Microdisney was an Irish sophisti-pop band that released the 1984–85 Rough Trade albums Everybody Is Fantastic and The Clock Comes Down the Stairs, followed by the 1987–88 Virgin titles Crooked Mile and 39 Minutes. Members: Cathal Coughlan (vocals, keyboards), Sean O’Hagan (guitar, harmonica), Mick Lynch (bass, 1980-83), Rob Mackahey (drums, 1980-83), Ed Flesh (bass, 1983-87), […]
Russ Ballard is an English musician and songwriter who recorded with the sixties beat groups The Roulettes and Unit 4 + 2. In 1969, he co-founded Argent with ex-Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. He made five studio albums with the band and wrote their hits “Liar” and “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.” Concurrently, he […]
Sahara was a German symphonic-rock band that evolved from Subject ESQ. As Sahara, they made the 1974 album Sunrise, followed by the 1976 Ariola release For All the Clowns. Members: Hennes Hering (keyboards), Michael Hofmann (flute, woodwinds, Moog, Mellotron, vocals), Alex Pittwohn (harmonica, tenor saxophone, vocals), Harry Rosenkind (drums, percussion), Stefan Wissnet (bass, vocals), Nick […]
Stormy Six was an Italian multi-style band from Milan, active from 1966 to 1983. They cut two pop singles in 1967 for Mini Records, followed by two albums between 1969 and 1972 on First, a division of Ariston. In 1975, a revamped Stormy Six released the folk-oriented album Un Biglietto del Tram on L’Orchestra, a […]
The Delfonics were an American soul group from Philadelphia, best known for the smooth-soul evergreen “La-La-Means I Love You,” the inaugural hit of the Philly Soul genre. Between 1968 and 1974, they released five albums on Philly Groove Records and scored further hits with “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” “I’m Sorry,” and “Ready […]
Simply Red are an English blue-eyed soul ensemble that emerged on the mid-eighties Manchester sophisti-pop scene. The name references ginger-haired frontman Mick Hucknall, whose impassioned vocals propelled them to transatlantic stardom with their debut album Picture Book. Simply Red’s biggest hits include “Holding Back the Years,” “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention),” and their cover of […]
Zanov is the performance name of French electronic musician Pierre Salkazanov, who released two albums in the Berlin School-vein in 1976 and 1977. A third album followed in 1983, after which he went quiet until the 2010s when a growing cult around his reissued works prompted a comeback. Since 2014, he has released two CDs […]
The Marshall Tucker Band was an American rustic-rock band that released seven albums between 1973 and 1978 on Capricorn Records, followed by six further albums through 1983 on Warner Bros. Their gold/platinum Capricorn run produced crossover hits with “Fire on the Mountain” and “Heard It in a Love Song.” Members: Doug Gray (vocals, tambourine), Jerry […]
The Atlanta Rhythm Section was an American southern-rock boogie band that released two 1972–73 albums on Decca/MCA, followed by seven albums and a live disc between 1974 and 1980 on Polydor. Their popularity peaked with the 1977–78 albums A Rock and Roll Alternative and Champagne Jam and the hits “So Into You” and “Imaginary Lover.” […]
Leo Sayer is an English pop singer who released ten studio albums between 1973 and 1983 on Chrysalis and Warner Bros. He scored ten Top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including “The Show Must Go On,” “Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance),” “Moonlighting,” and “More Than I Can Say.” His 1976 fourth album […]
Il Volo was an Italian symphonic-rock supergroup that released the 1974/75 albums Il Volo and Essere o Non Essere? on Numero Uno. Members: Alberto Radius (guitar, vocals), Mario Lavezzi (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Vince Tempera (keyboards), Gabriele Lorenzi (keyboards), Bob Callero (bass), Gianni Dall’Aglio (drums, percussion, vocals) Background Il Volo (The Flight) formed in early 1974 […]
Con Funk Shun was an American soul-funk band that released eleven albums between 1976 and 1986 on Mercury. Con Funk Shun formed in Vallejo, California, and initially recorded two albums’ worth of material in Memphis around 1973, which later appeared separately on Pickwick and 51 West. They signed with Mercury in 1976, beginning a decade-long […]
