The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool that released twelve albums between 1963 and 1970. They had seventeen No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart and twenty No. 1’s on the US Billboard Hot 100. With global estimated sales of 600 million units, they are the biggest-selling musical act of all time. […]
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 by guitarist Brian Jones with singer Mick Jagger and rhythm guitarist Keith Richards. They emerged in London’s R&B–beat boom with bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts. In November 1963, they scored their first UK hit with The Beatles cover “I Wanna Be Your […]
Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 — September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter with a recording career that spanned nearly five decades. In the late 1940s, Davis collaborated with Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan on the nonet sessions that became the Birth of the Cool LP (1957). He later formed his first great quintet […]
David Bowie (January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor with a career in music and the performing arts that spanned more than fifty years. He played in a sequence of mid-Sixties beat groups and released two self-titled albums, charting first with the 1969 opus “Space Oddity.” Between […]
Genesis was an English rock band that released fifteen studio albums between 1969 and 1997. They formed as a baroque-psych quintet at Charterhouse school and cut their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation, under the guidance of producer Jonathan King. The original lineup featured singer Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, guitarist Anthony Phillips, and bassist […]
Stevie Wonder is an American R&B musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who began recording for Tamla/Motown in 1962 at age 12. He catapulted to fame with “Fingerprints Pt 2,” an exuberant chant followed by an upbeat run of mid-Sixties hits: “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” “I Was Made to Love Her,” “For Once In My Life,” and […]
Sly & The Family Stone were an American soul-funk band that released eight albums between 1967 and 1976 on Epic and charted with the generational anthems “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” “Hot Fun In the Summertime,” and “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin.” Sly Stone’s polyrhythmic soul-psych arrangements sparked innovations in jazz-funk. After […]
King Crimson are an English rock band, active at multiple intervals since 1969. The original lineup of guitarist Robert Fripp, bassist–singer Greg Lake, reedist–keyboardist Ian McDonald, and drummer Michael Giles made one album, In the Court of the Crimson King, the catalyst for symphonic-rock. When Lake departed for Emerson Lake & Palmer and McDonald and […]
James Brown (May 3, 1933 — December 25, 2006) was an American soul singer who was active as a performer and recording artist for more than five decades, issuing his first singles on King Records-subsidiary Federal in 1956. For the ensuing twelve years, he was backed by the Georgian R&B instrumental group The Famous Flames. […]
Sparks is the musical partnership of American keyboardist–songwriter Ron Mael and his vocalist brother Russell Mael. They first recorded as Halfnelson, a quintet with drummer Harley Feinstein and another set of brothers, guitarist Earle Mankey and guitarist–bassist Jim Mankey. They signed to Bearsville for the 1971 release Halfnelson, produced by Todd Rundgren. Soon after, they […]
Electric Light Orchestra is an English rock band that released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986. Conceived by multi-instrumentalists Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, ELO started as an avant-garde spinoff of The Move with drummer Bev Bevan. After one album of psychedelic baroque rock, Wood departed for Wizzard, leaving Lynne to head a septet […]
The Jackson 5 was an American soul-pop group composed of brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson. They formed in 1964, aged between 6 and 13. After multiple talent wins and a local single, they signed to Motown in 1969 and cut ten albums through 1975. Their hits include “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” […]
Renaissance are an English rock band that released eleven studio albums between 1969 and 1983. The original concept behind the name — a fusion of multi-century folksiness and ivory-laden classicism — was expanded and modernized over the years, culminating with the neon-powered, precision-fueled trio lineup of the early 1980s. They formed from the ashes of […]
