My 200 Favorite Classic Rock Artists (in order)
Note: The following artists don't have pages on IMDb, but should be on the list:
-Streets at #52 (between Loverboy and Creedence Clearwater Revival)
-Harlequin at #169 (between The Black Crowes and Budgie)
-Budgie at #170 (between Harlequin and Steely Dan)
The definition of "classic rock" used for this list is: any music created by a non-alternative* rock band/artist that was at their/his/her peak between the rockabilly and grunge/alternative eras (so, in other words, rock artists from the early-ish, mid-ish 1960s to the early 1990s). Let's just say non-alternative rock* from 1963 to 1993, although those definitely aren't official dates.
*The definition of "alternative" here does not include New Wave, punk rock, and post-punk.
The following genres could be considered subgenres of other genres, so I didn't include the larger grouping when listing them to avoid redundancy:
AOR/melodic rock ---> hard rock, soft rock
hair band ---> hard rock
New Wave ---> pop-rock
punk rock ---> hard rock
The profile for Streets would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Crimes in Mind
2. If Love Should Go
3. The Nightmare Begins
4. Broken Glass
5. Fire
6. Hit N Run
7. Move On
8. Desiree
The profile for Harlequin would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Innocence
2. Ready to Love Again
3. You Are the Light
4. I Did It for Love
5. Can't Hold Back
6. Love On the Rocks
7. Take This Heart
8. (It's No) Mystery
The profile for Budgie would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Breadfan
2. Napoleon Bona-Part One/Napoleon Bona-Part Two
3. Panzer Division Destroyed
4. Crash Course in Brain Surgery
5. Parents
6. I Ain't No Mountain
7. Baby, Please Don't Go
8. Homicidal Suicidal
Note: I do not have a Facebook account, so I cannot reply to any comments made about this list.
-Streets at #52 (between Loverboy and Creedence Clearwater Revival)
-Harlequin at #169 (between The Black Crowes and Budgie)
-Budgie at #170 (between Harlequin and Steely Dan)
The definition of "classic rock" used for this list is: any music created by a non-alternative* rock band/artist that was at their/his/her peak between the rockabilly and grunge/alternative eras (so, in other words, rock artists from the early-ish, mid-ish 1960s to the early 1990s). Let's just say non-alternative rock* from 1963 to 1993, although those definitely aren't official dates.
*The definition of "alternative" here does not include New Wave, punk rock, and post-punk.
The following genres could be considered subgenres of other genres, so I didn't include the larger grouping when listing them to avoid redundancy:
AOR/melodic rock ---> hard rock, soft rock
hair band ---> hard rock
New Wave ---> pop-rock
punk rock ---> hard rock
The profile for Streets would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Crimes in Mind
2. If Love Should Go
3. The Nightmare Begins
4. Broken Glass
5. Fire
6. Hit N Run
7. Move On
8. Desiree
The profile for Harlequin would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Innocence
2. Ready to Love Again
3. You Are the Light
4. I Did It for Love
5. Can't Hold Back
6. Love On the Rocks
7. Take This Heart
8. (It's No) Mystery
The profile for Budgie would look like this:
Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Breadfan
2. Napoleon Bona-Part One/Napoleon Bona-Part Two
3. Panzer Division Destroyed
4. Crash Course in Brain Surgery
5. Parents
6. I Ain't No Mountain
7. Baby, Please Don't Go
8. Homicidal Suicidal
Note: I do not have a Facebook account, so I cannot reply to any comments made about this list.
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Formed in 1970, the band Kansas, originally called Reasons Why, did not start to gain in popularity until 1973 and really did not have a hit until the release of their 4th album, "Leftoverture" in October 1976, which produced a hit single, "Carry on my Wayward Son". Some of their songs have been featured in multiple movies and television shows.Primary Genre(s):
-progressive rock
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1980 to 1988)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. Icarus II
3. The Wall
4. Miracles Out of Nowhere
5. Child of Innocence
6. Fight Fire with Fire
7. Play the Game Tonight
8. Song for America- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Led Zeppelin are a popular British band best known for their iconic "Stairway to Heaven" as well as for co-creating the music genre of heavy metal. Since their nine albums were recorded between 1968 and 1979, Led Zeppelin has been one of the most popular bands of all time, having sold more than 300 million records and millions of concert tickets worldwide.
The quartet was conceived at the end of the Hippie love era, in a group marriage of blues, rock and roll, soul, rockabilly, folk ballad, jazz, classical and Eastern music, and something else scattered over some woozy sounds of their songs. It was their mutual artistic stimulation, their group interplay and imagination that incorporated mythology and mysticism, and concocted their inimitable style, and established the concept of album-oriented rock career.
Jimmy Page was already an experienced lead guitarist who worked with multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones in 1967, and they agreed to work on the next project. In August 1968 Page invited Robert Plant and John Bonham to join his band, the New Yardbirds, for a September tour in Scandinavia. In October 1968 they took the name Led Zeppelin, which stemmed from a humorous conversation among several musicians about their chances of going down like a lead balloon. However, British bands were highly anticipated in the USA, and the Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun signed the new band without even seeing them.
Their debut album, 'Led Zeppelin', recorded and mixed in just about 36 hours in October 1968, at Olympic Studios in London, kicked open the door for all extremes and experiments. The phallic image of the blown up Hindenburg airship on the cover, designed by George Hardie, announced the hardening of rock and coming of the new super-group. While ascending to musical success as a powerhouse band, Led Zeppelin explored a variety of styles, from English folk ballads to blues and rock, and created their own inimitable style.
Prior to the release of their first album, Led Zeppelin made live appearances at the University of Surrey and in London in October 1968, then went on their first American tour in December 1968. In their first year, Led Zeppelin made four concert tours in the USA, and another four tours in the UK. Their second album was recorded entirely on the road at several American recording studios, and was an even greater success than the first one. "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", "Living, Loving Maid", and "Ramble On" became big international hits.
Each member of the quartet contributed to their compositions, thus setting a fine example of group creativity. Their songs and albums rambled on with the highly versatile voice-guitar interplay. Plant's incredible vocal range and Page's enchanting guitar solos were as responsible for the band's singularity as its musical wanderlust. Plant's and Page's musicianship was supported by the tight playing by John Paul Jones on bass, and John Bonham on drums. The intense interaction of all four players on stage gave their live performances a visual counterpoint to well intertwined harmonic and rhythmic structures of their compositions.
Their third album, Led Zeppelin III, influenced by folk and Celtic music, offered more inventiveness with acoustic/electric sound-work, and revealed more of the band's versatility with such compositions as the "Immigrant Song" and "Since I've Been Loving You". With the release of their fourth, and most popular album, Led Zeppelin achieved a reputation of the biggest band in the world. 'Stairway to Heaven' became the most played radio hit, several other songs became rock classics, and nobody knows how many more times their lines would help other musicians (like the opening riff from "How Many More Times" was later used by Pink Floyd in their hit "Money").
Capitalizing on the success of their first four albums, the band toured extensively in the 1970s. At that time they chartered a private jet, nicknamed the Starship, that carried the band's name and later added the famous 'Swan Song' winged Apollo image on the tail. Going to California turned into a ritual of wildness and excess, most notably at the Hyatt House hotel on the Sunset strip in Los Angeles, known colloquially as the "Riot House" for a series of some most exciting off-stage events, such as riding a motorcycle inside the hotel and throwing TV set out of the window. One of their concerts under a heavy thunderstorm in Florida ended with police using tear gas, and led to a temporary pause in their concert tours.
During the 70s their career was interrupted several times by accidents, deaths and other unfortunate events. In September 198O on the eve of an American tour, John Bonham accidentally died from pulmonary edema after a day of drinking. In December 1980, Led Zeppelin disbanded, albeit the public could still feel their presence. In 1982 a collection of out-takes from various sessions from the 70s was released as their last album, Coda. During the 80s the remaining three members experienced a serious communication breakdown, until they briefly united for a short set in 1985, and once again, in 1988, with Bonham's son, Jason, for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show.
In 1994 Page and Plant showed their softer side when they performed live together on 'MTV Unplugged', which was released the same year as album titled 'No quarter'. Then they made an international tour with an orchestra. In 1995 Page and Plant were joined by Jones when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, albeit the three former band-mates did not perform together. By that time Jimmy Page as well as Robert Plant had pursued individual careers touring and recording with their own bands.
Another ten years gone. Page's and Plant's call-and-response interplay took them through good times and bad times. Their sonic originality had sparked imagination and creativity in millions of open minds. Singers, songwriters, armies of music fans and a rainbow of dedicated 'led heads', as well as guitarists and guitar collectors worldwide remained united through the acquired experience and conditioning to the Led Zep sounds.
Hats off to Led Zeppelin, who opened the new extremes of musical expression, and are now back in the light confirming their presence. Their long anticipated reunion in December 2007 was a true celebration day. Their live performance was as tight as a rock band can be, and their living, loving song remains the same since we've been loving them. That's the way!
