Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American hard-rock boogie band from Jacksonville that released five albums and a live double-LP between 1972 and 1977 on MCA. Their 1973 debut, Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd, introduced their signature anthem “Free Bird” and established their national presence. Second Helping (1974) followed with the hit “Sweet Home Alabama” and cemented their popularity. […]
Terry Reid (November 13, 1949 – August 4, 2025) was an English singer, guitarist, and songwriter who emerged in mid-sixties beatsters Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers. He debuted as a solo artist with the 1968 US Epic release Bang, Bang You’re Terry Reid, followed by a self-titled album on Columbia. As his profile soared, Reid […]
Wild Turkey was an English progressive hard-rock band that released the album Battle Hymn on Chrysalis in 1971, followed by Turkey in 1972. The band was formed by Jethro Tull‘s original bassist Glenn Cornick, who subsequently joined German rockers Karthago and later played in the stateside trio Paris. Members: Glenn Cornick (bass, 1971-74, 1995-97, 2006-14), […]
The Slits were an all-female English post-punk combo that made the 1979 album Cut on Island/Antilles, followed by 1981’s Return of the Giant Slits on CBS. Members: Ari Up [Arianna Forster, aka Ari-Upp] (vocals), Suzi Gutsy (bass, 1976-77), Kate Korus (guitar, 1976-77), Palmolive (drums, vocals, 1976-79), Viv Albertine (guitar, vocals), Tessa Pollitt (bass, vocals) Budgie […]
Racing Cars were a Welsh roots rock band that released three albums on Chrysalis between 1976 and 1978: Downtown Tonight, Weekend Rendezvous, and Bring On the Night. They scored a 1977 UK Top 20 hit with the rustic ballad “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” The band was led by ex-Ancient Grease frontman Gareth “Morty” Mortimer. […]
The O’Jays were an American soul group that made 21 albums between 1965 and 1989, including the Seventies classics Back Stabbers, Ship Ahoy, and Family Reunion. Formed in 1958 in Canton, Ohio, began their career recording singles and one album for Imperial between 1963 and 1966. Throughout the late 1960s, they released albums on Minit, […]
Jean-Michel Jarre is a French keyboardist and sound technician who emerged in the early 1970s, first as a soundtrack composer. He gained global prominence with his 1976 release Oxygène, which brought electronic music to a wider audience. During the ensuing quarter-century, he released fifteen-plus titles on Disques Dreyfus. Background Jean-Michel Jarre was born in Lyon, […]
Donald Byrd (1932–2013) was an American post-bop trumpeter who apprenticed with the Jazz Messengers and played on multiple mid-Fifties albums by Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Gigi Gryce, Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, and John Coltrane. In 1959, Byrd released Off to the Races, his first of twenty-seven albums through 1976 on Blue Note. He embraced jazz-funk […]
Dan Fogelberg (Aug. 13, 1951 — Dec. 16, 2007) was an American singer/songwriter known for his introspective lyrics, layered arrangements, and multi-instrumental talents. His breakthrough came with Souvenirs (1974), followed by a string of best-selling albums including Phoenix (1979) and the double LP The Innocent Age (1981), which yielded the hits “Same Old Lang Syne,” […]
The Human League are an English synthpop band best known for their 1981 global No. 1 hit “Don’t You Want Me.” Across two incarnations, they released six albums, four EPs, and twenty singles between 1979 and 1990 on Virgin Records. They emerged on the Sheffield post-punk scene with the 1978 DIY release “Being Boiled” (b/w […]
Eyes of Blue were a Welsh psych-rock-soul band that released two singles as “The Eyes of Blue” on Deram, followed by the 1968/69 Mercury albums Crossroads of Time and In Fields of Ardath. A name-change to Big Sleep produced the 1971 Pegasus release Bluebell Wood. Keyboardist Phil Ryan became an on/off member of Man and its […]
Boz Scaggs is an American vocalist, musician, and songwriter who emerged in the late-sixties incarnation of the Steve Miller Band and went solo with a 1969 Atlantic album. Between 1970 and 1988, he released eight albums on Columbia. His popularity peaked with the 1976–80 albums Silk Degrees, Down Two Then Left, and Middle Man. Scaggs […]
T. Rex was an English rock band best known for the UK hits “Ride a White Swan,” “Hot Love,” “Telegram Sam,” “Metal Guru,” and the transatlantic evergreen “Bang a Gong (Get It On).” They released two 1970–71 albums on Fly Records, followed by six albums between 1972 and 1977 on the eponymous imprint T. REX. […]
Ange are a French symphonic-rock band that released ten studio albums between 1972 and 1983 on Philips, followed by a round of titles on Trema and Marianne. Formed by brothers Christian and Francis Décamps, Ange emerged from the French progressive-rock scene with a theatrical, narrative-driven style that combined intricate keyboards, layered vocals, and extended compositions. […]