Chicago are an American band formed in 1967; noted as one of the first rock acts with an integrated three-piece brass section. Between 1969 and 1980, they released twelve studio albums on Columbia, followed by five albums on Warner. For eleven years, they maintained the same seven members: keyboardist–singer Robert Lamm, guitarist–singer Terry Kath, bassist–singer […]
The Who are an English rock band that released ten studio albums between 1965 and 1982, including the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. They started during the early sixties beat boom when singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist–songwriter Pete Townshend, and bassist John Entwistle evolved from West London hopefuls The Detours. In 1964, drummer Keith Moon joined […]
Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 — December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, producer, and bandleader with a career that spanned three decades. He emerged as the frontman of the Mothers of Invention, an LA-based avant-garde rock band that combined pop parody with psychedelia and free jazz on the 1966–69 albums Freak Out!, Absolutely […]
Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 — April 1, 1984) was an American R&B vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Washington, D.C., who was musically active for a quarter-century, achieving worldwide renown as one of Tamla/Motown’s leading performers. Gaye rose to fame with a string of duets, first with Kim Weston and then with Tammi Terrell, his […]
Gentle Giant was an English art-rock band that released eleven studio albums between 1970 and 1980. Their original lineup featured multi-instrumentalist brothers Phil, Derek, and Ray Shulman, plus guitarist Gary Green and composer–keyboardist Kerry Minnear. Derek, Phil, and Kerry traded lead vocals. In 1972, John Weathers joined as their permanent drummer. After the fourth album, […]
Herbie Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz and funk keyboardist active since the late 1950s. His 1962 Blue Note debut, Takin’ Off, includes his signature piece, “Watermelon Man.” In 1963, he joined Miles Davis‘s Second Great Quintet with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Hancock’s profile rose with the 1964/65 albums Empyrean Isles […]
The Miracles were an American soul group from Detroit, best known for the Motown hits “Shop Around,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Going to a Go-Go,” “I Second That Emotion,” “Tracks of My Tears,” “Ooh Baby Baby,” and “Tears of a Clown.” During their 1960s heyday, Tamla billed them as Smokey Robinson & […]
Fleetwood Mac are an English–American rock band formed in 1967 by drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Peter Green. The first-recorded lineup stabilized with guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassist John McVie. Green created the band’s name by combining the surnames of Mick (Fleetwood) and John (Mac). This lineup cut three singles and the 1968 albums Peter […]
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who made the 1967–68 Track/Reprise albums Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland with his London-based power trio The Experience. Months after his 1970 live release Band of Gypsys, Hendrix died at age 27. Lauded in his lifetime as a […]
Weather Report was a multinational jazz-funk/fusion ensemble that released fourteen studio albums between 1971 and 1986 on Columbia. Throughout its existence, the band was co-led by American saxophonist Wayne Shorter and Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Numerous rhythm players did stints with the band during its fifteen-year history, most notably drummers Alphonse Mouzon and Narada Michael […]
The Doors were an American rock band that released six studio albums between 1967 and 1971 on Elektra. They formed when keyboardist Ray Manzarek invited poet Jim Morrison to front his band with guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. The Doors emerged as the houseband at the Los Angeles hotspot Whisky A Go Go […]
Deep Purple are an English hard-rock band formed in 1967. They emerged at the height of psychedelia and played a key role in the development of heavy metal during the early 1970s. Their most well-known songs include “Hush,” “Smoke On the Water,” and “Woman from Tokyo.” The first Deep Purple lineup released the 1968 albums […]
Aretha Franklin (March 25, 1942 — August 16, 2018) was an American soul singer from Memphis. She began performing gospel in her father’s Detroit church before signing with Columbia Records in 1960. During her Columbia tenure, Franklin recorded jazz, pop, and R&B albums, including Aretha (1961) and The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962). Singles such as […]
Supertramp was an English rock band that released nine studio albums and a live double-LP on A&M between 1970 and 1987. Their radio evergreens include “School,” “Give a Little Bit,” “The Logical Song,” “Goodbye Stranger,” and “Take the Long Way Home.” Their sound ranges from rock, folk, and R&B to cabaret and orchestral pop. They […]
