Stanley Clarke is an American jazz-funk bassist who gained prominence in the supergroup Return to Forever. Amid numerous backing credits, Clarke made his solo debut with the 1973 Polydor release Children of Forever. On Nemperor, he cut the 1974–79 albums Stanley Clarke, Journey to Love, School Days, Modern Man, and I Wanna Play for You. […]
Ozzy Osbourne (December 3, 1948 – July 22, 2025) was an English hard-rock/metal singer who gained international fame as the original frontman of Black Sabbath, which he co-founded in 1968. After recording eight studio albums with the band between 1970 and 1978, he left Sabbath in 1979 to launch a solo career. Between 1980 and […]
New Musik was an English synthpop band that released the 1980/81 albums From A to B and Anywhere on GTO/CBS, scoring hits with “Straight Lines,” “Living By Numbers,” “Sanctuary,” and “This World of Water.” After their 1982 release Warp, mastermind Tony Mansfield went into production. Early keyboardist Nick Straker left pre-record to front his own […]
Everything but the Girl was an English sophisti-pop duo formed in 1982 by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn in Kingston upon Hull. Both had prior solo careers on Cherry Red Records, with Watt releasing the single “Can’t” (1981) and the EP Summer Into Winter (1982), leading to his 1983 solo album North Marine Drive. Thorn, […]
Happy the Man is an American symphonic-rock band that released the 1977–78 Arista albums Happy the Man and Craft Hands, both comprised of lavish, intricate pieces (mostly instrumental). Their near-completed 1979 third album appeared posthumously in 1983 as 3rd – “Better Late…” Keyboardist Ken Watkins joined Camel for their 1979 album I Can See Your […]
Phyllis Hyman (July 6, 1949 — June 30, 1995) was an American soul singer who released two albums on Buddah in 1977 and 1978, four albums on Arista between 1979 and 1983, and a trio of titles on Philadelphia International Records between 1986 and 1995. Background She was born Phyllis Linda Hyman on July 6, […]
Lonnie Liston Smith is an American jazz-funk keyboardist, composer, arranger, and band-leader who has been musically active since the early 1960s. His early career included stints with Max Roach, Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Following an early ’70s gig with Gato Barbieri, Smith formed the Cosmic Echoes, a spiritual jazz-funk-soul ensemble […]
Mountain was an American hard-rock band from New York that grew from an album of the same name by guitarist Leslie West. As a proper band, they released four studio albums and two live sets between 1970 and 1974 on Windfall Records. They are best known for their performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival and […]
Heaven was an English brass-rock band that played the 1969 and 1970 Isle of Wight festivals. In 1971, they made the double-album Brass Rock 1, released on CBS in a lavish six-fold sleeve. It features the talents of trombonist David Horler (Michael Gibbs, Garuda, Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass, Kenny Wheeler Big Band) and […]
Steve Hackett is an English classical/rock guitarist with a career in music that dates back to 1970. He rose to prominence as a member of Genesis between 1971 and 1977, during which time he played on six of the band’s studio albums: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on […]
Goblin are an Italian symphonic and experimental rock group that evolved out of Cherry Five. They gained prominence in 1975 with their breakout score to Profondo Rosso, the first in a series of film collaborations with horror director Dario Argento. Between 1975 and 1983, they released three proper studio albums and scored more than ten […]
The Millennium was an American pop-psychedelic studio band assembled by Curt Boettcher. They released their sole album, Begin, in 1968 on Columbia Records. The group continued Boettcher’s harmony-driven orchestral pop approach established in his earlier projects The Ballroom and Sagittarius. Members: Curt Boettcher (producer, vocals, guitar), Ron Edgar (drums), Doug Rhodes (bass, harpsichord, piano), Michael […]
Kalima was an English jazz-pop ensemble that released one EP, three singles, and three albums between 1984 and 1990. The band comprised alumni from earlier Mancunian acts A Certain Ratio and Swamp Children. Members: Martin Moscrop (drums), Tony Quigley (bass, saxophone), Andrew Connell (piano, synthesizer, vibraphone), Jez Kerr (bass guitar), Ann Quigley (vocals), Cliff Saffer […]
Joan Armatrading is a Caribbean-British singer-songwriter who released fourteen albums between 1972 and 1992 on A&M. She scored a UK hit with “Love and Affection” from her 1976 self-titled third album, her first of seven Top 20 albums on the UK Albums chart. Her 1980 release Me Myself I marked the pinnacle of her global […]