The Crusaders were an American jazz-funk band from Los Angeles that was known throughout its first decade as The Jazz Crusaders, which issued a string of post-bop albums on Pacific Jazz during the 1960s. In 1971, they shortened their name to The Crusaders and issued a string of jazz-funk/R&B albums on Blue Thumb. They scored […]
Far East Family Band was a Japanese space-rock group that grew out of Fumio Miyashita’s earlier Far Out project and issued four albums between 1975 and 1977 on Mu Land. Their central run joined Miyashita with keyboardists Akira Ito and Masanori Takahashi, later known as Kitaro, alongside guitarist Hirohito Fukushima, bassist Akira Fukakusa, and drummers […]
Labi Siffre is an English singer/songwriter, poet, and playwright who released six albums between 1970 and 1975 on Pye/EMI. He scored UK hits with the 1971/72 singles “It Must Be Love” (later covered by Madness) and “Crying Laughing Loving Lying.” After twelve years away from music, he returned with the 1987 hit “(Something Inside) So […]
Fifty Foot Hose was an American psych-rock band from San Francisco that released the 1968 album Cauldron on Limelight Records. They fused electric rock instrumentation with homemade electronics and avant-garde tape effects, placing them among the earliest rock groups to integrate experimental and electronic sound design. Members: Cork Marcheschi (electronics), David Blossom (guitar, piano), Larry […]
The Electric Flag was an American brass-rock band that made soundtrack music for the 1967 counterculture film The Trip, followed by the 1968 Columbia albums A Long Time Comin’ and An American Music Band. Members: Nick Gravenites (vocals, guitar), Buddy Miles (drums, percussion), Mike Bloomfield (guitar, percussion, 1967-68, 1974), Barry Goldberg (keyboards, 1967, 1974), Harvey […]
Melissa Manchester is an American singer–songwriter who released two 1973–74 albums on Bell Records, followed by nine albums between 1975 and 1983 on Arista. She first emerged under the auspices of Barry Manilow and Bette Midler and co-wrote many songs with Carole Bayer Sager. Manchester’s best known songs include “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Midnight Blue,” […]
Buddy Miles (Sept. 5, 1947 — Feb. 26, 2008) was an American drummer, singer, producer, and songwriter from Omaha. He co-founded the Electric Flag before he led the Buddy Miles Express, which cut the 1968/69 albums Expressway to Your Skull and Electric Church. Miles sang “Changes” on the 1970 Hendrix live album Band of Gypsys, […]
Phoenix is a pioneering Romanian rock band, active from the mid-1960s. They released two beat-styled EPs circa 1968/69 on Electrecord, followed by the 1972–75 albums Cei ce ne-au dat nume, Mugur de fluier, and Cantofabule. In 1981, they altered their name to Transsylvania Phoenix for one album on Bacillus. Another name-change to SymPhoenix yielded the […]
The Cult is an English hard-rock band that started in 1983 as the goth-inspired Death Cult, a name derived from singer Ian Astbury’s prior band the Southern Death Cult. As Death Cult they released two singles on the London indie Situation Two, then signed with Beggars Banquet as The Cult. After their 1984 album Dreamtime, […]
The Chambers Brothers were an American soul-psych band from Los Angeles, formed in 1954. After a pair of mid-’60s albums on Vault, they released four albums on Columbia between 1967 and 1971. There biggest hit was an edit of their 11-minute album track “Time Has Come Today” from their 1967 release The Time Has Come. […]
The Adverts were an English punk-rock band, best known for the 1977 singles “One Chord Wonders” and “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” and the 1978 album Crossing the Red Sea With The Adverts. Their second album, Cast of Thousands, appeared shortly before their breakup in late 1979. Members: T.V. Smith (vocals), Gaye Advert (bass), Howard Pickup [Howard […]