The Kinks were an English rock band that released twenty-four studio albums between 1964 and 1993. Singer–guitarist and songwriter Ray Davies formed the band with his guitarist–singer brother Dave Davies. The original lineup featured bassist Pete Quaife and drummer Mick Avory. They burst on the scene with the twin hits “You Really Got Me” and […]
The Moody Blues were an English rock band active from 1964 to 2018. The original lineup included singer–guitarist Denny Laine and three mainstays: keyboardist Mike Pinder, flutist–harpist Ray Thomas, and drummer Graeme Edge. Their second single, “Go Now!” (UK No. 1), made them part of the British Invasion. After the 1965 album The Magnificent Moodies […]
Pink Floyd was an English rock band that released twelve studio albums and two soundtracks between 1967 and 1994. They emerged in the psychedelic era with the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a showcase for the writing, singing, and guitar talents of original frontman Syd Barrett. His replacement, David Gilmour, headed the […]
Thin Lizzy was an Irish rock band that released twelve studio albums between 1971 and 1983. They started as a power trio fronted by bassist–singer Phil Lynott with guitarist Eric Bell and drummer Brian Downey, the one other constant member. This lineup released the 1971–73 albums Thin Lizzy, Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and Vagabonds […]
Ike & Tina Turner were the R&B/soul-rock duo of American guitarist/bandleader Ike Turner and his then-wife, singer Tina Turner. They came together in the late 1950s when Ike hired Tina as a backing vocalist for his band, the Kings of Rhythm. She first sang lead on the 1960 Sue Records single “A Fool In Love,” […]
Led Zeppelin was an English rock band, formed in 1968 and active till 1980. Guitarist Jimmy Page formed the band from the ashes of the Yardbirds. They emerged as standard bearers for a new generation of hard-rock performers, fronting a movement that soon included Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Nazareth, and Budgie. Across the […]
The Supremes were an American soul-pop trio from Detroit, formed in 1961. Their classic lineup featured singers Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and frontwoman Diana Ross, who all grew up on the city’s east side. Signed to Motown, The Supremes were part of that label’s classic roster of chart-topping sixties artists, along with the Four Tops, […]
Yes are an English rock band that released twenty-one studio albums between 1969 and 2014. Formed in London in 1968, their original lineup contained guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, drummer Bill Bruford, and two constant members: bassist Chris Squire and singer Jon Anderson. Their early showpieces include “Looking Around,” “Survival,” “The Prophet,” and “Astral […]
Jethro Tull are an English rock band that released twenty studio albums between 1968 and 1999. They are best known for the classic rock evergreens “Aqualung,” “Bourée,” “Bungle In the Jungle,” “Living In the Past,” and “Locomotive Breath.” Their style encompasses blues, folk, hard rock, electronic and orchestral music. Singer Ian Anderson distinguished himself among […]
Elton John (born March 25, 1947) is an English vocalist, pianist, songwriter, and philanthropist with a career stretching back to the mid-1960s. He achieved global stardom with his self-titled second album in 1970. Since that time, he has recorded more than 30 albums and scored numerous hits that have gained evergreen status around the world. […]
Van der Graaf Generator are an English rock band, formed at Manchester University in 1967 by singer–songwriter Peter Hammill. On their 1969 debut album, The Aerosol Grey Machine, they crossed psychedelia with darker, haunted sounds, which they codeified on the 1970 albums The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other and H to […]
Return to Forever was an American jazz-rock supergroup that evolved from a namesake 1972 solo album by bandleader Chick Corea. Members: Chick Corea (keyboards), Stanley Clarke (bass), Joe Farrell (reeds, 1971-73, 1977), Airto Moreira (percussion, 1971-73), Flora Purim (vocals, 1971-73), Bill Connors (guitar, 1973-74), Steve Gadd (drums, 1973), Mingo Lewis (percussion, 1973), Lenny White (drums, […]
Daryl Hall and John Oates — commonly known as Hall & Oates — were an American musical duo, active from the early 1970s to the 2000s. They first recorded as a singer/songwriter duo but soon embraced maximalist art-rock and lavish blue-eyed soul. Applying their signature vocal trade-offs to a range of musical styles, Hall & […]