The Average White Band are a Scottish soul–funk sextet that debuted with the 1973 MCA release Show Your Hand. Between 1974 and 1979, AWB released six studio albums and a live set on Atlantic, followed with 1980–82 titles on RCA. Stateside, they’re best known for the instrumental “Pick Up the Pieces,” a 1974 chart-topper from […]
Van Halen is an American hard-rock band from Pasadena that formed in 1972 and built its first six-album run with singer David Lee Roth between 1978 and 1984. The classic lineup paired guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Michael Anthony, and Roth across Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, […]
Popol Vuh was a German new age group led by Florian Fricke. They debuted as a trio with the 1971 Moog-based Affenstunde, followed by the Pilz titles In den Gärten Pharaos and Hosianna Mantra, which established their mix of wood instruments and nature sounds. Members: Florian Fricke (Moog synthesizer, organ, electric piano, piano, harpsichord, spinet, […]
Roland Kirk — aka Ronald Theodore Kirk (August 7, 1935 — December 5, 1977) — was an American multi-reedist and bandleader with a twenty-year jazz career. Kirk debuted as a bandleader in 1956 with Triple Threat and followed with Introducing Roland Kirk (1961). He recorded several albums on Mercury, including We Free Kings (1962), Domino […]
Charlie was an English rock band, formed in 1971. After five years on the live circuit, they signed with Polydor and released eight albums, starting with the 1976 release Fantasy Girls. They drew attention with the provocative models that graced the covers of their 1977–79 albums No Second Chance, Lines, and Fight Dirty. Musically, Charlie […]
Aardvark was an English post-psych organ rock band from the Midlands that released a self-titled album on Deram in 1970. Members: Stan Aldous (bass), Frank Clark (drums), Steve Milliner (Hammond, recorder, vibraphone), Dave Skillin (vocals) Background Aardvark had its roots in psych-rockers Rusty Sunday, which featured bassist Stan Aldous (ex-Odyssey) and teenage drummer Frank Clark. […]
The Third Avenue Blues Band (spelled numerically after their first single) was an American brass-rock/soul sextet that released three singles on MCA-subsidiary Revue in 1968/69, collected with other material on the 1970 album Fantastic. Members: Bob Beasley (saxophone), Hadley Hockensmith (guitar, bass), Harold Jones (vocals), Bill Maxwell (drums), Harlan Rogers (vocals, organ, piano), Mark Underwood […]
Killing Joke are an English rock band that released eight albums between 1980 and 1990. They emerged on the Southwest post-punk scene with the 1979 indie EP Turn to Red, followed by the EG albums Killing Joke, What’s THIS For…!, and Revelations. They made chart inroads with the 1983/84 singles “Let’s All Go (to the […]
4th Cekcion was an American brass-rock band from Bellaire, Texas, that released a self-titled album on local-press Solar Records in 1970. Members: Greg Isaacs (vocals, keyboards), Stewart Rojo (guitar), Mike St. Clair (bass), Louie Broussard (percussion), Richard Cantu (woodwinds), Gary Weldon (brass) Background 4th Cekcion formed in Bellaire when brass player Gary Weldon and reedist […]
Gun was an English psych-rock band from Redbridge that released two albums on CBS/Epic between 1968 and 1969. The guitar/bass/vocal team of brothers Paul and Adrian Gurvitz subsequently co-led the band Three Man Army and its followup The Baker Gurvitz Army during the early-to-mid 1970s. Members: Paul Curtis [Paul Gurvitz] (guitar, bass, vocals), Gearie Kenworthy […]
Styx are an American symphonic/hard-rock band from Chicago, rooted in the early Dennis DeYoung–Panozzo brothers partnership. The band released four albums on Wooden Nickel between 1972 and 1974, with Styx II later yielding the delayed breakout single “Lady.” After their move to A&M, Tommy Shaw joined the lineup for Crystal Ball. Styx then reached its […]
Gordon Lightfoot (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer/songwriter, best known for the songs “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Beautiful,” “Carefree Highway,” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” He released five studio albums between 1966 and 1970 on United Artists, followed by six-album runs on Reprise (1971–76) and […]
Rick Springfield (born Aug. 23, 1949) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actor with a musical career that dates back to the late 1960s. He rose to prominence in his home country as one-fourth of the beat/psych combo Zoot. In 1972, Springfield moved to the U.S. and launched a solo career with back-to-back albums on […]