Zapp was an American electro-funk band from Hamilton, Ohio, that released four albums between 1980 and 1985 on Warner Bros., followed by a 1989 fifth on Reprise. Members: Roger (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, harmonica, vibraphone, percussion), Zapp Troutman (keyboards, bass, vocals), Tony Troutman (bass), Lester Troutman (drums), Larry Troutman (percussion) Background Zapp evolved from Roger […]
Egberto Gismonti (born Dec. 5, 1947) is a Brazilian pianist, guitarist, and composer from Carmo, Rio de Janeiro, whose recording career opened in 1969 and later extended across Elenco, Polydor, EMI-Odeon, ECM, Carmo, Kuarup, and other imprints. His early Brazilian run includes Sonho 70, Água & vinho, Academia de danças, Corações futuristas, Carmo, and Nó […]
The Brecker Brothers were the American jazz-funk duo of saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter Randy Brecker, who played on numerous recordings together and separately throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Members: Randy Brecker (trumpet), Michael Brecker (saxophone) Background Randy Brecker (b. November 27, 1945, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania) and Michael Brecker (b. March 29, 1949, Philadelphia) were raised […]
The Passions were an English ethereal new wave band that cut two 1979 post-punk singles and signed with Fiction Records for their 1980 album, Michael & Miranda. On Polydor, they made the 1981/82 albums Thirty Thousand Feet Over China and Sanctuary and scored a UK hit with “I’m In Love With a German Film Star.” […]
Trevor Rabin (born Jan. 13, 1954) is a South African-born/U.S.-naturalized guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer who first emerged in the Johannesburg art-rock/pop band Rabbitt, which he joined in 1972 at age eighteen. Rabbitt scored locally with the chart-topping symphonic-ballad “Charlie” and the album Boys Will Be Boys!, which Rabin wrote, produced, arranged, and largely performed. […]
James Blood Ulmer (February 8, 1940 – June 3, 2026) was an American avant-jazz/rock guitarist who played on Seventies albums by Rashied Ali Quintet, Larry Young, Joe Henderson, and Arthur Blythe. He went solo with the 1979 album Tales of Captain Black on Artists House, followed by the 1980 Rough Trade release Are You Glad […]
Alain Markusfeld is a French classical/rock guitarist who released the 1970/71 Barclay folk/psych albums Le monde en étages and Le son tombé du ciel, followed by the 1977–79 symphonic instrumental trilogy Le désert noir, Platock, and Contemporus. Background Alain Markusfeld was born April 6, 1950, in Paris. He began two years of classical piano lessons […]
Lori Lieberman is an American singer/songwriter who released four 1972–75 albums on Capitol Records and a 1978 fifth on Millennium. After a sixteen-year break from recording, she returned with three Nineties-era albums on Pope Music. Since 2003, she’s issued CDs on self-press Drive On Records. Her debut album contains the first version of “Killing Me […]
Flash and the Pan were an Australian studio-based art-pop project from Sydney headed by the songwriting/production team of ex-Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young. The project began with the 1977 Mercury single “Hey, St. Peter” / “Walking in the Rain” and ultimately yielded five albums on Albert/Epic between 1979 and 1987. Members: Harry Vanda [Johannes […]
Celeste was an Italian symphonic combo that released a 1976 self-titled album on Grog Records. They recorded a second album that surfaced fifteen years later on Mellow Records, which also unearthed an earlier soundtrack recording, I Suoni in Una Sfera. Members: Ciro Perrino (drums, percussion, flute, keyboards, vocals), Leonardo Lagorio (keyboards, flute, saxophone), Mariano Schiavolini […]
Xmal Deutschland was a German goth-rock band fronted by songwriter Anja Huwe. They cut two 1981/82 Zickzack EPs and the 1983/84 4AD albums Fetisch and Tocsin, followed by the 1987–89 discs Viva and Devils. Members: Anja Huwe (vocals), Manuela Rickers (guitar, 1980-87), Fiona Sangster (keyboards, 1980-87), Caro May (drums, 1980-82), Rita Simonsen (bass, 1980), Wolfgang […]
The Woodentops were an English art-pop band that released four 1984–85 maxi-singles compiled on Straight Eight Bush-Waker. On Rough Trade, they released the 1986–88 albums Giant and Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway and scored indie hits with “Good Thing,” “Give It Time,” “Everyday Living,” and “Maybe It Won’t Last.” Members: Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar), […]