Scorpions are a German hard-rock/metal band, best known for the songs “Loving You Sunday Morning,” “No One Like You,” “Still Loving You,” “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” and “Wind of Change.” Scorpions debuted with the 1972 album Lonesome Crow on Brain/Metronome. After a lineup overhaul, they released four studio albums on RCA Victor. They broke […]
Klaus Schulze (1947–2022) was a German keyboardist, percussionist, and producer who played in the initial lineups of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. In 1972, he debuted as a solo artist with the album Irrlicht on Ohr. Twelve further albums appeared between 1973 and 1980, mostly on Brain. Background Klaus Schulze was born on August […]
Jeff Beck (1944–2023) was an English rock guitarist who emerged as the lead soloist in the Yardbirds during the mid-1960s. In 1968, he formed the first edition of the Jeff Beck Group with vocalist Rod Stewart and bassist Ron Wood, releasing two albums on Columbia in 1968 and 1969. In 1971, Beck formed a second […]
Adam and the Ants were an English new wave band led by Adam Ant. Through two iterations, they evolved from the taut post-punk of their 1979 debut Dirk Wears White Sox to the martial rock of the 1980/81 albums Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming, which spawned the UK hits “Antmusic” and “Stand […]
Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 — February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter of the hard bop era and a central figure on the Blue Note label. By his late teens, he recorded with John Coltrane, Curtis Fuller, and Dizzy Gillespie, then became a regular in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. His work as sideman […]
Love was an American psych-rock band from Los Angeles that released four albums between 1966 and 1969 on Elektra. Formed in 1965 by singer–guitarist Arthur Lee, Love developed a local following at Hollywood’s Bido Lito’s club with a lineup that included guitarist Johnny Echols and singer–guitarist Bryan MacLean. Their 1966 debut combined garage rock with […]
The Stylistics were an American soul group from Philadelphia, formed in 1966. They released seven albums between 1971 and 1975 on Avco, followed by stints on H&L (1976/77) and Mercury. Their first album, The Stylistics, landed R&B crossover hits with “You Are Everything,” “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” and “People Make the World Go Round.” From […]
Amon Düül II was a German Krautrock band that released six studio albums and a live set on Liberty/UA between 1969 and 1973, followed by six further albums on NOVA/Telefunken between 1974 and 1981. They emerged from an art commune with the 1969 album Phallus Dei, a pioneering German underground release. Their 1970/71 double-albums Yeti […]
Agincourt was the first group project of English musicians Peter Howell and John Ferdinando, who started with a pair of home-recorded soundtracks for the local production Alice Through the Looking Glass and the amateur film Tomorrow Come Someday (both 1969). In 1970, they teamed with singer Lee Menelaus in the folk-psych trio Agincourt and recorded […]
Cat Stevens (born July 21, 1948) is an English singer/songwriter who was primarily active as a recording artist between 1966 and 1978. Scoring a deal with Decca just shy of age 18, he burst onto Swinging London with the chipper “I Love My Dog” in late 1966. The following year saw back-to-back albums of mostly […]
John Miles (April 23, 1949 — December 5, 2021) was an English vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and songwriter who shot to fame on Decca with the 1976 album Rebel and the singles “Highfly” and “Music.” It was produced by Alan Parsons, who also handled Miles’ 1979 fourth album More Miles Per Hour. Concurrently, Parsons enlisted the […]
Antônio Carlos Jobim (Jan. 25, 1927 — Dec. 8, 1994) was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, and singer, best known globally for the 1962 bossa nova evergreen “Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema),” among the most covered songs of the 20th century. Across four decades, he recorded more than thirty studio albums, collaborative titles, […]
Area was an Italian avant-garde jazz-rock band that released the 1973–76 studio albums Arbeit macht frei, Caution Radiation Area, Crac!, and Maledetti (Maudits). They moved from Cramps to Ascolto for the 1978–80 albums 1978 gli dei se ne vanno and Tic & Tac. Members: Patrizio Fariselli (keyboards), Giulio Capiozzo (drums, percussion, 1972-76, 1977-99), Victor Edouard […]