Gillan was an English hard-rock/metal band that released a self-titled album in Japan and Australasia on Eastworld/Interfusion in 1978, followed by the more widely released Mr. Universe, which appeared in the U.K. on Acrobat Records in 1979. Between 1980 and 1982, Gillan released three albums and a half-studio/half-live double-LP on Virgin. The band was formed […]
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 — July 1, 2005) was an American soul singer, songwriter, and producer who emerged as a backing vocalist for Roberta Flack and David Bowie. He fronted the soul-funk combo Luther on two albums in 1976–77 on Cotillion. In 1979, he sang on a soundtrack album by the New York City […]
Kazumi Watanabe — 渡辺香津美 (born Oct. 14, 1953) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who cut his first album in 1971 at age 17. Between 1975 and 1996, he released albums biannually on Better Days, DOMO, and Gramavision. During the early 1980s, he led the namesake Kazumi Band for two albums. He also backed Ryuichi […]
Keith Jarrett is an American jazz pianist who debuted with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (1965) and made six albums with the Charles Lloyd Quartet (1966–67). In 1968, he released his first two solo albums (Life Between the Exit Signs, Restoration Ruin) on Vortex Records. In the Seventies, he recorded for Atlantic, Impulse!, and […]
Gladys Knight & the Pips was an American soul group from Atlanta, formed in 1952 and active until 1989. They cut ten singles between 1961 and 1965 on the Fury and Maxx labels and scored and early hit with “Every Beat of My Heart.” In 1966, they signed with Motown and made eight albums through […]
Rose Royce was an American soul-funk band produced by Norman Whitfield. They performed the double-album soundtrack to the 1976 comedy Car Wash, which spawned the Billboard hits “I’m Going Down,” “I Wanna Get Next to You,” and the No. 1 disco anthem “Car Wash.” Between 1977 and 1981, Rose Royce cut five albums on Whitfield […]
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band that cut four 1980/81 singles on Postcard Records, the Glasgow indie that launched Josef K and Aztec Camera. They signed with Polydor for their 1982 debut album You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever and scored a UK Top 10 hit with the title-track from their second album, Rip […]
News from Babel was an English avant-rock supergroup formed by Henry Cow veterans Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, and Dagmar Krause. They mixed cabaret and art pop on the 1984–86 Rē albums Work Resumed on the Tower and Letters Home, the latter with Robert Wyatt. Members: Chris Cutler (drums, electronics, percussion, marimba), Dagmar Krause (vocals), Zeena Parkins […]
Minako Yoshida — 吉田美奈子 (April 7, 1953) — is a Japanese singer/songwriter who debuted with an album on Showboat in 1973, followed by a four-album run on RCA that culminated with the 1977 release Twilight Zone. Between 1978 and 1983, she released four albums and a live disc on Alfa. Background Yoshida grew up in […]
Sister Sledge was an American soul group from Philadelphia comprised of sisters Debbie, Kim, Joni, and Kathy Sledge. They cut three 1973–74 singles on ATCO, which issued their 1975 debut album Circle of Love. On Cotillion, they cut six albums between 1977 and 1983, including their 1979 Chic-backed mega-seller We Are Family. Members: Debbie Sledge […]
Synergy is the recording/performance moniker of American electronic musician Larry Fast (born December 10, 1951), who released seven albums between 1975 and 1982 on Passport Records. Fast pioneered structured, orchestral synthesizer compositions that blended sequenced rhythms with layered textures. His 1975 debut Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra introduced the Synergy sound, followed by Sequencer, Cords, […]
Frankie Goes to Hollywood was an English musical extravaganza formed by noted figures on the Liverpool new wave scene. They linked with producer Trevor Horn for their monumental double-album Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Bolstered with tie-in merchandise and provocative videos for the socio-political production anthems “Two Tribes,” “Relax,” and the album’s title-track, the band and […]
Ahora Mazda was a Dutch ethno/psych band that released a self-titled album on Catfish in 1970. Members: Peter Abbink (guitar, vocals, piano, trumpet, organ, bass), Rob van Wageningen (flute, saxophone, vocals, percussion, kalimba), Tony Schreuder (bass, percussion), Winky Abbink (drums, 1969-71), Paul van Wageningen (drums, percussion, 1971) Background Ahora Mazda evolved from the Free Art […]
Maneige was a Québécois chamber|jazz-rock band that released the 1975 Harvest albums Maneige and Les Porches, followed by the 1977–79 Polydor titles Ni vent… Ni nouvelle, Libre service – Self Service, and the live Composite. Two early Eighties albums, Montréal 6 A.M. and Images, appeared on Intérim and Saisons. Members: Alain Bergeron (flute, saxophone, piano), […]