Santana are an American Latin-rock jam band from San Francisco, formed in 1966 by guitarist Carlos Santana. Their self-titled debut, released after a breakout appearance at Woodstock, fused sustained electric solos with syncopated hand percussion and thick organ layers by Gregg Rolie. Abraxas (1970) added expanded textures, drawing from Afro-Cuban rhythms and modal frameworks. The […]
Todd Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and producer, originally from Philadelphia. He first emerged in psych-rockers the Nazz, which released two proper albums in 1968–69. He initially recorded solo under the band moniker Runt, issuing the 1970/71 Bearsville albums Runt and The Ballad of Todd Rundgren. Under his […]
Henry Cow was an English avant-garde rock and free-jazz band that released four studio albums between 1973 and 1975 on Virgin: Legend, Unrest, Desperate Straights, and In Praise of Learning, the last two in partnership with the cabaret-pop trio Slapp Happy. In 1978, Henry Cow recorded the albums Western Culture and Hopes and Fears — […]
McCoy Tyner (1938–2020) was an American jazz pianist, active for six decades. He earned his earliest credits on 1960 albums by Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Farmer’s Jazztet. During his four-year stint with John Coltrane (1961–65), he cut six titles for Impulse! In 1967, he made his Blue Note debut with The Real McCoy. […]
The Bee Gees were a pop trio comprised of three English-born/Aussie-raised brothers — Barry (born 1946) and twins Robin and Maurice Gibb (born 1949). They were active as a recording unit from 1963 to 2001. Performing together since childhood, the brothers first recorded for the Australian market during the mid-1960s. Returning to their nation of […]
Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer–songwriter who released nineteen studio albums between 1968 and 2007. She emerged with the Sixties North American folk revival that included singers Tom Rush, Judy Collins, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, who recorded Joni’s songs in advance of her debut album, Song to a Seagull. Her 1969–70 albums Clouds and Ladies of […]
Black Sabbath was an English hard-rock and heavy-metal band from Birmingham that formed in 1968. Their original lineup—guitarist Tony Iommi, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward—defined the band’s early sound, releasing eight studio albums between 1970 and 1978, including Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality. Signature tracks such as “Iron […]
Curved Air are an English symphonic-psych band that released four albums on Warner Bros. between 1970 and 1973, followed by two mid-decade albums on RCA Victor. They formed around the creative core of violinist Darryl Way, guitarist–keyboardist Francis Monkman, and alto vocalist Sonja Kristina. With a fluctuating rhythm section, Curved Air released the 1970–72 albums […]
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a multinational jazz-rock ensemble headed by English guitarist John McLaughlin, who led two lineups during their original six-album run. The first incarnation was a five-piece band with Czech keyboardist Jan Hammer, Irish bassist Rick Laird, and two Americans: violinist Jerry Goodman and drummer Billy Cobham. They released the 1971–73 Columbia albums […]
Procol Harum was an English symphonic-rock band that released nine studio albums between 1967 and 1977. Functioning for most of its existence as a quintet with a non-performing lyricist, the band played a pivotal role in rock’s maximalist trajectory by recording the world’s first side-long multi-movement suite, “In Held ‘Twas in I,” in 1968. Members: […]
Soft Machine was an English jazz-rock band that was active between the late 1960s and early 1980s. They were among the first rock acts to make use of asymmetric and compound meters. Due to numerous lineup changes, the first and final Soft Machine albums feature none of the same members. Nonetheless, the nameplate was passed […]
Traffic was an English rock band fronted by singer–keyboardist Steve Winwood. They appeared with the 1967 psychedelic album Mr. Fantasy and the hits “Paper Sun,” “Hole In My Shoe,” and “Coloured Rain.” Songwriter Dave Mason, an on-off early member, contributed four songs to their 1968 second album Traffic, including the much-covered “Feeling Alright?” In 1969, […]
The Move was an English rock band from Birmingham that achieved UK fame with the 1967–68 pop-psych singles “Night of Fear,” “I Can Hear the Grass Grow,” “Flowers In the Rain,” and “Fire Brigade,” all written by guitarist Roy Wood. After their long-awaited album Move, they charted with the non-album 1968–69 singles “Blackberry Way,” “Wild […]
George Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American jazz-funk keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer, active from the mid-1960s through the early 2010s. During the 1970s and ’80s, he released 21 studio albums. Duke began his career as a Bay Area post-bop bandleader. After a stint with Jean-Luc Ponty, he embraced jazz-rock […]