Art Zoyd was a French chamber-rock band that self-pressed their 1976 debut album, Symphonie pour le jour où brûleront les cités. In 1978, they joined the Rock In Opposition network of Continental acts organized by Henry Cow. On Atem, Art Zoyd released the 1979/80 albums Musique pour l’Odyssée and Génération sans Futur, followed by the […]
The Shadows were a pioneering English instrumental rock band who scored more than twenty UK Top 10 hits—five of them No. 1s—and served as a catalyst for the emergence of the self-contained British rock group, establishing the twin-guitar format that influenced The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and countless 1960s beat and rock acts. Formed in […]
The Steve Miller Band are an American classic-rock band from San Francisco that released fourteen studio albums between 1968 and 1986 on Capitol Records. Guitarist and singer Steve Miller formed the band in 1966 with Boz Scaggs, who left after two albums for a solo career. Their London-recorded debut, Children of the Future, echoes the […]
Pat Metheny is an American jazz guitarist who released thirteen group and solo albums on ECM (1976–1984), followed by titles on Geffen. His best-known cuts include the 1978 fusion staple “Phase Dance,” the 1985 soundtrack ballad “This Is Not America” (a collaboration with David Bowie), and the 1989 smooth-jazz number “Slip Away.” Background He was […]
The Little River Band was an Australian harmony rock band that released nine albums between 1975 and 1986 on Harvest and Capitol. They formed as super-group of players from popular Aussie acts (The Twilights, Zoot, Axiom, Mississippi). LRB was one of the first Aussie acts to conquer the Northern Hemisphere. They peaked in popularity with […]
Stomu Yamash’ta — 山下 勉 (born March 15, 1947) — is a Japanese classical/jazz-rock percussionist, keyboardist, composer, and bandleader best known globally for his 1973–77 projects East Wind and Go, which produced two albums each on Island Records. Background He was born Tsutomu Yamashita in Kyoto, Japan, on March 15, 1947. At age 13, he […]
The Byrds were an American rock band that released twelve albums between 1965 and 1973 on Columbia. Their original lineup featured three singing guitarists: Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Gene Clarke. They codified the jangly 12-string electric guitar sound on their 1965 Billboard No. 1’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Further hits include […]
Cybotron was an Australian electronic combo from Melbourne that released a 1976 self-titled album on Clear Light of Jupiter, followed by Colossus (1978, Champagne) and Implosion (1980, Cleopatra). Their co-founder, keyboardist–saxist Steve Maxwell Von Braund, preceded Cybotron with a 1975 solo album, Monster Planet. Members: Steve Maxwell Von Braund (keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone, percussion), Geoff Green […]
Invisible was an Argentine supergroup that released three albums during the mid-1970s. Musically, the band evolved from the free-flowing, psych-tinged poetic rock of their first two albums to the layered eclecticism of their 1976 swan song El Jardín de los Presentes. Luis Alberto Spinetta made a name for himself in the major national bands Almendra […]
Nazareth are a Scottish hard-rock band from Dunfermline, formed in 1968 with Dan McCafferty, Manny Charlton, Pete Agnew, and Darrell Sweet. On their first two albums, Nazareth and Exercises, they established a four-piece attack built on blunt riffs, hard backbeats, and McCafferty’s rasp. Roger Glover produced the run from Razamanaz through Rampant and locked in […]
Skip Bifferty was an English pop-psych band from Newcastle that released three singles on RCA, culminating with a popular 1968 self-titled album. They moonlighted as Heavy Jelly for the 1969 Island single “I Keep Singing That Same Old Song,” a record-breaker for longest a-side. Select members also recorded with Every Which Way, ARC, and Glencoe. […]
Forest was an English folk-rock/psych trio that released the 1969/70 albums Forest and The Full Circle. Both albums — along with the music of numerous “acid folk” contemporaries (Trees, Synanthesia, Fresh Maggots, Fuchsia, Dr. Strangely Strange, Jan Dukes de Grey, Tea and Symphony, Tír na nÓg) — gained newfound popularity during the 21st century. Members: […]
Pete Brown & Piblokto! were an English post-psych band that released two albums on Harvest in 1970: Things May Come and Things May Go, but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever and Thousands on a Raft. Brown fronted the Battered Ornaments on their first of two 1969 albums and served as lyricist for Jack […]
Iceberg was a Spanish symphonic/jazz-rock band that released the 1975 album Tutankhamon on Bocaccio Records. After the departure of singer Ángel Riba, the remaining quartet released the 1976–78 instrumental albums Coses Nostres, Sentiments, and Arc-en-ciel, plus the live disc En Directe. Guitarist Max Sunyer came from Tapiman and launched a solo career while still a member. […]