Thank you, Friends.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-blues-rock
-folk-rock
-progressive rock (debatable)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Stairway to Heaven
2. Rock and Roll
3. Achilles Last Stand
4. Over the Hills and Far Away
5. Immigrant Song
6. When the Levee Breaks
7. Dazed and Confused
8. No Quarter- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Studio Albums: Iron Maiden (1980) Killers (1981) The Number of the Beast (1982) Piece of Mind (1983) Powerslave (1984) Somewhere in Time (1986) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) No Prayer for the Dying (1990) Fear of the Dark (1992) The X Factor (1995) Virtual XI (1998) Brave New World (2000) Dance of Death (2003) A Matter of Life and Death (2006) The Final Frontier (2010) The Book Of Souls (2015)
Current lineup: Bruce Dickinson- lead vocals (1981-1993, 1999-present)
Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Flight of Icarus
2. Run to the Hills
3. Can I Play with Madness
4. Paschendale
5. Running Free
6. Where Eagles Dare
7. 2 Minutes to Midnight
8. Aces High- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Def Leppard is an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitars, backing vocals), and Vivian Campbell (guitars, backing vocals). The band's strongest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Def Leppard's fourth album Hysteria, released in 1987, topped the UK and U.S. album charts. As of 2009, it has been certified 12× platinum for sales of over 12 million in the U.S. and has gone on to sell over 25 million copies worldwide.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Photograph
2. Pour Some Sugar on Me
3. Wasted
4. Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
5. Promises
6. Rock of Ages
7. Bringin' On the Heartbreak/Switch 625
8. Rocket- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Deep Purple is known for Children of Men (2006), Twister (1996) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018).Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-psychedelic rock (1968-to-1969 output)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Burn
2. Knocking at Your Back Door
3. Highway Star
4. Perfect Strangers
5. The Battle Rages On
6. Fireball
7. Comin' Home
8. Hard Lovin' Man- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band went on to become major stars, and by the early 1980s they were one of the most successful rock acts of the time. 1984 was their most successful album. The lead single, "Jump", became an international hit and their only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The following singles, "Panama" and "I'll Wait", both hit number 13 on the U.S. charts. The album went on to sell over 12 million copies in the U.S. alone.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Runnin' with the Devil
2. Jump
3. Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
4. Panama
5. Eruption/You Really Got Me
6. Everybody Wants Some!!
7. On Fire
8. Hot for Teacher- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The Alan Parsons Project is known for The Edge of Seventeen (2016), Donnie Brasco (1997) and Flubber (1997).Primary Genre(s):
-progressive rock
-soft rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Games People Play
2. I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You
3. (The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether
4. Sirius/Eye in the Sky
5. Don't Answer Me
6. What Goes Up...
7. Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)
8. Don't Let It Show- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-jazz-rock
-pop-rock
-soft rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1980 to 1991)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. 25 or 6 to 4
2. Questions 67 and 68
3. Chasin' the Wind
4. Make Me Smile
5. Along Comes a Woman
6. Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
7. I'm a Man
8. Dialogue (Part I)/Dialogue (Part II)- Music Artist
- Composer
- Music Department
The Rolling Stones are the legendary British rock band known for many popular hits, such as Paint it Black, Lady Jane, Ruby Tuesday, and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Almost everyone who attended their shows is quick to comment on their ability to start you up and shake your hips. Their song "Satisfaction" (1965) was composed by Keith Richards in his sleep, and with the addition of provocative lyrics by Mick Jagger it became the greatest hit and their calling card on each and every show.
In 1966, after The Beatles stopped giving live performances, The Rolling Stones took over as the unofficial "biggest touring band in the world" for the next few years. During 1966-1969 they toured the world, and constantly updated their song-list with many great hits like "Lets Spend the night together" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) and "Honky tonk woman" (1969). The incredible international success of the Stones came with a sad side, caused by Brian's drug and alcohol abuse that impaired his speech and appearance, so the band-mates had to replace him. In July 1969, Brian Jones died of drowning in his swimming pool while having signs of drug overdose. Upon Richards's and Jagger's approval, guitarist Mick Taylor took Brian's place. Brian's death at age 27 made him one of the first members of the infamous "27 Club" of rock stars who died at that age. Although Brian's estrangement from his band-mates, and his numerous arrests were caused by his personal problems with drugs, both Richards and Jagger were blamed at the time for Brian's death. The loss of one of their founding members was a painful moment for the Stones. However, at the end of the 1960s their creativity reached the new highs. Their albums "Beggars Banquet" (1968) and "Sticky Fingers" (1971) were among the most popular albums they ever made, having such hits as "Wild Horses" and "Brown Sugar."
During the 1970s The Rolling Stones remained the biggest band in the world, albeit they were rivaled by the Led Zeppelin. The Stones made thousands of live performances and multi-million record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973), "It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974), "Hot Stuff" (1976) and "Respectable" (1978). At that time both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had individual ambitions, and applied their untamed creativity in various projects outside the Stones. Keith released his own single. In 1974 Ron Wood had replaced Mick Taylor on guitar and Keith and Ron both played lead guitars. During the decade Keith Richards had a family crisis on his hands, and suffered through emotional pain and drug abuse, albeit it didn't stop him from being himself. In 1980 the group released "Emotional Rescue" which Keith Richards didn't care for, and the group didn't even tour to promote the album. In 1981 with the release of 'Tattoo You', the group went on a major world tour filling stadiums in the US and in Europe. In 1983 the Stones recorded the album "Undercover" at the Compass Point in Nassau and during this time Mick and Keith were having arguments over rights of the group. After having created tens of albums and over a hundred popular songs together, their legendary song-writing partnership was undergoing the most painful test: the bitter rivalry between two enormously talented and equally ambitious superstars.
Mick Jagger is the heart of "The Stones" and Keith Richards - the soul. The two had carried on their early image of unkempt youth, had survived ups and downs in their careers and personal lives, and remained the core of the band since they shared a flat with the late Brian Jones in London in 1962. Two other remaining members are drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood. "The Stones" were part of the "British Invasion" in international culture during the 1960s, and has been extremely popular and famous for their 60s craze, hot stuff and sex drive. Since the 1970s they remained one of the biggest entertainment acts touring the world with a retinue of jet-set hangers-on. Their inimitable shows, no matter the best, or the worst, has been played with fire and emotion, giving their audiences the kind of music they do best - it's only rock'n roll.
Mick Jagger dropped out of college and his every move on-stage and off-stage seemed to signal a challenge to "respectable" standards. He never received a formal musical education, and even could not read music. However, he worked hard and emerged as the lead singer and songwriter in partnership with Richards, following the example of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting for The Beatles. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Jagger released solo albums with his original songs, as well as his versions of such hits as 'Use Me' by songwriter Bill Withers. Jagger also starred in several films, such as Freejack (1992), Bent (1997), and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001). Mick Jagger fathered seven children from four women, donated to numerous school and charities, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in 2003.
Keith Richards, was a schoolmate of Mick Jagger since the primary school. In 1960 they contemplated starting up a band together. Since the formation of the Rolling Stones in 1962, Richards has been the principal songwriting partner with Jagger, and most of the songs on all Rolling Stones albums are credited to Jagger/Richards. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Richards toured with The New Barbarians, and also was the front-man of the X-pensive Winos in the 1980s. Besides his music career, Richards made a cameo appearance as the father of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) filmed by his friend, director Gore Verbinski.
Other members of The Rolling Stones has been also enjoying their individual careers outside of the band. Multi-instrumentalist Ronnie Wood collaborated with such performers as Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and Aretha Franklin, among others. His collaboration with Rod Stewart resulted in a hit album. Wood is also an accomplished artist who sold about $10 million worth of his artworks. Drummer Charlie Watts, who has been ever faithful to his one and only wife, Shirley, is known for his consistency in refusing sexual favors from groupies. He is also a jazz band-leader, and commercial artist, who had solo shows and successfully auctioned his artworks.
The Rolling Stones have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and sold over 200 million records word-wide during their career spanning over 45 years. "The Stones" played in all kinds of spaces from small clubs to big stadium arenas. In 2007 they even rocked the Tsar's Winter Palace with fifty thousand fans in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the communist revolution took place. They gave more large-scale shows internationally than any other existing band in the world, culminating in their 2005-2007 "A Bigger Band" tour with 147 concerts, the highest grossing tour of all time with $559 million earned.