The Waterboys are an English rock band that released five albums between 1984 and 1990 on Ensign. Scottish musician/songwriter Mike Scott formed the band in 1981 in London with saxophonist Anthony Thistlethwaite and drummer Kevin Wilkinson. This lineup released their 1983 self-titled debut album with multiple collaborators. Soon after, they hired keyboardist Karl Wallinger and […]
Eddie Kendricks (born Dec. 17, 1939 — Oct. 5, 1992) was an American soul singer, who served as the lead tenor vocalist in The Temptations between 1961 and 1971. He’s most recognized for his falsetto voice on the hits “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away […]
Annette Peacock (born 1941) is an American avant-garde jazz vocalist and composer from Brooklyn who first emerged in the mid-1960s as a writer for pianist Paul Bley, her then-husband. His 1968 album Mr. Joy features her title-sake composition that was subsequently covered by Swedish vocalist Karin Krog and English jazz-rockers Affinity. As a performer, Peacock […]
Albert Marcœur is a French musician, composer, and arranger who released ten albums between 1974 and 2008. His first four albums — Albert Marcœur, Album à Colorier, Armes & Cycles, and Celui où y’a Joseph — contain Zappa-esque fusions of avant-garde rock, big band, and zolo music. Along with Etron Fou Leloublan, he foreshadowed the 1980s […]
Dio was an American metal band that Ronnie James Dio formed in 1982 after his split from Black Sabbath. The first lineup with guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Jimmy Bain, and drummer Vinny Appice produced the Warner Bros. albums Holy Diver, The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, and Dream Evil between 1983 and 1987. A rebuilt […]
Michael Mantler is an Austrian trumpeter, composer, and arranger; active on the international avant-garde jazz/classical scene since the mid-1960s. Between 1973 and 1988, he made ten albums on EMI-subsidiary Watt, a label he co-ran with then-wife Carla Bley. Background Michael Mantler was born on August 10, 1943, in Vienna, Austria, where he studied trumpet and […]
Eddie Henderson (born Oct. 26, 1940) is an American trumpeter, cornetist, and composer who emerged in Herbie Hancock‘s backing band Mwandishi. On Capricorn, he released the popular 1973/74 albums Realization and Inside Out. Switching to Blue Note, he made the 1975/76 albums Sunburst and Heritage, followed by a trio of titles on Capitol, including the […]
Faze-O was an American soul-funk band that released three albums between 1977 and 1979 and scored an R&B hit with “Riding High.” Members: Keith “Chop Chop” Harrison (keyboards), Ralph “Love” Aikens (guitar), Tyrone “Flye” Crum (bass), Roger “Dodger” Parker (drums), Robert “Bip” Neal, Jr. (percussion) Background Faze-O evolved in Dayton, Ohio, from the earlier funk […]
Idris Muhammad (1939–2014) was an American jazz-funk drummer. He played on Fifties hits by The Hawketts and Fats Domino and earned Sixties credits behind Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, and Pharoah Sanders. As a solo artist, he made two 1971 Prestige albums, followed by multiple titles on Kudo, including the 1974 jazz-funk classic Power of Soul. […]
Nina Hagen is a German singer and media personality who made two late-Seventies bandleader albums and scored a European hit with “African Reggae.” She gained international cult renown with her 1982–85 CBS albums Nunsexmonkrock, Angstlos, In Ekstase, and the hits “New York / N.Y.” and “Universelles Radio.” Background She was born Catherine Hagen on March […]
Missus Beastly was a German jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album on CPM in 1970. After a period of activity that saw a group of imposters parrot the nameplate, the band reconvened for three albums on NOVA, April, and Schneeball between 1974 and 1978. Members: Lutz Oldemeier (drums, 1968-75), Atzen Wehmeyer (guitar, vocals, 1968-70), […]