Giles Giles and Fripp were the English pop-psych trio behind the 1968 Deram album The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. They consisted of guitarist Robert Fripp and brothers Michael and Peter Giles. After the album, they demoed songs with singer Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention, Trader Horne) and keyboardist Ian McDonald. They morphed into […]
Steamhammer was an English blues-rock band that released the 1969/70 albums Steamhammer (aka Reflection), MK II, and Mountains. Guitarist Martin Pugh assembled a new lineup for the 1972 release Speech on the German Brain label, featuring original Renaissance members Keith Relf and Louis Cennamo, who regrouped with Pugh in the 1975 A&M one-off Armageddon. Members: […]
Captain Beefheart was the performance moniker of Don Van Vliet (Jan. 15, 1941 — Dec. 17, 2010), an American musician, singer, poet, songwriter, and painter from Glendale, California. Between 1967 and 1982, he released eleven albums with the Magic Band, a revolving-door avant-blues vehicle. Beefheart’s music fused Delta blues, free jazz, garage rock, and Dadaist […]
Deniece Williams is an American soul singer and songwriter with a musical career that dates back to the early 1970s. Between 1976 and 1984, she released seven albums on Columbia/CBS. Distinguished by her high-octave quiver, she scored international hits with “Free,” “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle,” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” Background Williams […]
The Tubes were an American rock band from San Francisco that gained notoriety for their edgy stage antics and role-play numbers. They released the 1975–79 A&M studio albums The Tubes, Young and Rich, Now, and Remote Control, then moved to Capitol for the 1981–83 albums The Completion Backward Principle and Outside Inside. Their popular songs […]
Eberhard Weber is a German double-bassist and composer with more than 300 backing credits since the early 1960s. In 1974, he debuted as a bandleader with The Colours of Chloë on ECM, which issued numerous Weber solo and collaborative titles, including two with vibraphonist Gary Burton. Background Eberhard Weber was born on January 22, 1940, […]
Quiet Sun was an English jazz-rock band from London, initially active circa 1970/71 and briefly reactivated in 1975 by guitarist Phil Manzanera during a break from his main act, Roxy Music. Their singular album, Mainstream, appeared that year on Island/Antilles. Drummer/vocalist Charles Hayward subsequently formed the experimental trio This Heat and later headed Camberwell Now. […]
Roy Ayers (1940–2025) was an American vibraphonist, composer, and producer who debuted with the 1963 UA release West Coast Vibes. Amid backing credits with Herbie Mann, Ayers cut the 1967–69 Atlantic albums Virgo Vibes, Stoned Soul Picnic, and Daddy Bug. In 1969/70, the Roy Ayers Quartet (with Sonny Sharrock and Miroslav Vitous) cut two albums […]
La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros were an Argentine symphonic/jazz-rock band that released two albums in 1976 and 1977 on Microfón. They were the post-Sui Generis vehicle for musician Charly García, who simultaneously directed the one-off folk ensemble PorSuiGieco. Like contemporaries Invisible, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros were a supergroup on the Buenos Aires scene. In addition […]
The Impressions were an American soul group from Chicago that launched the careers of Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield, and Leroy Hutson. Formed in 1958, the Impressions cut five local Butler-led singles. Mayfield emerged as a singer, songwriter, and arranger on their 1961–65 hits “Gypsy Woman,” “It’s All Right,” “Keep On Pushing,” and “People Get Ready.” […]
Syreeta Wright (1946–2004) was an American R&B singer who began as a backing vocalist at Motown, where she met and married Stevie Wonder. They co-wrote his 1970 hit “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” and his 1971 album Where I’m Coming From. He produced her 1972–74 Motown/MoWest albums Syreeta and Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta. Between 1977 […]
Spandau Ballet was an English sophisti-pop/soul band that was initially active during the 1980s. The band released four albums and numerous singles between 1980 and 1984 on Reformation, a subsidiary label they established in association with Chrysalis. They emerged from the fashionable Blitz scene that set London alight at the dawn of the 1980s. Led […]
Pat Benatar is an American rock singer from Brooklyn who released nine studio albums between 1979 and 1993 on Chrysalis. She scored modern-rock radio hits with “Heartbreaker,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “You Better Run,” “Promises In the Dark,” “Fire and Ice,” “Precious Time,” “Shadows of the Night,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “We Belong,” […]