Come on, Stones, give us more of your respectable shows, get us rocking, we can make it if we try.Primary Genre(s):
-blues-rock
-hard rock
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Gimme Shelter
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
3. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
4. Paint It, Black
5. Sympathy for the Devil
6. One Hit (To the Body)
7. Brown Sugar
8. Little T&A- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member Vinny Appice, the band's drummer. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time. The band released ten studio albums and had numerous line-up changes over the years with Dio himself being the only constant member. The band dissolved in 2010 when Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of 67. Dio has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide.Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Holy Diver
2. Rainbow in the Dark
3. We Rock
4. Don't Talk to Strangers
5. Stand Up and Shout
6. Dream Evil
7. Rock 'n' Roll Children
8. Caught in the Middle- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Only the Strong Survive
2. Roll with the Changes
3. Back on the Road Again
4. Ridin' the Storm Out [Live]
5. Take It on the Run
6. Golden Country
7. Smilin' in the End
8. Rock & Roll Music- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Foreigner is an English-American rock band, originally formed in New York City in 1976 by veteran English musician Mick Jones ex-Spooky Tooth and fellow Briton and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm. Jones came up with the band's name as he, McDonald and Dennis Elliott were British, while Gramm, Al Greenwood and Ed Gagliardi were American. Their biggest hit single, "I Want to Know What Love Is", topped the United Kingdom and United States charts among others. They are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, including 37.5 million records in the US.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Juke Box Hero
2. Hot Blooded
3. Urgent
4. Break It Up
5. Reaction to Action
6. Tooth and Nail
7. Head Games
8. Night Life- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Don't Stop Believin'
2. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
3. Any Way You Want It
4. Stone in Love
5. Faithfully
6. The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love)
7. City of Hope
8. Be Good to Yourself- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970, by songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. During ELO's original 14-year period of active recording and touring, they sold over 50 million records worldwide. From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated twenty Top 20 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100.Primary Genre(s):
-progressive rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Do Ya
2. Evil Woman
3. Telephone Line
4. Don't Bring Me Down
5. Mr. Blue Sky
6. 10538 Overture
7. The Diary of Horace Wimp
8. Sweet Talkin' Woman- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Cheap Trick is known for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Top Gun (1986) and Small Soldiers (1998).Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1983 to 1991)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Want You to Want Me [Live]
2. Surrender
3. Dream Police
4. He's a Whore
5. She's Tight
6. Gonna Raise Hell
7. Elo Kiddies
8. The Flame- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-boogie rock
-blues-rock
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1983 to 1992)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Gimme All Your Lovin'
2. Sharp Dressed Man
3. La Grange
4. Sleeping Bag
5. Burger Man
6. Just Got Paid
7. Got Me Under Pressure
8. Legs- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Lights Out
2. Love to Love
3. Doctor Doctor
4. Rock Bottom
5. Let It Rain
6. When It's Time to Rock
7. Too Hot to Handle
8. Only You Can Rock Me- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Styx is an American rock band from Chicago that formed in 1972 and became famous for its albums released in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for melding hard rock guitar balanced with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established itself with a progressive rock sound in the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
-progressive rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
2. Come Sail Away
3. Mr. Roboto
4. Renegade
5. Man in the Wilderness
6. Miss America
7. Too Much Time on My Hands
8. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Saxon is known for Demons (1985), Brütal Legend (2009) and Top of the Pops: The Story of 1980 (2015).Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-heavy metal
Top Favorite Songs:
1. 747 (Strangers in the Night)
2. Crusader
3. Princess of the Night
4. Set Me Free
5. Rock the Nations
6. We Came Here to Rock
7. Machine Gun
8. This Town Rocks- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Devo is known for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Tank Girl (1995) and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995).Primary Genre(s):
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Peek-a-Boo!
2. Jocko Homo
3. Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA
4. Time Out for Fun
5. Whip It
6. Uncontrollable Urge
7. Beautiful World
8. Gates of Steel- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" since they were formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including over 70 million records in the United States alone. With 25 gold albums, 18 platinum albums, and 12 multi-platinum albums, they hold the record for the most total certifications by an American band and are tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Sweet Emotion
2. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
3. Train Kept A-Rollin'
4. Toys in the Attic
5. Lightning Strikes
6. Draw the Line
7. Mama Kin
8. Walkin' the Dog- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Syd Barrett: vocals, guitar (born: Roger Keith Barrett; 6 January, 1946; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK). In 1968, Syd Barrett left the band. Syd died in July, 2006 at aged 60 from pancreatic cancer.
David Gilmour: vocals, guitar (born: David John Gilmour; 6 March, 1946; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK). In 1968, Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett.
Roger Waters: vocals, bass guitar (born: George Roger Waters; 6 September, 1943; Great Bookham, Surrey, England, UK). In 1983, he left the band.
Richard Wright: keyboards, back-up vocals (born: 28 July, 1943; Hatch End, England, UK). Was fired from the band in 1979, rejoined in 1986 as a session player and was officially reinstated in 1992. The second member who did every tour. Richard died on 15 September, 2008 at age 65 from cancer.
Nick Mason: drums, percussion (born: Nicholas Berkeley Mason; 27 January, 1944; Birmingham, England, UK). The only member to have appeared on every album. One of two members who did every tour.Primary Genre(s):
-progressive rock
-psychedelic rock (1967-to-1972 output)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Wish You Were Here
2. Comfortably Numb
3. Time
4. Have a Cigar
5. Money
6. Run Like Hell
7. The Nile Song
8. The Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Mötley Crüe was an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead singer Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars. Mötley Crüe has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 25 million albums in the United States, making it one of the best-selling bands of all time. Its final studio album, Saints of Los Angeles, was released on June 24, 2008 and the final show took place on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2015.Primary Genre(s);
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Home Sweet Home
2. Dr. Feelgood
3. Kickstart My Heart
4. Hell on High Heels
5. Saints of Los Angeles
6. In the Beginning/Shout at the Devil
7. Primal Scream
8. Helter Skelter- Music Artist
- Composer
- Soundtrack
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America.
Founding members-were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals): Born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 6, 1948 and raised in nearby Royal Oak, Frey studied piano at age five, later switched to guitar, and became part of the mid-1960s Detroit rock scene. One of his earliest bands was called the Subterraneans, named after Jack Kerouac's novel, and included fellow Dondero High School classmates Doug Edwards (later replaced by Lenny Mintz) on drums, Doug Gunsch and Bill Barnes on guitar, with Jeff Hodge on bass.
Don Henley (drums, vocals): Donald Hugh Henley was born in Gilmer, Texas, and grew up in the small northeast Texas town of Linden. He is the son of Hughlene (McWhorter) and C. J. Henley. He has Irish, English and Scottish ancestry.
Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals): Born July 19, 1947 In Minneapolis, Minnesota
Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) :Randall Herman Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the second child and only son of farmers Herman. He is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles.
Eagles Discography in Order:
Eagles (1972) Desperado (1973) On the Border (1974) One of These Nights (1975) Hotel California (1976) The Long Run (1979) Long Road Out of Eden (2007)Primary Genre(s):
-country-rock
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Desperado
2. Life in the Fast Lane
3. Already Gone
4. One of These Nights
5. Take It Easy
6. Take It to the Limit
7. Hotel California
8. In the City- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-boogie rock
-hard rock
-soft rock
-blues-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Walk Away
2. Tend My Garden/Garden Gate
3. The Bomber: Closet Queen/Boléro/Cast Your Fate to the Wind
4. It's All the Same
5. Collage
6. Funk #49
7. I Don't Have the Time
8. Funk #48- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Don't Tell Me You Love Me
2. When You Close Your Eyes
3. The Secret of My Success
4. Restless Kind
5. (You Can Still) Rock in America
6. High Road
7. Four in the Morning
8. Goodbye- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Uriah Heep is a British rock band formed in 1969 in London, England, who took their name from a character in Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield. The band's first line-up was formed when producer Gerry Bron invited keyboardist Ken Hensley (formerly of The Gods and Toe Fat) to join the members of Spice. The group gained worldwide fame in 1971-1973 with the albums 'Look at Yourself', 'Demons and Wizards' and 'The Magician's Birthday', which are considered hard rock classics.
Uriah Heep created their own original version of hard rock, saturating it with elements of prog, art, jazz rock and heavy metal. The trademark of their style were spectacular backing vocals with complex multi-part harmonies and dramatic vocals by David Byron. Uriah Heep's stylistic experiments were essential for the development of rock music.
The line-up of Uriah Heep has changed several times, but the quintet is considered "classic": Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Gary Thain and Lee Kerslake.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1978 to 1991)
-progressive rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. July Morning
2. Gypsy
3. Easy Livin'
4. Bird of Prey
5. Stealin'
6. Pilgrim
7. Look at Yourself
8. Suicidal Man- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Heart is known for Captain Marvel (2019), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and The Virgin Suicides (1999).Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1983 to 1993)
-folk-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Crazy on You
2. Never
3. If Looks Could Kill
4. Barracuda
5. Alone
6. I Didn't Want to Need You
7. Who Will You Run To
8. Wild Child- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Eddie Money was born on 21 March 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Over the Top (1987), The Iron Claw (2023) and Sideways (2004). He was married to Laurie Money and Margo Lee Walker. He died on 13 September 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Take Me Home Tonight
2. Baby Hold On
3. Two Tickets to Paradise
4. Shakin'
5. Think I'm in Love
6. I Wanna Go Back
7. Walk on Water
8. Gimme Some Water- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Roger Daltrey formed the Detours in 1962, with several member changes and role swaps abound, John Entwistle joined. Sometime later, on John's recommendation, Pete Townshend was added to the line up. In the meantime, The Detours had become a four-piece band; the drummer was changed with Keith Moon during early 1964.
The High Numbers, as the four musicians were now calling themselves, had become a Mod band, with the help of new manager Pete Meaden. The name fluctuated between The High Numbers and The Who; the High Numbers was quickly abandoned and The Who was born.
As their popularity gained momentum, by being one of the better live acts on the circuit and with Pete destroying his guitars, and Keith with his drums too, on stage, this gave them maximum publicity with the predominantly working class audience that had come to see them.
As the sixties drew to a close, the Hippy movement had swamped the World, with its ideology of Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out. This was to climax in one of the World's most famous of music festivals, Woodstock the Music and Arts Fair, in August 1969. The Who played here, in front of an average crowd of 300,000 plus. This performance catapulted them into the American market and World domination, mainly because the whole festival was filmed and released in major cinemas within the year. This was also done with the help of their highly controversial double concept album from 1969, Tommy.
What followed was a live album, Live at Leeds, from Leeds University, England, and recorded on Valentines Day night, 1970.
Quadrophenia, the concept album about a 1960s Mod, came out in 1973. This double album came with its own problems, such as playing with backing tapes at the live concerts. It was soon abandoned. Other albums followed as well as concerts, during the earlier 1970s.