Vinegar Joe was an English soul-rock band that released three albums on Island Records: Vinegar Joe, Rock’n’Roll Gypsies (both 1972), and Six Star General (1973). The band germinated when ex-Alan Bown Set vocalist Robert Palmer joined Dada, the prior band of co-vocalist Elkie Brooks and guitarist Pete Gage. Vinegar Joe also featured several musicians with […]
Sonny Sharrock (Aug. 27, 1940 — May 25, 1994) was an American avant-jazz guitarist, active for twenty-five years on the New York free-jazz scene. He started in the late-1960s beside saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, flutist Herbie Mann, and reedist Byard Lancaster. He cut Black Woman in 1969 with his wife Linda Sharrock, followed with Monkey-Pockie-Boo and […]
Corey Hart (born May 31, 1962) is a Canadian singer from Montreal that released five albums on Aquarius/EMI between 1983 and 1990. He rose to international fame with the 1984 hit “Sunglasses at Night,” followed by the chart-topping ballad “Never Surrender,” which became his signature song. His debut album First Offense (1983) and its follow-up […]
Betty Wright (Dec. 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020) was an American soul singer from Miami. She cut her debut album, My First Time Around, at age 14 in 1968. Her 1972 Alston release I Love the Way You Love spawned the Billboard Top 10 hit “Clean Up Woman.” She issued six further Alston albums […]
Sally Oldfield (born Aug. 3, 1947) is an English-Irish singer and composer, born in Dublin and raised in Reading, Berkshire. In 1968, she formed the folk-psych duo Sallyangie with her younger brother Mike Oldfield, aged 15 at the time of their singular album Children of the Sun, released that year on Transatlantic Records. Between 1973 […]
Michael Quatro is an American keyboardist, singer, composer, and arranger from Detroit who released the 1972/73 Evolution albums Paintings and Look Deeply Into the Mirror, followed by the 1975–77 Prodigal titles In Collaboration With the Gods; Dancers, Romancers, Dreamers & Schemers; and Gettin’ Ready. He is the older brother of musician/actress Suzi Quatro. Background Michael […]
The Human Instinct was a New Zealander band that released five 1967/68 singles as a freakbeat quartet on Mercury/Deram. As a post-psych jam trio, they cut the 1969–71 albums Burning Up Years, Stoned Guitar, and Pins In It. After their 1972 release Snatmin Cuthin?, Glenn Mikkelson (aka Zaine Griff) joined for The Hustler and their […]
Edwin Birdsong (Aug. 22, 1941 — Jan. 21, 2019) was an American R&B-funk keyboardist from Los Angeles who released two albums and five singles on Polydor between 1971 and 1973, followed by a one-off on Bam-Boo Records in 1975. A deal with Philadelphia International Records yielded three 1978 singles and an eponymous fourth album in […]
Association P.C. was a Dutch/German avant-garde jazz-rock ensemble that released five albums between 1970 and 1974 on the MPS, Munich, and Corona labels. Members: Pierre Courbois (drums, percussion), Toto Blanke (guitar, ring modulator, nagoya harp), Jasper van’t Hof (electric piano, 1969-73), Peter Krijnen (bass, 1969-70), Sigi Busch (bass, 1970-75), Heiner Wiberny (tenor saxophone, basset horn, […]
Glenn Hughes is an English bassist and singer who fronted hard-rockers Trapeze on their first three albums: Trapeze, Medusa (both 1970), and You Are the Music…We’re Just the Band (1972). He replaced Roger Glover in Deep Purple for their 1974/75 albums Burn, Stormbringer, and Come Taste the Band. In 1977, he released the solo album […]
Arachnoïd was a French symphonic/space-rock band that released a self-titled album on Divox in 1979. It was later reissued by archivists Musea and has since become a holy grail of the nation’s ’70s scene, alongside releases by Ange, Atoll, Carpe Diem, Mona Lisa, Pulsar, and Shylock. Members: Patrick Woindrich (bass, guitar, vocals), Michel Pilot (rhythm […]
A Taste of Honey was an American soul-funk band from Los Angeles, best known for their disco hit “Boogie Oogie Oogie” and their cover of the Japanese ballad “Sukiyaki.” They released four albums between 1978 and 1982 on Capitol. Members: Greg Walker (vocals, 1971-76), Janice Marie Johnson (vocals, bass, guitar, 1971-present), Perry Kibble (keyboards, 1971-80), […]
