Bill Monroe invented the ‘high, lonesome’ sound of bluegrass vocals, but The Stanley Brothers perfected it. Ralph and Carter Stanley refined those vocals into close, three-part harmonies that were unprecedented at the time and which have had a lasting influence ever since. If Bill Monroe And The Blue Grass Boys set the standard for bluegrass picking, The ...
Jazz and fusion guitarist Stanley Jordan (b. 1959) caught listeners’ attention with his touch technique, an advanced form of two-handed tapping, for playing guitar. By quickly tapping (or ‘hammering’) his finger down behind the appropriate fret with varying force, Jordan produced a unique legato sound not usually associated with tapping. Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois. He ...
Few groups made as powerful an impression on American blues music in the early 1970s as The Allman Brothers Band. Its blend of blues, jazz, rock and country elements was a predominant sound on nascent FM radio and influenced countless bands that followed in their wake. The Allman Brothers Band have endured tragedies, periods of obscurity and personnel ...
(Randy Brecker, trumpet, flugelhorn, b. 1945; Michael Brecker, tenor and soprano saxophone, EWI, 1949–2007) Philadelphia-born brothers Randy and Michael Brecker were already experienced players when they collaborated with drummer Billy Cobham in 1970 to form Dreams, one of the first groups to attempt combining elements of jazz and rock. In 1975 the siblings formed ...
(Guitar, b. 1959) In the early 1980s, Chicago native Jordan developed a revolutionary approach to the guitar, in which he sounded notes by tapping on the fretboard with the fingers of both hands. This technique allowed Jordan to play completely independent lines on the guitar simultaneously. His dazzling polyphony soon captured the attention of Blue Note Records, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1977–present) The Neville Brothers – Art (keyboards, vocals), Aaron (percussion, vocals), Charles (saxophone, vocals) and Cyril (percussion, vocals) – have been one of New Orleans’ foremost musical families since 1954. Art led Allen Toussaint’s house band (the Meters) from the late 1960s, before convening his brothers into a unit in 1976. They released ...
(Vocal duo, 1930s–40s) Contemporaries of the Delmores, Dixons and other brother acts, Homer (1912–2002) and Walter (1910–71) Callahan (professionally, Bill and Joe respectively) stood out with their duet yodelling and their fondness for bluesy themes. Starting out on radio in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1933, they recorded copiously through the 1930s, enjoying moderate ...
(Vocal duo, 1926–52) The sound of The Delmore Brothers – a humorous blues or a wistful train song, told to the rhythm of two mellow guitars – echoed through country music across three decades. Alton (1908–64) and Rabon (1916–52) were among the first stars of the microphone era, their voices linked in soft, confidential harmony fit for ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1934–50s) The Shelton Brothers (née Attlesey) were Texans who wavered between an old-time duet style and western swing. Joe (1909–83) played mandolin, Bob (1911–80) concentrated mostly on comedy (a third brother, Merle, played guitar). Originally teamed with Leon Chappelear as The Lone Star Cowboys, they went out on their own in 1934. Their swing ...
(Vocal/instrumental duo, 1938–80) Boston became an unlikely hotbed of bluegrass and old-time music, thanks in large part to The Lilly Brothers – West Virginia’s Mitchell Burt ‘Bea’ Lilly (vocals, guitar, 1921–2005) and Charles Everett Lilly (vocals, mandolin, b. 1924). They moved there in 1952 and played at a city bar called the Hillbilly Ranch for ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1953–90s) The Osborne Brothers were well versed in traditional bluegrass but they made their biggest impact by experimenting with pop-country material and arrangements. Before they formed their partnership in Dayton, Ohio, in 1953, Bobby Osborne (vocals, mandolin, guitar, b. 1931) had apprenticed with The Stanley Brothers and Sonny Osborne (vocals, banjo ...
The Louvin Brothers followed in the footsteps of The Blue Sky Boys, one of the most influential close-harmony groups of the 1940s, and they paved the way for The Everly Brothers, kings of the 1950s and 1960s brother harmony duos. Though The Louvin Brothers’ commercial heyday was a relatively brief half-decade in the 1950s, their powerful, ...
(Vocal duo, 1944–49) This popular vocal duo was actually comprised at various times of changing configurations of four brothers: Kyle, John, Walter and Homer Bailes, who were all born in Kanawah County, West Virginia, between 1915 and 1922. The Bailes Brothers’ peak years were from 1944 to 1949, when they disbanded. During those four ...
(Vocal quartet, 1955–present) The Statler Brothers first performed as The Kingsmen, in and around Staunton, Virginia, where the founding members attended high school together. The original Statlers were brothers Harold (b. 1939) and Don Reid (b. 1945), Lew DeWitt (1938–90) and Phil Balsley (b. 1939). When DeWitt was sidelined with illness in 1981, he was replaced ...
(Vocals, songwriters, publishers, 1950s–60s) Brothers Virgil Doyle (1930–82) and Thurman Theodore (1931–2003) from Hardy, Arkansas, first began performing as children along with three older siblings. In the early 1950s, Doyle and Teddy recorded and toured with Webb Pierce. In 1954, striking out on their own, they signed with the Grand Ole Opry and ...
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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...
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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
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.