But as the money came pouring in, the four members took individual lives and sometimes concerts and albums were far between, the most noticeable difference was with Keith Moon, his over indulgence in drugs and drink were taking their toll. He put on too much weight and his lifestyle showed his drumming was becoming unpredictable.
Keith made his only solo album, Two Sides of The Moon, in 1975 while living in California, for MCA Records. At the age of just 32 years, he died; it was an accidental overdose of prescribed medicine, which was to help him cut down on his alcohol addiction. An irony if there ever was one.
After a short reprise, with Kenney Jones on the drums, The Who officially split up in 1982. Reforming for the 1985 Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium, then with a World tour of Tommy during the late eighties. There was also a tour of an an updated Quadrophenia during the mid nineties.
With the three remaining players, they toured under the name of The Who, a fine idea, until the death of John Entwistle in a Las Vegas hotel room on June 27th, 2002.
"Ladies and Gentlemen: A nice Rock n' Roll band from Shepherd's Bush London, The OO, thank you very much."Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Won't Get Fooled Again
3. You Better You Bet
4. Who Are You
5. Another Tricky Day
6. Happy Jack
7. Pinball Wizard
8. My Generation- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
KISS is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons the only remaining original members.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with a hair band period from 1983 to 1993)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Detroit Rock City
2. God of Thunder
3. War Machine
4. I Love It Loud
5. Deuce
6. Calling Dr. Love
7. Love Gun
8. Creatures of the Night- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Queen were one of the longest-lasting and most commercially successful bands to emerge from the British heavy rock scene of the early 1970s, but unlike their contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, they soon became just as popular with pop fans as fans of hard rock and heavy metal, beginning with "Killer Queen" from their third album "Sheer Heart Attack" in 1974.
Formed in London in 1970 following the demise of the band Smile, Queen originally consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor before being joined by bassist John Deacon. The band became popular with audiences via their hit singles, live performances, originality and showmanship, being voted the greatest British band of all time in a national BBC poll. Their Live Aid (1985) performance was voted the best live rock performance of all time in an industry poll. According to the BBC, Queen have sold more than 300 million albums as of 2009.
Queen's first album "Queen" was a commercial flop in 1973, failing to chart and producing no hit single, but their second album "Queen II" produced a top ten hit, "Seven Seas of Rhye". It was with the release of "Sheer Heart Attack" in 1974 and "A Night at the Opera" the following year that the band gained international success. They have released fifteen studio albums, five live albums and numerous compilation albums. Since Mercury's death and Deacon's retirement, May and Taylor have performed infrequently together at special events and programs as members of other ensembles. Between 2004 to 2009 the duo collaborated with Paul Rodgers under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers, and between 2011 to 2015 with Adam Lambert under the moniker Queen + Adam Lambert.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-glam rock
-pop-rock
-progressive rock (debatable)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Under Pressure
2. Sheer Heart Attack
3. Stone Cold Crazy
4. Hammer to Fall
5. Fat Bottomed Girls
6. We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions
7. The Hitman
8. Tie Your Mother Down- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Like to Rock
2. Sign of the Gypsy Queen
3. This Could Be the Right One
4. You Could Have Been a Lady
5. Roller
6. 21st Century Schizoid Man
7. All Over Town
8. Get Ready for Love- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
AC/DC is a legendary rock band from Australia, formed in Sydney in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. AC/DC have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 71.5 million albums in the United States, adding them to the list of highest-certified music artists in the United States and the list of best-selling music artists. "Back in Black" has sold an estimated 50 million units worldwide, making it the second-highest-selling album by any artist - and the highest-selling album by any band. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
2. Moneytalks
3. Back in Black
4. Let There Be Rock
5. You Shook Me All Night Long
6. T.N.T.
7. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
8. Hells Bells- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (unsuccessfully) as lead singer for the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Dwight teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin and changed his name to Elton John (merging the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry). The duo wrote songs for Lulu and Roger Cook. In the early 1970s, he recorded the concept album "Tumbleweed Connection." He became the most successful pop artist of the 1970s, and he has survived many different pop fads including punk, the New Romantics and Britpop to remain one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed musicians.
Elton John announced he was a bisexual in 1976, and in 1984, he married Renate Blauel. The marriage lasted four years before he finally came to terms with the fact that he was actually homosexual. In the 1970s and 1980s, he suffered from drug and alcohol addiction and bulimia but came through it. He is well known as a campaigner for AIDS research and he keeps his finger on the pulse of modern music, enjoying artists such as Eminem, Radiohead, Coldplay and Robbie Williams. He was knighted in 1997.Primary Genre(s):
-soft rock
-glam rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
3. Levon
4. Tiny Dancer
5. Something About the Way You Look Tonight
6. Can You Feel the Love Tonight
7. Someone Saved My Life Tonight
8. I'm Still Standing- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Meat Loaf was born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas, to Wilma Artie (Hukel), a teacher and gospel singer, and Orvis Wesley Aday, a police officer. He moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to play in local bands. In 1970, he moved to New York and appeared in the Broadway musicals "Hair", "Rockabye Hamlet" and "The Rocky Horror Show," and Off Broadway in "Rainbow", "More Than You Deserve", "National Lampoon Show" and the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of "As You Like it;" as well as other productions at the famed New York Public Theatre. He made his film debut with a memorable role in the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
In 1977, he and lyricist Jim Steinman released an operatic rock album called "Bat Out Of Hell"; the record was huge and has sold 50,000,000 copies worldwide and is tied with AC/DC for the 2nd best selling record of all time. The tour and promoting the album took a toll on Meat Loaf's voice and left him unable to sing for 2 years, but with months of rehabilitation, he was able to get back in the studio and record the album "Dead Ringer". Meat Loaf stayed in the dark through the 1980s in the US, recording 4 records which got very little airplay or high chart positions in the US but continued to have major chart success in Europe and Australia. The 1981 Single "Dead Ringer for Love", a duet with Cher, was a top 10 single in many countries outside the US, but which American radio refused to play.
Meat Loaf had many film and TV roles, including the lead character Travis Redfish in Roadie (1980); a pilot in Out of Bounds (1986); in The Squeeze (1987) with Michael Keaton; and Fred in Focus (2001) (based on the Arthur Miller book by the same name), with Laura Dern and William H. Macy. When Meat Loaf and Steinman got back together in 1993, they delivered a powerful sequel, "Bat Out Of Hell II", which went to #1 in the US and UK and 26 other countries. Bat II sold over 22,000,000 copies.
He appeared in many films, including Crazy in Alabama (1999), Formula 51 (2001) (with Samuel L. Jackson), and Fight Club (1999) (with Brad Pitt). TV credits included guest starring roles as a soldier being held prisoner in Vietnam in Lightning Force (1991), a newspaper reporter in the hit series Glee (2009), a slick landlord of a restaurant who ends up on the menu in HBO series Tales from the Crypt (1989) a blacksmith on Showtime's Dead Man's Gun (1997), as fur trader Jake in Masters of Horror (2005) episode Pelts (2006), in House (2004) as caring husband Eddie, and, most recently, in the supporting role of Doug in the SYFY series Ghost Wars (2017). Hugh Laurie (star of "House") played piano on the song "If I Can't Have You" on Meat Loaf's album "Hang Cool Teddy Bear", which was produced by award-winning music producer Rob Cavallo. (Jack Black also sang on the album.)
Marvin Lee Aday died on January 20, 2022 in Austin, Texas from COVID-19 complications.Primary Genre(s):
-Wagnerian rock
-progressive rock
-hard rock
-soft rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Bat Out of Hell
2. Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are
3. I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
4. Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back
5. The Monster is Loose
6. Everything Louder than Everything Else
7. Paradise by the Dashboard Light
8. Midnight at the Lost and Found- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. So Tell Me Why
2. Look What the Cat Dragged In
3. Talk Dirty to Me
4. Nothin' but a Good Time
5. Sexual Thing
6. Fallen Angel
7. Back to the Rocking Horse
8. Ride the Wind- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Scorpions is known for Knight and Day (2010), Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) and Rock of Ages (2012).Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Rock You Like a Hurricane
2. No One Like You
3. Still Loving You
4. Dynamite
5. Wind of Change
6. I'm Leaving You
7. I Can't Explain
8. Don't Believe Her- Grand Funk Railroad is an American trio band formed in 1969, and named after the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in Michigan. The founding members were Mark Farner, Don Brewer, and Mel Schacher. They were precursors of heavy metal and were promoted as "the loudest rock and roll band in the world" in the early 1970's. In 1970 they had sold more albums than any other American band. In 1971, Grand Funk Railroad set the record at Shea Stadium, selling out in just 71 hours, breaking the previous record by The Beatles. That record still stands today.