Airto Moreira (born Aug. 5, 1941) is a Brazilian vocalist and percussionist, married to vocalist Flora Purim since 1967. The couple featured in the original lineup of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, appearing on the 1972 album that launched the name and its 1973 followup Light as a Feather. As a solo artist, Moreira released […]
Barbara Mason is an American soul singer and songwriter, best known for her 1965 hit “Yes, I’m Ready.” She landed fourteen singles on the Billboard R&B Top 40, including the crossover hits “Sad, Sad Girl,” “Oh, How It Hurts,” “Give Me Your Love,” “From His Woman to You,” and “Shackin’ Up.” Mason released fourteen singles […]
Lucifer’s Friend was a German hard-rock band that evolved from Asterix with a 1970 Philips debut. Fronted by singer John Lawton, Lucifer’s Friend made the 1972–76 Vertigo albums Where the Groupies Killed the Blues, I’m Just a Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer, Banquet, and Mind Exploding. Mike Starrs fronted the 1978–80 Elektra titles Good Time Warrior and […]
Machiavel are a Belgian rock band, first active from 1974 to 1982. After their 1976 self-titled EMI debut, they hired longstanding vocalist Mario Guccio and released the popular 1977/78 albums Jester and Mechanical Moonbeams. Musically, they evolved from symphonic/hard-rock to streamlined new wave. Members: Marc Ysaye (drums, vocals), Roland Degreef (bass), Albert Letecheur (keyboards, 1974-79), […]
Tygers of Pan Tang were an English heavy metal band central to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They released four albums on MCA between 1980 and 1982—Wild Cat, Spellbound, Crazy Nights, and The Cage—highlighted by the twin-guitar interplay of Robb Weir and John Sykes, and signature tracks like “Hellbound,” “Gangland,” “Blackjack,” and “Running […]
Lesley Duncan (Aug. 12, 1943 — March 12, 2010) was an English singer/songwriter who made the 1971/72 CBS albums Sing Children Sing and Earth Mother, followed by the 1974/75 GM titles Everything Changes and Moon Bathing and the 1977 MCA release Maybe It’s Lost. Background Lesley Duncan was born on August 12, 1943, in Stockton-on-Tees, England. […]
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer whose recording career began with a 1965 Jocida single and expanded through MGM, Polydor, Atlantic, Silver Blue, and Stylus releases. She reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “I Will Survive” and placed “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “I Am What I Am” in the Top […]
Spinetta Jade was an Argentine super-band that released four albums between 1980 and 1984. Anchored by namesake vocalist/guitarist Luis Alberto Spinetta, the band featured a revolving door of established and up-and-coming talent on the Buenos Aires scene. This was the frontman’s fourth major band in a decade, having earlier headed Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, and Invisible. […]
Sloche was a Québécois symphonic-rock band that released the album J’un Oeil on RCA Victor in 1975, followed by the sophomoric Stadaconé on the label in 1976. Members: Pierre Bouchard (keyboards), Jacques Collin (bass), Fernand Paré (drums), Marcel Périgny (guitar), Réjean Yacola (piano, vocals), Martin Murray (organ, synthesizer, saxophone, vocals), Caroll Bérard (guitar, vocals), Pierre […]
Charly García (born Oct. 23, 1951) is an Argentinian multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter, active since the early 1970s. He launched his career as half of the folk-rock duo Sui Generis, which issued three albums between 1972 and 1974. During the mid-’70s, he split time between the symphonic-rock quintet La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros and the […]
Haikara was a Finnish symphonic/jazz-rock band that made the 1972–74 albums Haikara and Geafar, followed by the 1975 release Iso Lintu. They reunited in the late-Nineties for two further albums. Members: Vesa Lattunen (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Vesa Lehtinen (vocals, percussion), Harri Pystynen (flute, saxophone), Timo Vuorinen (bass), Markus Heikkerö (drums, percussion), Auli Lattunen (vocals), […]
Dr. Dopo Jam was a Danish avant-jazz/rock band that released the 1973/74 Zebra albums Entrée and Fat Dogs and Danishmen, followed by the 1981 DIY title Cruisin’ at Midnite. Members: Kristian Pommer (clavinet, guitar, piano), Skak Snitker (trumpet), Nils Christensen “Vejmand” (drums, 1967-73), Lars Rasmussen (guitar, violin, 1968-71, 1981), Anders Gårdmand (saxophone, 1970-74), Bent Clausen […]