Gato Barbieri (Nov. 28, 1934 — April 2, 2016) was an Argentinian tenor saxophonist with a musical career that spanned more than 60 years. He began as a side-player for Lalo Schifrin during the late 1950s. The following decade, he notched credits alongside Don Cherry, Gary Burton, and Alan Shorter. In 1967, Barbieri released his first […]
The Bar-Kays were an American soul-funk band from Memphis that released the album Soul Finger on Volt in 1967. Following a plane crash that claimed four of the original six members, survivors Ben Cauley and James Alexander formed a second lineup of the band. The reformed Bar-Kays released four albums on Volt, starting with Gotta […]
Ramsey Lewis (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American pianist, composer, and bandleader from Chicago. He entered recording with bassist Eldee Young and drummer Redd Holt, reached the pop and R&B charts with “The ‘In’ Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy,” and “Wade in the Water,” and later led electric-keyboard, orchestral, and large-ensemble projects […]
Alphonse Mouzon (Nov. 21, 1948 — Dec. 25, 2016) was an American jazz-rock drummer who started his career with credits on albums by Roy Ayers, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Eugene McDaniels, Bobbi Humphrey, Les McCann, Norman Connors, Doug Carn, and Teruo Nakamura. In 1971, he co-founded the jazz-funk supergroup Weather Report and played on their […]
Shuggie Otis is an American R&B musician, songwriter, and producer who released three albums between 1970 and 1974 on Epic. His 1971 album Freedom Flight contains the original “Strawberry Letter 23,” a later hit for the Brothers Johnson. His work enjoyed a 21st century resurgence following the reissue of his third album, Inspiration Information, noted […]
Modrý Efekt was a Czech rock band, formed in 1968 as Blue Effect. They charted early with “Slunečný Hrob,” followed by the 1970 album Meditace on Supraphon. After that year’s Coniunctio (a collaboration with Jazz Q) they reverted to the Czech spelling of their name for 1971’s Nová Syntéza. Between 1974 and 1981, they released […]
Lucio Dalla (March 4, 1943 — March 1, 2012) was an Italian singer/songwriter with a career that spanned five decades. During the second half of the 1960s, he released multiple singles and the album 1999 (1966) on ARC. Between 1970 and 1990, he released more than fifteen albums on RCA Italiana. Background Lucio Dalla was […]
Cluster was a German electronic/experimental combo from Berlin, formed in 1969 as a trio. After two albums under the name Kluster, founder Conrad Schnitzler launched a solo career. Drummer/keyboardist Moebius and cellist/keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius continued as Cluster. They made two albums on Philips and the 1974 Brain release Zuckerzeit, followed by two albums as Harmonia […]
Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian samba-jazz vocalist who debuted with an album on RCA in 1964. She is the wife of percussionist–vocalist Airto Moreira. In 1972, the couple appeared on Chick Corea‘s album Return to Forever and stayed for the ensuing namesake band‘s Light as a Feather, recorded that same year. […]
Gas Mask was an American brass-rock band from N.Y.C. that released one album, Their First Album, on Tonsil Records in 1970. Members: Bill Davidson (lead guitar), Richard Grando (winds), David Gross (saxophone), Nick Oliva (keyboards), Bobby Osborne (vocals), Enrico Rava (trumpet), James Strassburg (drums), Ray Brooks (bass, ?-1970), Lynn Welshman (trombone, 1970-?), Michael Moore (bass, […]
Status Quo was an English hard-rock/boogie band from London that initially cut three beat singles as The Spectres circa 1966/67, followed by a fourth as The Traffic Jam in 1967. After settling on the name Status Quo, the band released four albums on Pye between 1968 and 1971, followed by 16 further studio albums on […]
Jimmy Webb is an American singer, composer, producer, and arranger who emerged as a writer of late-Sixties hits for the 5th Dimension (“Up, Up and Away”), Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston”), and Richard Harris (“MacArthur Park”). Webb commenced his solo career with the 1970 Reprise release Words and Music, followed by And So: On, Letters, […]
Bette Midler (born Dec. 1, 1945) is an American singer and actress from Honolulu who rose to prominence on New York’s cabaret scene during the early 1970s. After starring in several Broadway productions (Salvation, Fiddler On the Roof, Tommy), she launched her singing career at the Continental Baths. Between 1972 and 1995, she released 10 […]