Reunited in 1996, the band did three "Bosnian benefit concerts" in 1997, and released a benefit album called 'Bosnia'. Since 2000 the Grand Funk Railroad are using the nickname "The American Band" with the touring line-up: Max Carl-vocals, Don Brewer-drums, Bruce Kulick-guitars, Mel Schacher-bass, and Timothy Cashion-keyboards.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-blues-rock
-boogie rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. We're an American Band
2. The Loco-Motion
3. Take Me
4. Some Kind of Wonderful
5. Gimme Shelter
6. Walk Like a Man
7. I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)
8. All the Girls in the World Beware - Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-Southern rock
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Caught Up in You
2. Hold On Loosely
3. Fantasy Girl
4. Rockin' into the Night
5. Back to Paradise
6. Back Where You Belong
7. If I'd Been the One
8. Chain Lightnin'- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Something About You
2. More Than a Feeling
3. Foreplay/Long Time
4. Rock and Roll Band
5. Smokin'
6. Higher Power
7. Cool the Engines
8. Surrender to Me- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Primary Genre(s):
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Magic
2. Just What I Needed
3. Heartbeat City
4. You're All I've Got Tonight
5. You Might Think
6. Free
7. Since You're Gone
8. Drive- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Round and Round
2. Lay It Down
3. Wanted Man
4. Lack of Communication
5. Shame Shame Shame
6. One Step Away
7. The Morning After
8. City to City- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Judas Priest is an English heavy metal band formed in West Bromwich in 1969. The band have sold over 50 million copies of their albums to date. They are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production, repeated changes of drummer, and lack of major commercial success or attention until 1980, when they adopted a more simplified sound on the album British Steel, which helped shoot them to rock superstar status.Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. A Touch of Evil
2. Turbo Lover
3. Exciter
4. Breaking the Law
5. The Ripper
6. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
7. Diamonds and Rust
8. Painkiller- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-soul-rock
-pop-rock (with a New Wave period from 1980 to 1988)
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
2. Private Eyes
3. Out of Touch
4. You Make My Dreams
5. Rich Girl
6. Family Man
7. She's Gone
8. Maneater- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-boogie rock
-soul-rock
-roots rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. China Grove
2. Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
3. I Cheat the Hangman
4. What a Fool Believes
5. Black Water
6. Jesus Is Just Alright
7. Rockin' Down the Highway
8. Long Train Runnin'- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rainbow is a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, active from 1975 until 1984, 1993 until 1997, and 2015 until present. The band formed in 1975 in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England and the name was inspired by the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Hollywood. Rainbow were ranked No. 90 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band has sold over 28 million records worldwide, with 1'420,000 copies in the UK.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1979 to 1986)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Kill the King
2. Since You Been Gone
3. Stargazer
4. Stone Cold
5. Street of Dreams
6. Man on the Silver Mountain
7. A Light in the Black
8. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
The Jimi Hendrix Experience is known for Forrest Gump (1994), Hit and Run (2012) and Apollo 13 (1995).Primary Genre(s):
-psychedelic rock
-hard rock
-blues-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
2. All Along the Watchtower
3. Purple Haze
4. Crosstown Traffic
5. Fire
6. Foxy Lady
7. Are You Experienced?
8. Burning of the Midnight Lamp- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1977 to 1985)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Burnin' for You
2. Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
3. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
4. Godzilla
5. Dancin' in the Ruins
6. Take Me Away
7. Shooting Shark
8. Dominance and Submission- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
One of the pioneers of heavy metal and one of its most commercially successful and iconic artists, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England, as John Michael Osbourne. After leaving school and having many odd jobs, he ended up in a band with Geezer Butler. This group then split, leading Ozzy and Geezer to join Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in a new band that went under several names (including Earth) that ended up being called Black Sabbath after a song of the same name that appeared on their first album (released 1969/70). He recorded several more albums with Sabbath despite the decline of his relationship with Tony Iommi, which after several break ups led to him leaving/being fired from the band in 1979. After a short time he launched a solo career with a line up behind him that varied immensely from album to album and tour to tour. During the 80's he was treated several times for alcoholism and was sued twice for the suicides of some of his young fans (cleared completely). Following his No More Tears album he declared he would tour for the last time. In 1991, on his last date he reformed briefly on stage with Black Sabbath for three songs. However a much talked about reformation tour fell through and Ozzy seemed to go into retirement, his bassist (Mike Inez) joined Alice in Chains and the guitarist (Zakk Wylde) formed his own band, Pride and Glory. Now however he is recording a new album and has said he intends to tour again. The album should be out in the summer of 1995 and the tour should be shortly after. Geezer Butler has now quit Sabbath (again) and rejoined Ozzy (he played bass for him on tour during the mid to late 80's) and should play on the new album.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-heavy metal
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Crazy Train
2. No More Tears
3. Mama, I'm Coming Home
4. Road to Nowhere
5. Shot in the Dark
6. I Just Want You
7. See You on the Other Side
8. S.I.N.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Working for the Weekend
2. For You
3. Lovin' Every Minute of It
4. Ain't Looking for Love
5. Turn Me Loose
6. Hot Girls in Love
7. The Kid is Hot Tonite
8. Notorious- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty; bassist Stu Cook; and drummer Doug Clifford. These members had played together since 1959, first as the Blue Velvets and later as the Golliwogs, before settling on the Creedence Clearwater Revival name in 1967.
CCR's musical style encompassed roots rock, swamp rock, blues rock, Southern rock, country rock, and blue-eyed soul. Belying their origins in the East Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the band often played in a Southern rock style, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River and other elements of Southern United States iconography. The band's songs rarely dealt with romantic love, concentrating instead on political and socially conscious lyrics about topics such as the Vietnam War. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival in Upstate New York, and was the first major act signed to appear there.
CCR disbanded acrimoniously in late 1972 after four years of chart-topping success. Tom Fogerty had officially left the previous year, and John was at odds with the remaining members over matters of business and artistic control, all of which resulted in subsequent lawsuits among the former band-mates. Fogerty's ongoing disagreements with Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz created further protracted court battles, and John Fogerty refused to perform with the two other surviving members at Creedence's 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though the band has never officially reunited, John Fogerty continues to perform CCR songs as part of his solo act, while Cook and Clifford have performed as Creedence Clearwater Revisited since the 1990s.
CCR's music is still a staple of U.S. classic rock radio airplay; 28 million CCR records have been sold in the U.S. alone. The compilation album Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, originally released in 1976, is still on the Billboard 200 album chart and reached the 500-weeks mark in December 2020. It has been awarded 10× platinum.Primary Genre(s):
-swamp rock
-roots rock
-Southern rock (even though they're from California)
-blues-rock
-country-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Fortunate Son
2. Good Golly Miss Molly
3. Born on the Bayou
4. Green River
5. Someday Never Comes
6. Travelin' Band
7. Commotion
8. Suzie Q- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John Such quit the band in 1994, and longtime guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013. The band have been credited with " the gap between heavy metal and pop with style and ease".
In 1984 and 1985, Bon Jovi released their first two albums and their debut single "Runaway" managed to crack the Top 40. In 1986, the band achieved widespread success and global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet, which sold over 20 million copies and included three Top 10 singles, two of which reached No. 1 ("You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer") Their fourth album, New Jersey (1988), was also very successful, selling over 10 million copies and featuring five Top 10 singles (a record for a glam metal album), two of which reached No. 1 ("Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You"). After the band toured and recorded extensively during the late 1980s, culminating in the 1988-1990 New Jersey Tour, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora released successful solo albums in 1990 and 1991, respectively.
In 1992, the band returned with the double-platinum Keep the Faith. This was followed by their biggest-selling and longest-charting single "Always" (1994) and the album These Days (1995), which proved to be a bigger success in Europe than in the United States, producing four Top Ten singles in the United Kingdom. Following a second hiatus, their 2000 album Crush, particularly the lead single, "It's My Life", successfully introduced the band to a younger audience, and the band considered this their comeback album. The band followed up with Bounce in 2002. The platinum albums Have a Nice Day (2005) and Lost Highway (2007) saw the band incorporate elements of country music into some of the songs, including the 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", which won the band a Grammy Award and became the first single by a rock band to reach No. 1 on the country charts. The Circle (2009) marked a return to the band's rock sound. The band also enjoyed great success touring, with both the 2005-2006 Have a Nice Day Tour and 2007-2008 Lost Highway Tour ranking among the Top 20 highest-grossing concert tours of the 2000s. After recording and releasing Because We Can in 2013, lead guitarist Richie Sambora left the band just before an April concert during the supporting tour to spend more time with his family. The band released their first studio album without Sambora, Burning Bridges, in 2015 and the follow-up album This House Is Not For Sale in 2016, the tour for which encompassed 2017-2019. Their most recent album 2020 (2020) was re-worked to include songs inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests; its supporting tour was delayed to 2022.
