Mike Makhalemele (June 10, 1938 — May 6, 2000) was a South African saxophonist from Alexandra, Gauteng, who released the album The Peacemaker on Jo’Burg in 1975. During this period, he also appeared on albums by Margaret Singana, Teaspoon Ndelu, Richard Jon Smith, and The Soul of the City. In 1976, he collaborated with saxist […]
Rick Wakeman — aka Richard Christopher Wakeman (born May 18, 1949) — is an English keyboardist and composer from London, best known as the on-off keyboardist of rock legends Yes. He initially did session work before joining folk-rockers the Strawbs in 1970, appearing on their second album Dragonfly and the live release Just a Collection […]
Eric Clapton (born March 30, 1945) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter who initially courted fame as the original soloist in the R&B/beat combo The Yardbirds. He played with the band between late 1963 and early 1965 before handing the slot to fellow rising star Jeff Beck. In 1966, Clapton was the featured performer […]
Hugh Hopper (April 29, 1945 — June 7, 2009) was an English bassist from Whitstable, Kent, that gained global renown with jazz-rockers Soft Machine, premiering his signature fuzz-bass sound on 1969’s Volume Two and appearing on the band’s subsequent four albums. In 1973, he released the experimental solo album 1984 on CBS and also appeared […]
The Strawbs were an English folk-rock band from Strawberry Hill, London, that released eight studio albums and a live disc on A&M between 1969 and 1975, followed by a pair of albums on Oyster/Polydor in 1976/77 and a final release on Arista in 1978. The band was founded in 1967 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Cousins and […]
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 […]
Cos was a Belgian avant-jazz-rock band that released four albums on IBC between 1974 and 1979, followed by two 1983–84 titles on Lark. Keyboardist Charles Loos (Abraxis/Julverne) appears on the first and third albums, Postaeolian Train Robbery and Babel. Former Placebo keyboardist Marc Moulin produced their 1976 release Viva Boma, which features sundry instrumentation from […]
Steve Winwood (born May 12, 1948) is an English vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter from Birmingham who emerged as the voice of the Spencer Davis Group, which he joined in 1963 at age 15. After four years, three proper albums, and assorted singles with the band — including the soul-rock evergreens “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m […]
Cossi Anatz were a French contemporary jazz ensemble that released the half-live/half-studio album Jazz Afro-Occitan on Disques Vendémiaire/Palm in 1975. The band was led by multi-instrumentalist/composer Michel Marre and featured his percussionist/reedist brother Claude Marre, both fresh from the big-band Le Collectif le Temps des Cerises. Drummer René Nan had been a backing player for […]
F.B.I. was a nine-piece English funk band that released a self-titled album on Tony Visconti’s Good Earth label in 1976. Members: Root Jackson (vocals), Bonnie Wilkinson (vocals), Jaime Black (guitar, flute), Raffi Pereira (guitar), Lennox Meade (bass), Alan Fealdman (keyboards), Lloyd Smith (saxophone), Herscel Holder (trumpet), Stephen Dixon (drums) Background Funky Bands Incorporated (F.B.I.) formed […]
KGB was an English–American blues-rock supergroup that released two albums on MCA Records in 1976. Singer Ray Kennedy co-wrote “Sail On, Sailor” for The Beach Boys and recorded two solo albums. Guitarist Mike Bloomfield and keyboardist Barry Goldberg hailed from brass-rockers The Electric Flag. Drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck Bogart & Appice) and […]
The Leopards were an American music-hall band that released the album Kansas City Slickers on Moon Records in 1977. Ten years later, a revised lineup released Magic Still Exists on Voxx Records. Members: Dennis Pash (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, harmonica), Kevin Sanders (vocals, guitar, 1975-87), James Bordy (guitar, vocals, 1987-present), Dennis Bouch (drums, percussion, 1987-present), […]
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,” […]
Slade was an English hard-rock/pop band from Wolverhampton that scored 16 hits on the UK Top 10 between 1971 and 1984. Evolving from beatsters The N’ Betweens, they signed with Fontana in 1969 and released one album as Ambrose Slade. In 1970, they met ex-Animal (and Hendrix manager) Chas Chandler, who refashioned them as skinheads […]
Slapp Happy was a multi-national art-pop trio, formed in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972 by American singer/songwriter Peter Blegvad, English avant-garde musician Anthony Moore, and German cabaret singer Dagmar Krause. They debuted with a UK/German release on Polydor, followed in 1974 by Casablanca Moon on Virgin. In 1975, Virgin paired them with avant-rockers Henry Cow for […]
Slaughter and the Dogs were an English rock band from Wythenshawe, formed in 1975 at the forefront of punk. On July 20, 1976, they played a watershed triple-bill with the Buzzcocks and The Sex Pistols at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, heralding the city’s musical renaissance. During 1977, Slaughter and the Dogs placed two […]
Sweet was an English hard-rock/pop band from Harefield, Greater London, that released four studio albums and 18 singles on RCA between 1971 and 1976. Under the guidance of songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, they placed eight singles on the UK Top 10, including “Little Willy,” “Block Buster!,” “Hell Raiser,” “The Ballroom Blitz,” and “Teenage […]
Frob were a German instrumental quartet that was active during the mid-1970s. Formed in 1973, the band gigged around their Rheda-Wiedenbrück homebase for several years and issued a self-titled longplayer on the Musikladen label in 1976. Members: Philippe Caillat (guitar), Peter Schmits (keyboards), Klaus-Dieter Richter (bass), Peter Meuffels (drums) A mostly high-paced affair, the album […]
Salty Dog were a Zambian rock quartet of the mid-1970s. The band issued two singles and a 1976 self-titled album on the local Zambezi label. Members: Norman Muntemba (vocals, bass, tambourine), Alex Mwilwa (drums), Hassan Hassan (drums), Jackie Mumba (guitar, vocals) Of the album’s ten cuts, the bi-chordal/cymbal-rattling “Have You Got It,” the tom/snare-wrestled “Fast,” […]
Saluki were a Norwegian maximalist rock quintet of the mid-1970s. Members: Freddy Dahl (vocals, guitar), Peter Berg Nilsen (vocals, saxophone), Kjell Rønningen (keyboards), Sverre Beyer (bass), Bjørn Jenssen (drums) Frontman Dahl had the most active background, first as a member of Junipher Green on their classic double-platter Friendship (1971), followed by time with the George […]