Mahogany Rush was a Québécois hard-rock trio led by guitarist–singer Frank Marino, a Hendrix-inspired virtuoso akin to Robin Trower. They released the 1973–75 albums Maxoom, Child of the Novelty, and Strange Universe on Kot’ai (20th Century stateside), followed by the 1976–80 Columbia albums IV, World Anthem, Tales of the Unexpected, and What’s Next. Members: Frank […]
Trapeze was an English hard-rock band that released three albums on Threshold between 1970 and 1972. After the departure of bassist/singer Glenn Hughes for Deep Purple, guitarist Mel Galley led Trapeze for two albums on Warner in 1974/75 and a final on Aura in 1978. Galley later worked with Cozy Powell and Whitesnake and re-teamed […]
Rainbow was an English hard-rock band formed by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore following his initial exit from Deep Purple in 1974. The band released two albums and a live double-LP on Polydor-subsidiary Oyster between 1975 and 1977, followed by five further studio albums on the parent label between 1978 and 1983. Blackmore was the one constant […]
Flash was an English symphonic/hard-rock band on Capitol’s Sovereign imprint that released three albums: Flash, In the Can (both 1972), and Out of Our Hands (1973). Guitarist Peter Banks was a co-founder of Yes, appearing on the albums Yes (1969) and Time and a Word (1970). Members: Colin Carter (lead vocals), Ray Bennett (bass, guitar, […]
Heldon was a French avant-garde/electronic band that released three albums in 1974/75 on Disjuncta, followed by four further titles (1976–79) on Urus, Cobra, and Egg. Concurrently, mastermind Richard Pinhas made synth-based solo albums. Heldon’s sound combined elements of free-psych Krautrock and the Berlin School with the looped minimalism of Brian Eno‘s work with Robert Fripp. […]
Ruphus was a Norwegian symphonic/jazz-rock band that released six albums between 1973 and 1979 on Polydor and Brain. Singer Gudny Aspaas led the original lineup on New Born Day, comprised of post-psych Nordic heavy rock. Her replacement, Rune Østdahl, traded leads with male vocalist Rune Sundby on their 1974 album Ranshart, a polished symphonic-rock effort. […]
Little Feat are an American rustic funk-rock band from Los Angeles that released seven studio albums and a live double-LP on Warner Bros. between 1971 and 1979. Guitarist–bandleader Lowell George hailed from the Mothers of Invention. After his death in 1979, a revised lineup of Little Feat issued sporadic albums and toured constantly during the […]
Motörhead was an English metal trio that released a 1977 self-titled album on Chiswick, followed by five studio albums and a live disc between 1979 and 1984 on Bronze. Ex-Hawkwind bassist Lemmy Kilmister fronted Motörhead through numerous iterations across four decades. The classic lineup with guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor […]
Heatwave was a multi-national soul-funk band formed by American servicemen stationed in Germany during the mid-1970s. Based in London, they made the 1976/77 GTO albums Too Hot to Handle and Central Heating. Their best-known songs include the synth-funk classics “Boogie Nights” and “The Groove Line” and the ballads “Always and Forever” and “Mind Blowing Decisions.” […]
Hiroko Taniyama — 谷山浩子 (born Aug. 29, 1956) — is a Japanese singer/songwriter from Yokohama, Kanagawa, who debuted with an album on King Records in 1972, followed by 14 albums on the Aard-Vark and Canyon labels between 1977 and 1990. Background Hiroko Taniyama was born in Tokyo on August 29, 1956, and grew up in […]
Third World War was an English rock band that released two albums between 1971 and 1973 on Fly and Track. Along with the Groundhogs, Pink Fairies, and the Edgar Broughton Band, they gave blues rock a fractious twist that presaged punk. Members: Terry Stamp (guitar, vocals), Jim Avery (bass), Paul Olsen (drums, 1971-73), Mick Liber […]
U.K. was an English symphonic-rock supergroup that released a self-titled album on Polydor as a four-piece in 1978, followed by the album Danger Money under a revised trio lineup in 1979. The original quartet featured the established talents of bassist/vocalist John Wetton (Mogul Thrash, King Crimson, Uriah Heep), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Tempest, Soft Machine), keyboardist/violist […]
Metro was an English symphonic/art-pop combo that was active through two iterations between 1976 and 1980. In its initial trio formation with veteran singer/songwriter Duncan Browne, the band released a classic self-titled album in late 1976. After his departure, two further albums appeared circa 1979/80 from a revised five-piece lineup. Musically, Metro wed the quasi-symphonic […]