Culpeper’s Orchard was a Danish hard-rock/folk band that released the 1971/72 Polydor albums Culpeper’s Orchard, Second Sight, and Going for a Song. They regrouped as Culpeper for the 1977 Sonet title All Dressed Up & Nowhere to Go. Members: Cy Nicklin (vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion), Nils Henriksen (lead guitar, piano, vocals, acoustic guitar, […]
Propaganda was the German synthpop band behind the 1984 EP Present the Nine Lives of Dr. Mabuse and the 1985 album A Secret Wish on Trevor Horn’s ZTT label. Their second proper album, 1234, appeared in 1990 on Island. Members: Andreas Thein (keyboards, 1982-84), Ralf Dörper (keyboards), Susanne Freytag (keyboards, vocals), Claudia Brücken (vocals, 1983-86), […]
Bijelo Dugme was a Yugoslav symphonic/hard-rock band from Sarajevo in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Between 1974 and 1988, the band released nine albums, three live recordings, and assorted singles, mostly on Jugoton and Diskoton. Members: Goran Bregović (guitar, vocals, 1974-89), Željko Bebek (vocals, 1974-84), Mladen Vojičić [aka Tifa] (vocals, 1984-85), Alen Islamović (vocals, 1985-89), Goran […]
Nancy Wilson (Feb. 20, 1937 — Dec. 13, 2018) was an American soul and jazz singer who released thirty albums between 1960 and 1980 on Capitol Records. She landed twenty-one songs on the Billboard R&B Top 100, including “Save Your Love for Me” (with Cannonball Adderley), “Tell Me the Truth,” “You’re as Right as Rain,” […]
Donnie Iris is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from western Pennsylvania. He first reached the national charts with the Jaggerz, whose 1970 single “The Rapper” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Iris later joined Wild Cherry and formed Donnie Iris and the Cruisers with keyboardist Mark Avsec, guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes, bassist […]
Jan Garbarek (March 4, 1947) is a Norwegian saxophonist who emerged in the 1960s through work with Karin Krog, Terje Rypdal, and George Russell. ECM issued Afric Pepperbird in 1970 and followed with Witchi-Tai-To, Dansere, and Dis, a four-album run that fixed Jan Garbarek near the center of the label’s early catalog. His work with […]
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist from Philadelphia who emerged as a Sixties sideman for Yusef Lateef and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1967, he teamed with trumpeter Jimmy Owens on the Atlantic release You Had Better Listen. After gigs behind Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, and Idris Muhammad, Barron cut the 1973–75 […]
Dokken are an American hard-rock band from Los Angeles that formed around singer Don Dokken and fixed its classic lineup with guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson, and drummer Mick Brown during the early 1980s. The group first issued Breaking the Chains in Europe in 1981, then launched its main US run on Elektra with […]
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from Den Haag, best known for their 1969 global hit “Venus.” Formed as an all-male quartet, they cut a 1968 self-titled album on Polydor. After the arrival of singer Mariska Veres, they made seven albums between 1969 and 1974 on Pink Elephant and scored Continental hits with “Send […]
Raw Material was an English post-psych band that released a self-titled album in 1970 on small-press Evolution, followed in 1971 by Time Is… on RCA Neon. Members: Colin Catt (vocals, keyboards), Mike Fletcher (saxophone, flute, vocals, 1970-72), Dave Green (guitar, 1970-72), Phil Gunn (bass, guitar, ?-1971), Paul Young (percussion, 1970-72), Cliff Harewood (lead guitar, 1971-72) […]
The Icicle Works are an English rock band led by guitarist–songwriter Ian McNabb. They emerged in Liverpool’s post-punk scene and released four albums between 1984 and 1988 on Beggars Banquet. Their self-titled first album spawned the UK hit “Love Is a Wonderful Colour” and the transatlantic staple “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream).” Members: Ian […]
