(Tenor saxophone, 1921–55) Wardell Gray died in mysterious, drug-related circumstances without fulfilling his immense potential. His control and invention at fast tempos and fluent, swinging style on the tenor saxophone adapted readily to both swing and bebop settings, while his ballad playing was strong in both emotion and tonal warmth. His sadly underweight recorded legacy is largely ...
(Bandleader, 1884–1967) Otto Gray, leader of the first truly professional western band The Oklahoma Cowboys, is often given only perfunctory attention in country-music histories. But his group was both popular and significant – and introduced hundreds of future musicians, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast, to country music. Gray, an astute businessman from Stillwater, ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1968) Born near Manchester, the Dylanesque Gray toiled throughout the 1990s, while seemingly only Irish audiences listened. But mainstream success would not escape a songwriter with Gray’s talent, and soon chart hit after chart hit (‘Please Forgive Me’, ‘Babylon’) snatched mass radio airplay, bolstered by a middle-aged fan base and anyone who liked a ...
(Vocals, b. 1970) Born Natalie McIntyre in Ohio, Macy Gray is a modern soul singer whose voice is distinctive and demeanor often startlingly original. In 1998, early hits ‘Why Didn’t You Call Me ?’ and ‘I’ve Committed Murder’ started to cause minor ripples in her home country, but by the following year her star was well in ...
(Tenor and soprano saxophone, 1923–90) Dexter Gordon is widely credited as the leading figure in the evolution of bebop on his instrument, the tenor saxophone. The Los Angeles native was influenced initially by stars of the swing era, in particular Lester Young, and went on to adapt many of Charlie Parker’s alto saxophone innovations to the tenor. ...
The term electric, or electromechanical, organ is used to describe instruments that produce sounds using a dynamo-like system of moving parts – as opposed to electronic organs that employ solid-state electronics. Laurens Hammond In the same way that ‘Hoover’ is used instead of ‘vacuum cleaner’, the very name ‘Hammond’ has become synonymous with electric organs. The Hammond organ was ...
Country music has been euphemistically called ‘white man’s blues’ or ‘the poetry of the common man’. While both descriptions have elements of truth, neither is quite accurate. It is, in fact, a broad, nebulous, over-reaching category with no exact boundaries or parameters. Over the decades country music has grown to encompass a greatly varied assortment of ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1999–present) It was the title track from their third album that brought Gossip and larger-than-life frontwoman Beth Ditto to the world’s attention. The three-piece dance-rock band – the other members being guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie – released ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ in 2006, which became an indie anthem. Ditto became something of ...
Hank Thompson (b. 1925) is one of the most difficult country stars to classify. His Brazos Valley Boys were for a number of years one of the most talented and revered of western-swing bands, yet Thompson was never really a western-swing performer. He recorded a number of songs that remain honky-tonk classics, but he was never just a honky-tonk ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1995–present) Iowa-based metallers Slipknot – Corey Taylor (vocals), James Root (guitar), Nathan Jordison (drums), Sean Crahan, Chris Fehn (both percussion), Sid Wilson (DJ), Mick Thompson (guitar), Paul Gray (bass) and Craig Jones (samples) – are literally unrecognizable. When playing or posing for photographs, this nu metal band (very much in the vein of bands like Limp ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1959–1990s) After a few tentative starts, The Country Gentlemen settled on their classic line-up in 1959: Charlie Waller (vocals, guitar, 1935–2004), John Duffey (mandolin, vocals, 1934–96), Eddie Adcock (banjo, vocals, b. 1938) and Tom Gray (bass, b. 1941). They were all great bluegrass pickers, but Duffey’s urban brand of ...
(Vocal group, 1930s) The Girls Of The Golden West were Millie (1913–93) and Dolly (1915–67) Good (real name Goad). They starred during the 1930s on Chicago’s WLS and recorded for Bluebird and ARC. Regionally popular and influential – they inspired Pee Wee King, among others – they were particularly renowned for their close harmony and harmonized yodelling. Marrying, ...
Rock’s most famous and celebrated hippie band, known more for its anything-goes, drug-hazed concerts and legions of ‘Deadhead’ fans than for its body of studio work, The Grateful Dead grew out of a union between singer-songwriter/lead guitarist Jerry Garcia (1942–95), songwriter/rhythm guitarist Bob Weir (born 16 October 1947) and keyboardist/singer Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan (1946–73). They were to become ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1972–83, 1988–present) Southern rock band from South Carolina fronted by Doug Gray and featuring brothers Toy (guitar) and Tommy (bass) Caldwell. Named after a piano tuner who used their rehearsal hall, they scored US hits in 1975 and 1977 with ‘Fire On the Mountain’ and ‘Heard It In A Love Song’, but lacked distinctiveness to inherit ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1971–present) Three former members of The Country Gentlemen – John Duffey, Tom Gray and Mike Auldridge (dobro, b. 1938) – co-founded The Seldom Scene in 1971 with John Starling (vocals, guitar, b. 1940) and Ben Eldridge (banjo, b. 1938). Several of them had white-collar careers so they could play infrequently (thus the name) ...
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...
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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.