Uriah Heep are an English hard-rock band that released twenty-five albums between 1970 and 2023. They emerged in London’s post-psych boom with the 1970–71 Vertigo albums …Very ‘eavy…Very ‘umble and Salisbury, followed by thirteen studio albums through 1983 on Bronze Records. Guitarist mainstay Mick Box formed Uriah Heep in 1969 with singer David Byron and […]
The Temptations were an American soul group from Detroit, formed in 1961. They first charted in 1964 with “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” sung by tenor Eddie Kendricks. With baritone David Ruffin at the fore, they hit number-one with the evergreen ballad “My Girl,” co-written and produced by Smokey Robinson, who also […]
Billy Joel is an American pianist, singer, and songwriter from the Bronx who released the album Cold Spring Harbor on Family Productions Inc. in 1971, followed by eleven studio albums on Columbia between 1973 and 1993. Prior to his solo career, he recorded two albums with psych-rockers The Hassles, which splintered into the 1970 hard-rock […]
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco that rose to fame during the countercultural explosion of the late 1960s. Formed in 1965 by singer Marty Balin and guitarist Paul Kantner, the group solidified its classic lineup with the arrival of vocalist Grace Slick and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, debuting nationally with Jefferson Airplane […]
The Groundhogs were an English blues and rock band that made four albums on Liberty, including the popular 1970/71 titles Thank Christ for the Bomb and Split. On United Artists, they made the experimental 1972 albums Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs and Hogwash. After their 1974 effort Solid on the short-lived WWA […]
Billy Preston (1946–2006) was an American R&B singer and keyboardist who released 24 albums between 1963 and 1986. After multiple teen-prodigy soul-jazz albums, his profile soared as a fifth Beatle on their 1969 hit “Get Back.” His fame peaked with the 1972–74 R&B crossover hits “Outa-Space,” “Will It Go Round in Circles,” “Space Race,” and […]
Otis Redding (Sept. 9, 1941 — Dec. 10, 1967) was an American soul singer who issued a string of singles on Stax-subsidiary Volt between 1962 and 1965, including “These Arms of Mine” and the original “Respect” (later made famous by Aretha Franklin). Over the ensuing two-year period, he recorded multiple albums for the label, charting […]
Gong was a French–Anglo musical collective that existed through numerous iterations over a four-decade period, starting in 1969. During the first half of the 1970s, the band operated as a space-rock performance act under the leadership of Australian-born guitarist–vocalist Daevid Allen. Later in the decade, Gong steered toward jazz-rock with drummer–percussionist Pierre Moerlen affixed to […]
Spooky Tooth was an English rock band that was active for two separate periods during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band released four albums on Island between 1968 and 1970 before their initial breakup. A reformed lineup of the band released three further albums during 1973 and 1974. Due to numerous changes in […]
Kraftwerk are a German electronic group formed in Düsseldorf by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, who steered the band from avant-garde krautrock to streamlined machine music. Their early albums (Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf & Florian) fused analog electronics with flute, violin, and organ in longform instrumental passages. With Autobahn (1974), Kraftwerk embraced motorik rhythm and […]
Rare Bird was an English organ-rock quartet that released two albums on Charisma in 1969 and 1970, followed by three further titles on Polydor between 1972 and 1974. They are best known for the songs “Beautiful Scarlet,” “Sympathy,” the side-long suite “Flight,” and their 1972 maxi-album Epic Forest. Along with contemporaries ELP, Atomic Rooster, Quatermass, […]
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band was an English symphonic/art-rock band that released a pair of albums on Philips in 1972, followed by nine studio albums on Bronze between 1973 and 1983, plus a further pair of titles on Virgin/10 Records in the late 1980s. They are best known for the 1973 UK hit “Joybringer” (from Solar […]
Isaac Hayes (Aug. 20, 1942 – Aug. 10, 2008) was an American R&B musician, singer, composer, producer, and actor with a 50-year career in entertainment. The lavish orchestration and elongated arrangements of his 1969 second album, Hot Buttered Soul, spearheaded the transformation of soul music into a maximalist form. Background Isaac Hayes was born Isaac […]
Caravan are an English rock band from Canterbury that released ten studio albums between 1968 and 1982. They debuted with Caravan, a jam-oriented psych release on the American jazz label Verve. On Decca/Deram, Caravan released five studio albums, including In the Land of Grey and Pink and For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night. […]