Bon Jovi has released 16 studio albums, five compilations and three live albums. They have sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling American rock bands, and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans. Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. The band received the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Livin' on a Prayer
2. Runaway
3. Bad Medicine
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Keep the Faith
6. It's My Life
7. Let It Rock
8. Lay Your Hands on Me- Actor
- Composer
- Art Department
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1980 in Bellevue, Washington out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 15 studio albums and continues to tour and record. Queensrÿche has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including over 6 million albums in the United States. The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime, which is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal concept albums of all time.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-heavy metal
-progressive rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Empire
2. I Don't Believe in Love
3. Jet City Woman
4. Queen of the Reich
5. Eyes of a Stranger
6. The Needle Lies
7. Another Rainy Night (Without You)
8. Best I Can- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Motörhead was an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was the sole constant member, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which revitalized heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Motörhead released 22 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums, and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart.Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Ace of Spades
2. Overkill
3. Orgasmatron
4. Iron Fist
5. The Train Kept A-Rollin'
6. Louie Louie
7. Metropolis
8. Bomber- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. The Boys Are Back in Town
2. Jailbreak
3. The Rocker
4. Thunder and Lightning
5. Bad Reputation
6. Chinatown
7. Dedication
8. Do Anything You Want To- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Contagious
2. Summertime Girls
3. Beautiful Dreamer
4. Mean Streak
5. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
6. Don't Stop Runnin'
7. Midnight in Tokyo
8. Black Tiger- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar) and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist. They continue to tour and record with co-founder Rossington (the band's sole continuous member), Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. In January 2018, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour, and continues touring as of October 2019. Members are also working on their fifteenth album.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd No. 95 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. To date, the band has sold more than 28 million records in the United States.Primary Genre(s):
-Southern rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Free Bird
2. Saturday Night Special
3. Simple Man
4. Gimme Three Steps
5. Gimme Back My Bullets
6. Tuesday's Gone
7. That Smell
8. What's Your Name- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his single and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album of classical compositions in 2001. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the seventh-best-selling recording artist and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 160 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is one of the best-selling albums in the United States.Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Only the Good Die Young
2. Big Shot
3. We Didn't Start the Fire
4. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
5. You May Be Right
6. Captain Jack
7. New York State of Mind
8. A Matter of Trust- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Can't Hold Back
2. High on You
3. Caught in the Game
4. Eye of the Tiger
5. Poor Man's Son
6. Is This Love
7. Burning Heart
8. Too Hot to Sleep- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Sweet, a '70s British rock band that was part of the "glam" movement, got its start in 1965 with the band Wainwright's Gentlemen. Among its members were Mick Tucker and Ian Gillan (later to join Deep Purple). Gillan left the band and was eventually replaced by vocalist Brian Connolly. In January of 1968 Connolly and Tucker left the band and formed their own, calling it The Sweetshop. Bass player Steve Priest joined them, as did guitarist Frank Torpey. The band developed somewhat of a following on the "pub" circuit, and was soon signed to a contract by Fontana Records. Since there was already an existing band called The Sweetshop, the band changed its name to The Sweet. They recorded a single, "Slow Motion", but it went nowhere. Fontana dropped them and Torpey left the band.
They kept playing for the next few years, building a following and going through several personnel and management changes and doing some recording, but they remained hitless. In 1971 they finally had a hit with "Funny Funny". Tensions had been building with their songwriting/management team, and the band was unhappy with the "bubble-gum" image they were being cast in and their reputation as just a lightweight pop band. In 1972 they had another hit with "Coco" and a bigger one with "Little Willy", which hit #3 on the US charts. In 1973 the band raised eyebrows with a performance at the Palace Theater in Kilmarnock, UK, during which the audience reaction was so hostile--apparently they weren't expecting the band to appear in lipstick, eye makeup and the other accouterments of the "glam" movement--that bottles were thrown at the band and they had to be rushed offstage. That incident didn't seem to adversely affect the band's record sales, though, and they soon released one of their biggest hits, "Ballroom Blitz".
In 1974 the band and their producer decided to part with the songwriting/management team that had guided the band for several years, one of the reasons being they wanted more artistic control over the band's career, which they didn't believe they were getting. They recorded several more albums after the departure, including "Desolation Boulevard", containing "Fox on the Run", which became a hit single and, unlike their other hits, was actually written by the band.
Looking for a change, the band split from its longtime label, RCA, in 1977 and signed with Polydor Records. Their first album for the label, "Level Headed" in 1978, was a major change in the band's sound, with its richer, fuller and complex orchestrations--one of its songs, "Love Is Like Oxygen", often caused listeners who heard it on the radio to mistake it for an Electric Light Orchestra song.
The band finally toured the US in 1978, but as an opening act for Bob Seger rather than on their own card. In 1979 Brian Connolly left the band, due to ill health and an increasingly severe alcohol problem. The band recorded several more albums, but none were "chartbusters", and in 1981 they disbanded. In 1985 original members Scott and Tucker reformed the band with new personnel. The new band has stayed together, with various personnel changes, ever since.
Founding member Brian Connolly died of liver failure in 1997 and Mick Tucker died in 2002 from leukemia.Primary Genre(s):
-glam rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Fox on the Run
2. The Ballroom Blitz
3. Sweet F.A.
4. Set Me Free
5. Action
6. Teenage Rampage
7. Little Willy
8. Hellraiser- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. The lineup, when first signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Guns N' Roses has released six studio albums, accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, including 45 million in the United States, making them the 41st best-selling artist of all time.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Sweet Child o' Mine
2. You Could Be Mine
3. Civil War
4. Hair of the Dog
5. Welcome to the Jungle
6. November Rain
7. Nightrain
8. Mr. Brownstone- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
The Beatles were an English rock band that became arguably the most successful act of the 20th century. They contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas of love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity and liberation that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking walls in the minds of millions, thus making impact on human history.
In July of 1957, in Liverpool, Paul McCartney met John Lennon. Both were teenagers. Paul impressed John with his mastery of acoustic guitar, and was invited to join Lennon's group, The Quarrymen. George Harrison joined them in February of 1958. In 1959 they played regular gigs at a club called The Casbah. They were joined by vocalist Stuart Sutcliffe, and by drummer Peter Best, whose mother owned The Casbah club. Early incarnations of the band included The Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moon Dogs, and The Silver Beetles. John Lennon dreamed up the band's final name, The Beatles, a mix of beat with beetle. In 1960 The Beatles toured in Hamburg, Germany. There they were joined by Ringo Starr, who previously played with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In Hamburg, The Beatles made their first studio work as a backing band for singer Tony Sheridan's recordings for the German Polydor label, however, in the credits the band's name was changed to The Beat Brothers. From February 1961 to August 1963, The Beatles played a regular gig at the Cavern. They were paid five pounds for their first show, rising to three hundred pounds per show in 1963. In two and a half years The Beatles gave 262 shows at the Cavern in Liverpool.
Brian Epstein was invited to be the manager of the Beatles in November 1961. His diplomatic way of dealing with the Beatles and with their previous manager resulted in a December 10, 1961, meeting, where it was decided that Epstein would manage the band. A 5-year management contract was signed by four members at then-drummer Pete Best's home on January 24, 1962. Epstein did not put his signature on it, giving the musicians the freedom of choice. At that time McCartney and Harrison were under 21, so the paper wasn't technically legal. None of them realized this and it did not matter to them. What mattered was their genuine trust in Epstein. He changed their early image for the good. Brian Epstein made them wear suits and ties, classic shoes, and newer haircuts. They were advised to update their manners on stage and quit eating and drinking in public. Brian Epstein worked hard on both the Beatles' image and public relations. He improved their image enough to make them accepted by the conservative media. Most if not all of their communication off-stage was managed by Brian Epstein.
On January 1, 1962, The Beatles came to London and recorded fifteen songs at the Decca Records. They were not hired, but the material helped them later. During the year 1962, they made several trips to London and auditioned for various labels. In May of 1962 Epstein canceled the group's contract with Tony Sheridan and the German label. Brian Epstein was persistent in trying to sign a record deal for the Beatles, even after being rejected by every major record label in UK, like Columbia, Philips, Oriole, Decca, and Pye. Epstein transferred a demo tape to disc with HMV technician Jim Foy, who liked their song and referred it to Parlophone's George Martin. On June 6, 1962, at the Abbey Road studios, they passed Martin's audition with the exception of Pete Best. George Martin liked them, but recommended the change of a drummer. Being asked by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison; Epstein fired Pete Best. After a mutual decision the band was completed with Ringo Starr, who duly became the fourth Beatle. In September of 1962 The Beatles recorded their first hit Love Me Do, which charted in UK, and reached the top of the US singles chart.
London became their new home since 1963. On February 11, 1963, The Beatles recorded the entire album 'Please, Please me' in one day, working non-stop during ten-hour studio session. In May and June, 1963, the band made a tour with Roy Orbison. In August of 1963, their single She Loves You became a super hit. Their October 1963 performance at the London Palladium made them famous in Great Britain and initiated the Beatlemania in the UK. The show at the London Palladium was broadcast live and seen by twelve million viewers. Then, in November 1962, The Beatles gave a charity concert at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. There, performing for the rich and famous, John Lennon made his famous announcement: Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry.
In early performances the Beatles included popular songs from the 40s and 50s. They played rock-n-roll and R&B-based pop songs while they gradually worked on developing a style of their own. Their mixture of rock-n-roll, skiffle, blues, country, soul, and a simplified version of 1930s jazz resulted in several multi-genre and cross-style sounding songs. They admitted their interest in the music of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Little Richard and other entertainers of the 40s, 50s and early 60s. Beatles' distinctive vocals were sometimes reminiscent of the Everly Brothers' tight harmonies. By 1965 their style absorbed ethnic music influences from India and other Oriental cultures, and later expanded into psychedelic experiments and classical-sounding compositions. Their creative search covered a range of styles from jazz and rock to a cosmopolitan cross-cultural and cross-genre compositions.
Initially the Beatles were a guitars and drums band. In the course of their career every member became a multi-instrumentalist. George Harrison played the lead guitar and also introduced such exotic instruments as ukulele, Indian sitars, flutes, tabla, darbouka, and tampur drums. John Lennon played a variety of guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and horns. Paul McCartney played bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, piano and keyboards, as well as over 40 other musical instruments. The Beatles were the first popular band that used a classical touch of strings and keyboard instruments; their producer George Martin scored Baroque orchestrations in several songs, such as Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, In My Life, and a full orchestra in Sgt. Pepper. John Lennon and Paul McCartney played piano in many of their songs. Their jamming on a piano together led to creation of their best-selling hit I Want to Hold Your Hand in 1963.