Yumi Matsutoya — 松任谷由実 (born Jan. 19, 1954) — is a Japanese art-pop singer/songwriter who released thirty albums between 1973 and 2004 on Express. Her first two albums appeared under her birth name Yumi Arai (荒井由実), after which she adopted the moniker Yuming (ユーミン). On most of her post-1976 output, she bears her married surname […]
T2 was an English hard-rock/psych trio from London that released the album It’ll All Work Out in Boomland on Decca in 1970. The band evolved out of Bulldog Breed, in which bassist Bernie Jinks played on the album Made In England prior to the arrival of guitarist Keith Cross and drummer/vocalist Pete Dunton. In 1972, […]
Secret Oyster was a Danish jazz-rock band that released four albums between 1973 and 1976 on CBS. Formed by alumni of Burnin Red Ivanhoe and Coronarias Dans, the group combined high-level composition with electric fusion instrumentation and toured extensively across Europe. Posthumous archival releases—Striptease and Mermaid—preserve their work for ballet and later live projects. Members: […]
Marlena Shaw (1939–2024) was an American soul singer who recorded two albums and assorted singles for Cadet during the late 1960s, culminating with the popular 1969 release The Spice of Life. Between 1972 and 1976, she released five albums on Blue Note, followed by three 1977–79 titles on Columbia. In the 1980s and ’90s, she […]
Robin Trower (born March 9, 1945) is an English rock/blues guitarist with a musical career that dates back to the early 1960s. He first rose to prominence as a member of Procol Harum, with whom he played from 1967 to 1971. He made his solo debut with the 1973 release Twice Removed from Yesterday and […]
Argent was an English art-rock band that released six studio albums and a live double-LP on Epic between 1970 and 1975, followed by a seventh on RCA. They were the namesake of ex-Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. On their first five albums, Argent was a four-piece with singer/guitarist Russ Ballard, who found success outside the band […]
Soda Stereo was an Argentine new wave trio that emerged with the 1984/85 albums Soda Stereo and Nada Personal, which spawned the national hits “Juego de seducción” and “Cuando pase el temblor.” Their 1986 third album Signos charted across Latin America with the hits “Persiana americana” and “Prófugos.” They linked with Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar for […]
Bill Withers (1938–2020) was an American soul singer/songwriter, best known for the 1971/72 AM evergreens “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean On Me” and the 1981 AC ballad “Just the Two of Us,” a duet with Grover Washington Jr. Background He was born William Harrison Withers, Jr. on July 4, 1938, in Slab Fork, West Virginia; […]
Le Orme are an Italian symphonic-rock band from Marghera, Veneto, formed in 1966. The band released a string of pop-psych singles during 1968 and 1969, culminating with a debut album on the Car Juke Box label. Between 1971 and 1980, the band released nine albums and a live disc on Philips, followed by an eleventh […]
Journey are an American rock band from San Francisco, formed around former Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie. They explored spacey hard-rock and jazz-fusion instrumentals on their first three Columbia albums, released between 1975 and 1977 before the arrival of Steve Perry. The Perry/Rolie lineup gained radio traction with the 1978–80 albums Infinity, Evolution, […]
Olivia Newton-John (Sept. 26, 1948 – Aug. 8, 2022) was an English-born Australian singer, actress, and entrepreneur whose multifaceted career spanned more than five decades. She began performing as a teenager in Melbourne and rose to international prominence in the early 1970s with a run of country-pop hits, including “If Not for You,” “Let Me […]
Billy Cobham (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian-American jazz-rock drummer who played in the bands Dreams, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Atmospheres during the early 1970s. Starting with his 1973 solo debut Spectrum, Cobham released eight albums on Atlantic and four on Columbia through 1979, including a live release in partnership with George Duke. He […]
INXS was an Australian rock band from Sydney that started in a new wave/post-punk vein with two albums on Deluxe/ATCO in 1980/81. Adopting a more streamlined approach, they scored an international hit with “The One Thing” from their 1982 release Shabooh Shoobah, their first of five albums on WEA/Mercury. In late 1985, INXS scored a […]
Pentangle was an English folk-rock band from London that released six albums between 1968 and 1972 on Transatlantic–Reprise. After a twelve-year absence, they reemerged with a trio of albums on Spindrift, Transmedia, and pläne during the second half of the 1980s. Pentangle formed in 1967 around guitarist/vocalist Bert Jansch, guitarist/vocalist John Renbourn, bassist/vocalist Danny Thompson, […]