Gerry Rafferty (1947–2011) was a Scottish musician and songwriter who emerged in The Humblebums, a folk duo with future comedian Billy Connolly. The pair released two 1969–70 albums, which presaged Rafferty’s 1971 solo debut Can I Have My Money Back? In 1972, Rafferty teamed with longtime friend Joe Egan in the art-pop/folk combo Stealers Wheel, […]
Horslips was an Irish Celt-rock/folk band that released four albums on self-press Oats between 1972 and 1975. They renamed the label Horslips Records for five additional albums and two live discs up through 1980. Outside Ireland, their 1973 concept album The Táin appeared on MCA and their 1976–77 albums The Book of Invasions and Aliens […]
Univers Zéro is a Belgian chamber-rock/Zeuhl ensemble that debuted with a 1977 self-titled Atem release (later retitled 1313), followed by the 1979–84 discs Hérésie, Ceux du Dehors, and Uzed. Musically, they evolved from an acoustic neo-classical sound to the hi-tech avant-rock style of their 1986 Cuneiform release Heatwave. Bandleader Daniel Denis released two Nineties solo […]
Yma Sumac (September 13, 1922 – November 1, 2008) was a Peruvian vocalist and performer who was popular with international audiences during the 1950s. Distinguished by her outlandish getups and expressionistic five-octave range, she recorded a string of albums in the mambo/exotica vein, most notably the Les Baxter-conducted Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952) and […]
Bruford was an English jazz-rock supergroup that released four albums on Polydor/EG between 1978 and 1980. The band was headed by ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford and featured former Tempest/Soft Machine guitarist Allan Holdsworth and one-time Egg/Hatfield keyboardist Dave Stewart. The supergroup’s first album, Feels Good to Me, was recorded amid Bruford and Holdsworth’s involvement in […]
Blossom Toes were an English psych-rock band that released the 1967–69 albums We Are Ever So Clean and If Only for a Moment on Marmalade. During the band’s three-year existence, their music evolved from toy-town whimsy (The Move, The Idle Race) to gruff hard rock. Guitarist Jim Cregan departed soon after their second album. He […]
Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 — Oct. 27, 2013) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter from Brooklyn who emerged as the Velvet Underground frontman. He charted with “Walk On the Wild Side” from his 1972 album Transformer, a rock/burlesque set followed with Berlin, a concept album steeped in Wiemar cabaret. He released eleven further […]
The Rascals were an American pop-rock band that released seven albums between 1966 and 1971 on Atlantic. On their first three albums, they’re billed as The Young Rascals. They are best known for the AM radio evergreens “How Can I Be Sure?,” “A Beautiful Morning,” “A Girl Like You,” and the 1966–68 Billboard No. 1’s […]
The Pogues were an English post-punk Celtic folk-rock band that released the 1984–85 albums Red Roses for Me and Rum Sodomy & the Lash on Stiff Records. In 1987, they scored a UK–Irish hit with “The Irish Rover” and teamed with singer Kirsty MacColl on the international hit “Fairytale of New York.” Their 1988 third album […]
Angela Bofill (May 2, 1954 – June 13, 2024) was an American soul singer/songwriter who released seven albums between 1978 and 1985 on Arista. She landed early hits with “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “What I Wouldn’t Do (For the Love of You),” and “Something About You.” Her career peaked in 1983 with the R&B […]
Nick Drake (June 19, 1948 — Nov. 25, 1974) was an English singer–songwriter and guitarist who released three albums on Island between 1969 and 1972: Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon. In 1974, he completed four songs for a proposed album before his death that year from a prescription-med overdose. The songs appeared […]
Oregon are an American ethno-jazz band from Eugene, Ore., formed in 1970. The original lineup—guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, oboist/reedist Paul McCandless, bassist Glen Moore, and percussionist Collin Walcott—emerged from the Paul Winter Consort and developed a distinctive chamber-jazz style blending classical, Indian, and folk influences. They debuted with Music of Another Present Era (1972) and recorded […]
Fox was an English dream-pop band that released three albums on GTO between 1975 and 1977. After the departure of vocalist Noosha Fox, the band morphed into Yellow Dog for two further albums on Virgin during the late 1970s. Members: Noosha Fox (vocals), Herbie Armstrong (guitar, vocals), Kenny Young (guitar, percussion, vocals), Pete Solley (keyboards), […]