At first the Beatles were rejected by Dick Clark after testing a recording of their song on his show. Then Brian Epstein approached Ed Sullivan, who discussed them with Walter Cronkite after seeing them on his CBS Evening News in 1963. Brian Epstein also managed to get their music played by influential radio stations in Washington and New York. The US consumer reaction was peaking, a single 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' was released in December 1963 by the Capitol Records. Their sensational tour in the USA began with three TV shows at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, in February of 1964. After that The Beatles endured several years of extremely intensive recording, filming, and touring. They stopped public performances after 1966, but continued their recording contracts. By 1985 The Beatles had sold over one billion records. Music became their ticket to ride around the world. Beatlemania never really ended since its initiation. It still lives as a movable feast in many hearts and minds, as a sweet memory of youth, when all you need is love and a little help from a friend to be happy.
The Beatles' first two feature films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help (1965), were made in collaboration with an American director, Richard Lester. Their humorous, ironic, and farcical film performances are reminiscent of the Marx Brothers' comedies. Later The Beatles moved into the area of psychedelic innovations with the animated film Yellow Submarine (1966). Their surrealistic TV movie The Magical Mystery Tour (1967) became the cause for the first major criticism of their work in the British press. Their film music was also released as studio albums. Original music by The Beatles as well as re-makes of their songs has been also used, often uncredited, in music scores of feature films and documentaries. Some of The Beatles concert and studio performances were filmed on several occasions and were later edited and released after the band's dissolution. In 1999 the remastered and remixed film The Beatles Yellow Submarine Adventure (2000) delighted a younger audience with incredible animation and songs.
All four members were charismatic and individually talented artists, they sparked each other from the beginning. Eventually they made a much better group effort under the thorough management by Brian Epstein. His coaching helped consolidate their talents and mutual stimulation into beautiful teamwork. Paul McCartney had the privilege of a better musical education, having studied classical piano and guitar in his childhood. He progressed as a lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a singer-songwriter. McCartney wrote more songs for the Beatles than other members of the band. His songs Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, When I'm 64, Let It Be are among the Beatles' best hits. Yesterday is considered the most-covered song in history with over three thousand versions of it recorded by various artists. McCartney accepted the agreement that was offered by John Lennon in 1957, about the 50/50 authorship of every song written by either one of them. Most of The Beatles' songs are formally credited to both names, regardless of the fact that many of the songs were written individually.
On June 25, 1967, The Beatles made history becoming the first band globally transmitted on TV to an estimated 400 million people worldwide. The Beatles were a segment in the first-ever worldwide satellite hook-up and their new song "All You Need Is Love" was broadcast live during the show. Two months later The Beatles lost their creative manager Brian Epstein, whose talent for problem-solving was unmatched. "That was it, the beginning of the end", said Lennon. Evolution of each member's creativity and musicianship also led to individual career ambitions.
John Lennon was experimenting with psychedelic poetry and art. His creativity was very unique and innovative. Lennon wrote Come Together, Girl, Revolution, Strawberry Fields and many other Beatles' hits. An out-of-context reprinting of Lennon's remarks on the Beatlemania phenomenon caused problems in the media. His comparison of Beatles' popularity to that of Jesus Christ was used to attack them publicly, causing cancellations of their performances and even burning of their records. Lennon had to apologize several times in press and on TV, including at a Chicago press conference. In 1967 John Lennon met Japanese artist Yoko Ono, whom he later married. George Harrison was the lead guitar player and also took sitar lessons from Ravi Shankar. Harrison had his own inner light of creativity and spirituality, he wrote Something, Taxman, I me mine, and other hits. Ringo Starr sang 'Yellow Submarine' and a few other songs. He has made a film career and also toured with his All Stars Band and released several solo albums. His 1973 release "Ringo" was the last album to feature all four living Beatles, although not on the same song.
The Beatles created over 240 songs, they recorded many singles and albums, made films and TV shows. Thousands of memorable pictures popularized their image. In their evolution from beginners to the leaders of entertainment, they learned from many world cultures, absorbed from various styles, and created their own. Their cross-style compositions covered a range of influences from English folk ballads to Indian raga; absorbing from Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Little Richard, and others. The songwriting and performing talents of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, fused in the Beatles' music. Lennon and McCartney initiated changes in music publishing industry by breaking the Tin Pan Alley monopoly of songwriting. Their legacy became possible due to highly professional work by Brian Epstein and George Martin. In 1994 three surviving members reunited and produced Lennon's previously unknown song 'Free as a Bird'. It was preserved by Yoko Ono on a tape recording made by Lennon in 1977. The song was re-arranged and re-mixed with the voices of three surviving members. The Beatles Anthology TV documentary was watched by 420 million people in 1995.
The Beatles represent the collective consciousness of several generations. Millions of viewers and listeners across the universe became conditioned to the sounds and images of The Beatles. Their influence on the modern world never stopped. Numbers may only show the tip of the iceberg (record sales, shows admissions, top hits, etc.). As image-makers and role models they pushed boundaries in lifestyle and business, affecting customers behavior and consumption beyond the entertainment industry by turning all life into entertainment. A brilliant blend of music and lyrics in their songs made influence on many minds by carrying messages like: give peace a chance and people working it out. A message more powerful than political control, it broke through second and third world censorship and regulations and set many millions free.
Steve Jobs, being a big fan of Paul McCartney and The Beatles, referred to them on many occasions and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. When asked about his business model, Steve Jobs replied: My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.
The Beatles made impact on human history, because their influence has been liberating for generations of nowhere men living in misery beyond the Iron Curtain. Something in their songs and images appealed to everybody who wanted to become free as a bird. Their songs carrying powerful ideas of real love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking chains and walls in the minds of millions. The Beatles expressed themselves in beautiful and liberating words of love, happiness, freedom, and revolution, and carried those messages to people across the universe. Their songs and images helped many freedom-loving people to come together for revolutions in Prague and Warsaw, Beijing and Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow. The Beatles has been an inspiration for those who take the long and winding road to freedom.
Even after The Beatles had gone, the individual members continued to spread their message; from the concert for Bangladesh by George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1971, to 2003 "Back in USSR" concert by Paul McCartney on the Red Square in Moscow, and his 2004 show near the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg where the Communist Revolution took place, just imagine.
In 2005 the Entertainment magazine poll named The Beatles the most iconic entertainers of the 20th Century. In July of 2006, the guitar on which Paul McCartney played his first chords and impressed John Lennon, was sold at an auction for over $600,000.
In July 2012, Paul McCartney rocked the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He delivered a live performance of The Beatles's timeless hit "Hey Jude" and engaged the crowd of people from all over the world to join his band in a sing along finale. The show was seen by a live audience of 80000 people at the Olympic Park Stadium in addition to an estimated TV audience of two billion people worldwide.Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-psychedelic rock
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Helter Skelter
2. Hello, Goodbye
3. Hey Jude
4. Let It Be
5. Revolution
6. Paperback Writer
7. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
8. Back in the U.S.S.R.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Uncle Tom's Cabin
2. Cherry Pie
3. The Bitter Pill
4. Down Boys
5. Big Talk
6. 32 Pennies
7. D.R.F.S.R.
8. Train, Train- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and still lives in the state today. At age 17, he formed a rock band called the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz, before finally settling on Alice Cooper. The line-up included himself, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton and Neal Smith. Rumors (which the band did not necessarily make efforts to deny) to the contrary, the name was not chosen from a Ouija board reading nor was it named after a woman once burned at the stake for witchcraft -- it was picked because the random name had a twisted sense of originality and misleading innocence, complementing the band's bizarre and macabre stage theatrics and lyric themes.
The band got their first big break playing at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles one night in 1969 when Frank Zappa discovered them and signed them to his record label. After two albums-and relocating to Detroit -- they were signed by Warner Bros., hooked up with famous producer Robert Ezrin and came out with their third album, the breakthrough "Love It to Death" in 1971. Several albums followed, including "Killer", the highly successful "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Muscle of Love". The band made an appearance in the movie Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) and their own theatrically released documentary Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974). Alice himself also starred in an episode of The Female Instinct (1972).
The original Alice Cooper band broke up in 1975, with the lead singer getting his name legally changed to Alice Cooper -- and performing under the name ever since -- while some of the other members formed a band called the Billion Dollar Babies. That same year saw the release of a Greatest Hits album, while Alice as a solo artist completed the album "Welcome to My Nightmare" and his incredibly theatrical tour. It was on this tour that he met his future wife Sheryl Cooper, who had been hired as a dancer.
Along with the album and tour came a television special, Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975), and both included dialog from horror movie legend Vincent Price. Alice made a number of other television and movie appearances in the second half of the decade, including The Muppet Show (1976), Mae West's final film Sextette (1977), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and several appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).
However, by the late 1970s, Alice's problems with alcohol became life-threatening, and he was checked into a clinic for rehabilitation. He told of his experiences on the semi-fictional album "From the Inside" (there was also a comic book of the same title), and explored different sounds in the early 1980s with four albums ("Flush the Fashion", "Special Forces", "Zipper Catches Skin", "DaDa"). After having a severe "falling off the wagon" to the point of almost dying, he sobered up once more -- this time for good -- and returned with the albums "Constrictor", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and the 1989 album "Trash", which featured the hit song "Poison". The 1980s also saw Alice starring in the horror films Monster Dog (1984) and Prince of Darkness (1987), as well as having mostly new songs for the soundtracks to Roadie (1980), Class of 1984 (1982), Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988) and Shocker (1989).
