(Vocals, songwriter, guitar, b. 1958) Georgia-born Jackson moved to Nashville in 1985. His rise to fame came after a chance meeting between his wife, Denise, and Glen Campbell, and before long, he was a staff songwriter at Campbell’s music-publishing company. A traditionalist blue-collar act, he was the first signing to Arista’s Nashville branch ...
(Guitar, vocals, songwriter, b. 1943) Englishman Albert Lee first attracted attention playing with British R&B singer Chris Farlowe in the mid-1960s, and played in several British bands before working as a ‘hired gun’ for legendary acts like The Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis and most notably The Everly Brothers. In 1976, he replaced his hero, ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1972) Moorer moved to Nashville after college and started songwriting after she met Oklahoma musician Doyle ‘Butch’ Primm, whom she later married. Moorer’s debut album, Alabama Song (1998) included ‘A Soft Place To Fall’, as featured in the soundtrack to the movie The Horse Whisperer. After four major-label albums, she was released from ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1954) Aged 12, Norwegian Arly Karlsen bought his first guitar, and played with numerous bands in his native country during the 1970s, before forming The Western Swingers with Arne Løland and Liv Jurunn Heia. Their 1983 debut album, Sin Egen Stil, sold over 20,000 copies in Norway, and they ...
(Vocals, b. 1970) Bente Boe from Tonsberg, Norway, made her national radio debut aged only nine, and has been singing for her entire adult life. Voted European Female Singer of the Year in 1996, she made her first album in the US, Cross The River, in 1998, following three previous albums in Norway. ...
(Vocal duo, 1990–present) Prior to partnering Ronnie Gene Dunn (b. 1953), Leon ‘Kix’ Brooks (b. 1955) had made a 1989 solo album, after writing ‘I’m Only In It For The Love’, a 1983 chart-topper for John Conlee, and ‘Modern Day Romance’, a 1985 No. 1 for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In 1990, the two songwriters made ...
(Vocals, b. 1955) Born Rebecca Carlene Smith, the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith, she worked on The Johnny Cash Show and with The Carter Family after her mother married Cash. During the first half of the 1990s, she returned to country music, after a period in the rock world and early albums with Dave ...
(Vocals, guitar, songwriter, 1948–2005) Chris LeDoux lived out many people’s fantasies of being a genuine cowboy and touring rodeo shows as a musician. Garth Brooks paid tribute to him in the song ‘Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)’, and was backing vocalist on LeDoux’s Top 10 single, ‘Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy’ (1992), LeDoux ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1969) Despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis early in his career, Clay Walker – whose 1993 debut single, ‘What’s It To You’ topped the singles charts – has since occupied that position on more than 10 occasions. Without gaining the recognition he might have, the smooth-voiced ballad singer has remained a strong and ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1962) Born in New Jersey and raised in Houston, Black burst on to the scene in the late 1980s. Signed by ZZ Top manager Bill Ham, Black’s double platinum debut album, Killin’ Time (1989), spawned four chart-topping singles, including ‘Better Man’ and ‘Nobody’s Home’. He has duetted with legendary cowboy Roy Rogers ...
(Vocals, b. 1961) Irish-born O’Donnell has gained a large UK audience through his easy listening-styled covers of sentimental pop standards, Irish favourites and country ballads, since signing with Irish label Ritz Records in 1986. In 1991, his albums held six of the top seven positions in the UK country chart, and his albums and singles have ...
(Guitar, vocals, songwriter, b. 1975) Arizona-born and raised, Bentley moved to Nashville in 1994, playing the clubs as an intimate singer-songwriter. In 2001, he released the self-financed Don’t Leave Me In Love, backed by friends from the Jamie Hartford Band and bluegrass legend Del McCoury’s band. In 2003, a major label deal resulted ...
(Vocals, b. 1956) Stone (born Doug Brooks) found little commercial success until 1990, but made up for lost time with a dozen Top 10 hits, including several No. 1s, with his new-traditionalist approach. ‘I’d Be Better Off (In A Pine Box)’ (1990) and 1991’s ‘A Jukebox With A Country Song’ are among many tunes through which Stone ...
Of all the new-traditionalist acts, Dwight Yoakam was arguably the most flamboyant, with his tight-fitting designer jeans and cowboy hat. He was also the most distinctive of those to emerge on the country scene in the mid-1980s. Yoakam was born in Pikesville, Kentucky, on 23 October 1956. He was primarily raised in Columbus, Ohio, before ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1941) Conley’s first big break came in 1975, when Mel Street recorded his song ‘Smokey Mountain Memories’. Conway Twitty took his song ‘This Time I Have Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me’ to the top of the US country chart in 1976. On moving to Nashville, his first No. 1 hit, ‘Fire ...
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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.