Sharks were an English hard-rock band that released the 1973–74 Island albums First Water and Jab It in Yore Eye. Guitarist Chris Spedding formed the band with ex-Free bassist Andy Fraser, who went solo after the first album. Singer Steve Parsons later joined Baker Gurvitz Army and recorded under the moniker Snips. Members: Andy Fraser […]
Wizzard was an English rock band, formed in 1972 by onetime Move and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Roy Wood. They released four singles on Harvest, culminating with the 1973 album Wizzard Brew. Three singles on Warner surrounded the 1974 retro-rock concept album Introducing Eddy & The Falcons. On the ELO-vine imprint Jet, Wizzard issued a […]
Contraction was a Québécois symphonic/jazz/folk band that released a self-titled album on Columbia in 1972, followed by La Bourse ou la Vie on Deram in 1974. Members: Robert Lachapelle (piano, organ, synthesizer), Yves Laferrière (bass), Richard Perrotte (drums, 1973-76), Christiane Robichaud (vocals), Robert Stanley (guitar), Christian St-Roch (drums, 1971-73) Backing Band Contraction spawned from the […]
Easy Street was an English pop-rock trio that issued two albums on Polydor/Capricorn: Easy Street (1976) and Under the Glass (1977). They evolved from a musical partnership between singing guitarists Ken Nicol and Peter Marsh, who bookended Easy Street with two albums as a duo. Marsh surfaced in the synthpop band Blanket of Secrecy. Drummer […]
Narada Michael Walden is an American jazz-funk/soul musician and producer who drummed in the second lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which made the 1974/75 albums Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond. In 1976, he played on jazz-rock albums by Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, and Nova. As a solo artist, Walden […]
Rupert Holmes (born Feb. 24, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, playwright, and screenwriter with a career in entertainment that dates to the late 1960s. Starting as a hit-writer for The Cuff Links and The Buoys, he emerged as a recording artist with a string of production-pop albums during the second half of […]
Shadowfax was an American jazz band from Chicago that first appeared with the 1976 Passport Records jazz-rock release Watercourse Way. After six quiet years, they reemerged as a new age act on Windham Hill Records. Members: Chuck Greenberg (Lyricon, saxophone, flute, oboe, recorder, 1972-95), Phil Maggini (bass, 1972-95), Stuart Nevitt (drums, tabla, percussion, 1972-95), Greg […]
The Manhattan Transfer are an American vocal group from N.Y.C., formed in 1969 by swing enthusiast Tim Hauser. The original lineup, a five-piece with songwriter Gene Pistilli, issued one album of retro jazz and pop on Capitol in 1971. Hauser then recruited singers Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé, establishing the two man/two woman […]
Nucleus was an English jazz-rock ensemble formed in 1969 by trumpeter Ian Carr, who spent much of the 1960s co-leading the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. With a fluid lineup of top-tier session and jazz players, Nucleus debuted on Vertigo with Elastic Rock, a benchmark in British jazz fusion. Between 1970 and 1975, Nucleus released eight […]
Sylvia Robinson (May 29, 1935 — September 29, 2011) was an American singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur from New York who first recorded in the early 1950s as Little Sylvia. Between 1955 and 1958, she cut eleven singles as half of the R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia, which scored a 1956 crossover hit with “Love […]
Pulsar was a French space-rock band that released the albums Pollen (1975) and The Strands of the Future (1976) on Kingdom Records, followed by the 1977 CBS release Halloween. Adopting a minimal-wave sound, they issued the 1981 album Bienvenue au conseil d’administration! on self-press Compagnie du Théâtre de la Satire. Members: Jacques Roman (keyboards, Hammond […]
Mott the Hoople was an English hard-rock band that released four albums between 1969 and 1971 on Island Records, followed by three albums and a live disc between 1972 and 1974 on CBS. After the departure of frontman Ian Hunter, they released two 1975–76 albums as Mott. They reached the UK Top 10 with “All […]
Nik Kershaw (born March 1, 1958) is an English musician, vocalist, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the mid-1980s with a run of UK chart hits and critically regarded synth-pop albums. Kershaw released Human Racing and The Riddle on MCA in 1984, both of which went platinum in the UK and produced singles such […]
Jon Anderson (born Oct. 25, 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Accrington, Lancashire, who rose to fame as the frontman of Yes, appearing on all but one of the band’s 17 proper studio albums between 1969 and 2001. During a break in the band’s activities in 1976, he self-recorded his debut solo […]
