk music’s emergence in the 1940s. Daffan started out in the mid-1930s as part of The Blue Ridge Playboys and The Bar X Cowboys – a pair of regionally popular bands of the day. In 1941, ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1915–2005) Born in Carlton Victoria, Australia, Burt ‘Tex’ Banes grew up in an orphanage with Smoky Dawson, another legendary figure in Australian country music. An old-timey singer in the Jimmie Rodgers style, Banes and his long-time band, The Hayseeds, performed extensively in Australia and occasionally in the USA. Styles & Forms ...
Country music and gospel have always been close partners, since many gospel acts come from the American South, and Nashville, the home of country music, lies in the heart of the Bible Belt. Numerous influences abound within the Church, stretching from traditional shape-note singing that goes back several hundred years, to today’s contemporary and Christian ...
This section encompasses styles that were, at least initially, designed to work in tandem with other forms of expression, deepening or enhancing their impact. The scores of musical theatre are woven into stories played out by the characters on stage. A film soundtrack is composed to interlock with the action on a cinema screen, while cabaret songs ...
(Vocals, composer, b. 1955) Raised in Mississippi, smoky contralto Wilson sang R&B and folk music, but emerged in New York in the early 1980s as a member of the M-Base Collective and with Henry Threadgill’s band. Her breakout album Blue Skies (1988) reprised jazz standards and she starred in Wynton Marsalis’ oratorio Blood on the Fields, ...
(Piano, singer-songwriter, b. 1928) Signed to Imperial Records, New Orleans-born Antoine Domino’s first million-seller, ‘The Fat Man’ (1949) began a run of over 60 US pop and R&B hits by 1964, many written by Domino with Dave Bartholomew. Other million-selling classics included ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ (1955), ‘Bo Weevil’, ‘I’m In Love Again’ and ‘Blueberry Hill ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1944) A lengthy 1968 eulogy in Rolling Stone broadened this boss-eyed and albino Texan’s work spectrum and placed an eponymous debut album in the national Top 30. Among famous admirers were The Rolling Stones and John Lennon who each proffered songs for his consideration after he began touring beyond North America, backed by ex-members of ...
(Vocals, b. 1979) Despite being the daughter of superstar Ravi Shankar, Geetali Norah Jones Shankar is more jazz than world musician. Her debut Come Away With Me (2002) fuses elements of folk and soul into the genre, topped off with her sultry vocals, sounding as if they were beamed in from a smoky cellar bar. Her ability ...
If Jimmie Rodgers is the father of country music, Uncle Dave Macon its first radio star and the Carters its first family group, Roy Acuff (1903–92) has a claim to be called the father of the country-music business. Not only was he a key figure in the Grand Ole Opry – indeed, for many, its figurehead – ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1978–present) The older generation of British heavy metal was sounding tired when out of Yorkshire came Peter ‘Biff’ Byford (vocals), Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver (both guitar), Steve Dawson (bass) and Pete Gill (drums). They released six albums in four years, including 1980’s Wheels Of Steel – the title track of which gave them their first of ...
April ‘Tumbling Dice’ Inspired by Monte Carlo casinos near to Keith’s Nellcote villa, ‘Tumbling Dice’ (No. 5 in the UK and No. 7 in the US) was a smoky jam telling the story of a gambler who can’t remain faithful to women. As the public’s first taste of the forthcoming Exile On Main St. album, it’s interesting in that ...
Originally comprising Pete Townshend (born 19 May 1945) on guitar, Roger Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) on vocals, John Entwistle (1944–2002) on bass and Keith Moon (1947–78) on drums, The Who virtually exploded onto the mid-1960s scene in a blaze of power rock that placed them at the forefront of the mod movement. Reinforced by Townshend’s songwriting, ...
Although contemporary R&B prefers to align itself with its ruder and more street-credible cousins in hip hop, the roots of its mainstream practitioners lie firmly in manufactured pop. In a throwback to the Motown era, R&B has become a global phenomenon by combining producer-led factory formula with a high level of musical innovation and adventure. This balance of pop ...
The names of this array of landmark artists whose music either straddled or transcended specific genres, – Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Conway Twitty, Charley Pride and Buck Owens among others – have become synonymous with country music. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, country’s popularity penetrated ...
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.