Mike Oldfield is an English composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist with a career in music dating back to the late 1960s. Musically, his output is comprised of lengthy (often side-length or album-length) instrumental works with the occasional vocal track. Stylistically, his music has evolved from the classical/Celt-tinged angle of his early recordings to the broadened, modernized […]
Hawkwind are an English space-rock band, originally led by guitarist Dave Brock and reedist Nik Turner. They released six albums on United Artists, including the popular 1971–75 titles In Search of Space, Doremi Fasol Latido, Hall of the Mountain Grill, Warrior on the Edge of Time, and the singles “Silver Machine” and “Urban Guerrilla.” Their […]
Man was a Welsh jam-rock band that released twelve albums between 1969 and 1977. On Pye, they made the 1969 psych-rock albums Revelation and 2 Ozs of Plastic With a Hole in the Middle. A revised lineup signed to United Artists for the 1971 albums Man and Do You Like It Here Now, Are You […]
McDonald and Giles were an English symphonic-rock duo that released a self-titled album on Island in January 1971. The duo consisted of multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald and drummer–percussionist Michael Giles, who commenced the project fresh off their one-album stint in King Crimson. Michael cut an earlier album in Giles Giles and Fripp, a pop-psych trio with […]
Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) were an English–American folk-rock/harmony super-trio comprised of three established guitarist/vocalists: David Crosby (The Byrds), Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield), and Graham Nash (The Hollies). In 1969, the trio released a self-titled album to global fanfare on Atlantic. The following year, they were joined by Canadian guitarist/vocalist Neil Young for the album […]
Family was an English rock band that released six albums on Reprise between 1968 and 1972, followed by a seventh on Raft in 1973. Their music ranged from cinematic psych on early albums (Music in a Doll’s House, Family Entertainment) to folksy barroom rock on later releases (Bandstand, It’s Only a Movie). Frontman Roger Chapman […]
Minnie Riperton (Nov. 8, 1947 — July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer from Chicago, best known for the R&B hits “Lovin’ You,” “Inside My Love,” and “Memory Lane.” Riperton first recorded with The Gems, a mid-Sixties Chess singles act. In 1967, she joined the soul-psych band Rotary Connection, which made six albums through […]
Supersister was a Dutch avant-garde/jazz-rock band that issued five albums between 1970 and 1974 on Polydor. Emerging from the Hague scene, they drew on Zappa-inspired absurdism, Canterbury-style whimsy, and extended jazz passages shaped by keyboardist Robert Jan Stips. Their debut Present from Nancy balanced satirical vocal numbers with intricate instrumentals, followed by the darker, more […]
Nirvana was an English orchestral-pop duo comprised of Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos. They debuted with the 1967 rock opera, The Story of Simon Simopath, recorded with the four-piece Nirvana Ensemble. After their 1968 psych hit “Rainbow Chaser,” they released All of Us and the string-laden opus Dedicated to Markos III. Campbell-Lyons continued the name […]
Paul McCartney (born June 18, 1942) is an English pop-rock singer, bassist, and songwriter from Liverpool who rose to fame as one-fourth of The Beatles, which he co-founded in 1959 with songwriting partner John Lennon. Between 1963 and 1969, they recorded eleven proper studio albums and spearheaded the British beat and psychedelic booms. McCartney debuted […]
Stackridge was an English art-pop band from Bristol, noted for their comical lyrics and vaudevillian stage act. During their initial 1971–76 run, they released three albums on MCA — Stackridge, Friendliness, and The Man in the Bowler Hat (aka Pinafore Days) — and two on Elton John‘s Rocket label: Extravaganza and Mr. Mick. The band’s […]
Golden Earring was a Dutch rock band that started life in 1961 as The Tornadoes. The band released two Nederbeat albums on Polydor between 1965 and 1967 under variations of the pluralized “Golden Earrings” banner before the arrival of vocalist Barry Hay. Between 1968 and 1981, the band recorded 16 albums for the label before […]
Kool & The Gang were an American soul-funk band from Jersey City that released nineteen albums on De-Lite Records between 1970 and 1986. In their early years, Kool & the Gang blended tight rhythms and punchy brass, defined by songs like “Kool’s Back” and “Funky Stuff.” Bassist Robert “Kool” Bell provided the anchor, while saxophonist […]
