Sixties

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(Founder, Atlantic Records, 1923–2006) Ertegun came to the US as son of the Turkish ambassador in 1934 and stayed, founding Atlantic Records in 1947 with brother Nesuhi. Having won the trust of performers with fair contract and royalty dealings, he actively pursued the crossover market in the 1950s, selling black music by Ray Charles and others to a white audience who previously only bought bland cover versions of it. He developed ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1945) Once lead guitarist with Bournemouth’s Tony Blackburn and The Rovers, Stewart’s commercial discography as a solo artist commenced with a 1966 Xerox of a Yardbirds LP track, ‘Turn Into Earth’. Very bound up in himself lyrically, he impinged on national consciousness via mild media uproar over his insertion of a rude word in autobiographical ‘Love Chronicles’, title track of a 1969 album. As a post-Woodstock singer-songwriter, he ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Various saxophones, 1936–70) Albert Ayler was one of the most controversial free-jazz performers. Eccentric and tirelessly inventive, he shifted ensemble roles in his music so that drummers and bassists were on equal ground with the horns. Ayler influenced John Coltrane and many younger saxophonists, and his recordings gradually moved from free jazz towards rock and soul themes. Spiritual Unity (1964) remains one of his most acclaimed albums. Ayler died in mysterious ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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(Guitar, vocals, 1932–93) Collins’s highly original and bold, chiselled tone – achieved through an idiosyncratic tuning and high volume – earned the Texan his nickname ‘The Iceman’. The moniker was abetted by a string of chilly-themed, early 1960s instrumental hits that incorporated R&B rhythms, including the million-selling ‘Frosty’, ‘Sno Cone’ and ‘Thaw Out’. Although his cousin was Lightnin’ Hopkins, Collins’s agressive playing style was primarily influenced by T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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Albert King’s late 1960s and early 1970s recordings for the Stax label remain cornerstones of modern blues. Tunes like ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’, ‘Crosscut Saw’ and ‘I’ll Play the Blues For You’ are also an antidote to the over-the-top playing indulged in by so many contemporary blues guitarists. For King, a six-foot-four, 250-pound man possessed of a big, mellow voice and an equally proportional guitar tone, each carefully chiselled note ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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(Guitar, vocals, 1928–84) The late ‘Godfather of British blues’ emerged from London’s traditional jazz scene to found Blues Incorporated in 1962. Among those passing through the ranks of this loose if inspirational amalgam were subsequent members of The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin. In the late 1960s, Korner too made the charts as singer with CCS, whose biggest hit, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ became the theme ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1962–67) Alexis Korner (guitar, piano, vocals), born in Paris, France in 1928, was considered to be the father of electric British blues. When he and Cyril Davies (harmonica, vocals) formed Blues Incorporated in 1962 with Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone), Andy Hoogenboom (bass), Ken Scott (piano) and Charlie Watts (drums), their amplified line-up met with resistance. So Korner and Davies opened their own venue, the Ealing Rhythm & Blues Club, beneath ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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(Vocal group, 1966–70) This horn-laden outfit from south Wales had gained a formidable reputation for exacting musical standards and a natural vitality when they reached the UK Top 20 with 1967’s funereal-paced ‘Gin House Blues’. More nakedly commercial hits included a No. 1 with ‘(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice’ (which was covered by The Dave Clark Five for the US market). Following disbandment, Andy Fairweather-Low (vocals) had qualified success with, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
94 Words Read More

(Tenor and soprano saxophones, b. 1937) Acid-toned saxophonist Archie Shepp was a principal figure in the second wave of free-jazz artists. Also recognized as a playwright and poet, Shepp was an articulate spokesman for Black Power. He emerged in 1960 as a member of Cecil Taylor’s group, then collaborated with trumpeter Bill Dixon, Don Cherry and John Coltrane, most notably on Coltrane’s powerful Ascension. In the late 1970s Shepp moved decisively ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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The undisputed Queen of Soul since the title was first applied to her in the late 1960s, Aretha Franklin has been hailed as the greatest soul diva of all time. Possessing a voice of power and passion (and an underrated talent on the piano) she has turned her attention to everything from pop through jazz to classical; but with a grounding in gospel it was in soul music that she found ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Trumpet, flugelhorn, 1928–99) Art Farmer was largely responsible for popularizing the mellow-toned flugelhorn as a solo jazz instrument. A wonderfully lyrical player, he came up in Los Angeles’ Central Avenue jazz clubs in the 1940s and worked with Lionel Hampton, Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan and alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce. In 1959–62 he and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson led the Jazztet, which had a hit with ‘Killer Joe’. Farmer was based in ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
94 Words Read More

(Vocals, 1946–2003) Discovered in 1965 by Otis Redding, Conley shared with him an admiration for Sam Cooke. Redding gets a name-check (twice) in Conley’s one big hit, ‘Sweet Soul Music’ (produced by Redding in 1967), a frantic rock’n’roll work-out with punctuating brass, which exuberantly celebrated the soul greats of the day. Conley was a regular member of the Stax/Volt Soul Revue package that toured America and Europe. Styles & Forms | Sixties ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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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 nature. King was one of the most influential guitarists of the past 50 years, with ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1965–75) Although their best-known work was released in the 1970s, Badfinger had been around since 1965 as The Iveys in their native north Wales. In 1966, they toured the UK backing David Garrick. Signed to the Apple Records label in 1968 as The Beatles’ potential successors, Tom Evans (bass), Mike Gibbins (drums), Pete Ham (guitar, piano, vocals) and Joey Molland (guitar, replacing Ron Griffiths) released their first album as ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Songwriter, b. 1941) Strong was a Motown staff writer whose own 1960 hit ‘Money’ helped fund the label’s early expansion. His compositions with Norman Whitfield included ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, and led Motown’s forays into more socially aware territory with hits like Edwin Starr’s ‘War’ and many of The Temptations’ psychedelic soul outings. Strong won a 1972 Grammy for their ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’, but quit Motown when ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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