However, it was the 1990s that brought Alice's most memorable movie appearance: playing himself in Wayne's World (1992). The phrase uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, "We're not worthy!", became one of the most popular movie catchphrases of the decade. Alice also played the father of Freddy Krueger in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and himself on That '70s Show (1998) and Something Wilder (1994). The decade also saw the release of his "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last Temptation". Alice toured occasionally but took a break from releasing albums until 2000, when he released "Brutal Planet". He followed this up with "Dragon Town", "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" and "Dirty Diamonds", and continues to tour regularly, performing shows with the bizarrely dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock (with a hair band period from 1986 to 1991)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Poison
2. Feed My Frankenstein
3. Under My Wheels
4. From the Inside
5. Billion Dollar Babies
6. Clones (We're All)
7. Bed of Nails
8. Hey Stoopid- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-blues-rock
-hard rock (with an AOR/melodic rock period from 1986 to 1993)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. How About That
2. Feel Like Makin' Love
3. Bad Company
4. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
5. Shooting Star
6. Run with the Pack
7. Honey Child
8. Ready for Love- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida formed in 1976. The band was part of Southern rock but also at the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp who arose in the late 1970s and 1980s. The genre eschews the synthesizer-based music and fashion elements popular in synth pop and New Romanticism in favor of a straightforward classic rock sound, and lyrics based on blue collar issues.Primary Genre(s):
-heartland rock
-blues-rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Need to Know
2. Refugee
3. American Girl
4. Runnin' Down a Dream
5. You Got Lucky
6. Don't Come Around Here No More
7. Don't Do Me Like That
8. You Wreck Me- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Robert Allen Zimmerman was born 24 May 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota; his father Abe worked for the Standard Oil Co. Six years later the family moved to Hibbing, often the coldest place in the US, where he taught himself piano and guitar and formed several high school rock bands. In 1959 he entered the University of Minnesota and began performing as Bob Dylan at clubs in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The following year he went to New York, performed in Greenwich Village folk clubs, and spent much time in the hospital room of his hero Woody Guthrie. Late in 1961 Columbia signed him to a contract and the following year released his first album, containing two original songs. Next year "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" appeared, with all original songs including the 1960s anthem "Blowin' in the Wind." After several more important acoustic/folk albums, and tours with Joan Baez, he launched into a new electric/acoustic format with 1965's "Bringing It All Back Home" which, with The Byrds' cover of his "Mr Tambourine Man," launched folk-rock. The documentary Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back (1967) was filmed at this time; he broke off his relationship with Baez and by the end of the year had married Sara Dylan (born Sara Lowndes). Nearly killed in a motorcycle accident 29 July 1966, he withdrew for a time of introspection. After more hard rock performances, his next albums were mostly country. With his career wandering (and critics condemning the fact), Sam Peckinpah asked him to compose the score for, and appear in, his Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) - more memorable as a soundtrack than a film. In 1974 he and The Band went on tour, releasing his first #1 album, "Planet Waves". It was followed a year later by another first-place album, "Blood on the Tracks". After several Rolling Thunder tours, the unsuccessful film Renaldo and Clara (1978) and a divorce, he stunned the music world again by his release of the fundamentalist Christrian album "Slow Train Coming," a cut from which won him his first Grammy. Many tours and albums later, on the eve of a European tour May 1997, he was stricken with histoplasmosis (a possibly fatal infection of the heart sac); he recovered and appeared in Bologna that September at the request of the Pope. In December he received the Kennedy Center Award for artistic excellence.Primary Genre(s):
-folk-rock
-soft rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Tangled Up in Blue
2. Like a Rolling Stone
3. Hurricane
4. Subterranean Homesick Blues
5. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
6. Jokerman
7. All Along the Watchtower
8. I Want You- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
U2 has been perhaps the biggest music act in the world since the late 1980s to the current day. They take prominent stands on human rights issues, expressed through their lyrics and other public statements and actions. The band's lead singer, Bono, has become quite prominent in charity movements and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The band consists of Bono, lead singer and songwriter; The Edge, lead guitar, keyboards, vocals; Adam Clayton, bass guitar; Larry Mullen Jr., drums. Their manager is Paul McGuinness (1978-2013).
The band formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1976. The three members who strongly identified themselves as Christians (all except Clayton) decided to pursue and promote the band's career in a manner that would be consistent with their religious beliefs, which are heavy on social action. Theology professor Eugene Peterson says the band has "little patience with media-driven aspects of the Christian religion and a church and culture that shows little concern for justice and poverty and sickness".
The band's popular 1983 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" commemorated the slaughter of innocent civilians during the Irish troubles. It called for a renunciation of violence, a sentiment that resonated greatly with the people of Ireland. Throughout the 1980s, the band used this song to campaign against the Irish Republican Army's (IRA) efforts to raise money to fuel continued armed conflict. The IRA sent a threat to U2 that if they continued their campaign, they would be kidnapped. The band continued anyway. The band's 1984 album "Unforgettable Fire" was named after paintings made by the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. The album's songs "Pride" and "MLK" were both tributes to the modern-day leader they most admire, Martin Luther King. Another song, "Bad", was about heroin addiction, which was a serious problem in their hometown of Dublin at that time.
U2 were major participants in the historic and seminal "Live Aid" concert of 1985, which raised funds for relief from a severe drought in Ethiopia. The band was seen by many of the 1.5 billion people who viewed the concert on live television, and Bono's unscripted leap into the crowd captured the imagination of all. The more than 75 performing groups raised some $250 million for the charity. In the months following the concert, U2's record sales skyrocketed and have never come back down. In 1986, the band headlined a promotional tour to support Amnesty International, and the effort reportedly tripled the organization's membership.
In the 1990s, the band's music and concerts mocked the excesses of commercialism. Some critics failed to understand that Bono's exaggerated on-stage personas during the "Zoo TV" tour were parodies, and thus concluded that the band had given in to what they in fact were criticizing. In the early 2000s, U2 shifted from stadium extravaganzas to performing in smaller arenas where they were closer to their audiences. In 2004, the band teamed up with iPod for an innovative promotional campaign.
U2 continues their work for charity and social action. They promoted the Northern Ireland Peace Accords, raised money for the survivors of the Omagh bombing, played in devastated Sarajevo following the war there, helped bolster the shaky economy of New York City by playing there following the September 11 terrorist attacks, participated in the Live 8 series of concerts to relieve Third World debt, and continue to promote the Make Poverty History campaign. Bono has become prominent in efforts to end poverty and seek relief from AIDS and promote trade for Africa. He has become quite celebrated for these efforts apart from his music and he often finds himself publicly hobnobbing with presidents and finance ministers to promote these charitable ends.
U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. By that year, they had won 22 Grammy awards, a historic record surpassed only by Stevie Wonder.Primary Genre(s):
-post-punk
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. New Year's Day
2. Sunday Bloody Sunday
3. Where the Streets Have No Name
4. With or Without You
5. Pride (In the Name of Love)
6. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
7. Beautiful Day
8. Mysterious Ways- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Heat of the Moment
2. Days Like These
3. Go
4. Voice of America
5. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
6. Don't Cry
7. Time Again
8. Sole Survivor- Donnie Iris is known for Donnie Iris: Love Is Like a Rock (1981), Donnie Iris: Ah! Leah! (1980) and Donnie Iris: Sweet Merilee (1981).Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. That's the Way Love Ought to Be
2. Ah! Leah!
3. Do You Compute?
4. Love Is Like a Rock
5. Tough World
6. Agnes
7. I Can't Hear You
8. She's So European - Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
David Lee Roth was born in Bloomington Indiana in 1954. A few years later, his father Nathan, a doctor, moved the family to sunny California. The move proved to be a good one because while attending Pasadena Community College, David teamed up with the Van Halen brothers and Michael Anthony to form the Mighty Van Halen hard rock band. Their debut album was in 1978, the self titled album "Van Halen". Their biggest success was the song "Jump" in 1984 - the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. In 1985, Dave decided to branch out on his own and leave the popular Van Halen. Dave's EP "Crazy From The Heat" was a hit and his solo career was on its way. As years passed, Dave's solo career faded. In 1996, Van Halen and Dave reconvened (due to the departure of Dave's replacement, Sammy Hagar) for two new songs on the band's greatest hits CD. Their reunion was short lived as the Van Halen brothers chose a another singer (Gary Cherone formerly of Extreme) over Dave. In 1997, he wrote and released his autobiography book titled "Crazy From The Heat". These days, he still tours as a solo artist.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Just Like Paradise
2. Yankee Rose
3. Big Trouble
4. Shyboy
5. Elephant Gun
6. A Lil' Ain't Enough
7. It's Showtime!
8. Stand Up- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
John Mellencamp was born on 7 October 1951 in Seymour, Indiana, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for The Perfect Storm (2000), Colors (1988) and Footloose (1984). He was previously married to Elaine Irwin, Victoria Granucci and Priscilla Diane Esterline.Primary Genre(s):
-heartland rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Jack & Diane
2. I Need a Lover
3. Hurts So Good
4. Authority Song
5. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock)
6. Cherry Bomb
7. Rain on the Scarecrow
8. Paper in Fire- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-soft rock
-soul-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Mama Told Me (Not to Come)
2. An Old Fashioned Love Song
3. The Show Must Go On
4. The Family of Man
5. Joy to the World
6. Try a Little Tenderness
7. One
8. Black and White- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Black Sabbath were an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history. On 7 March 2017, Black Sabbath announced they had disbanded.Primary Genre(s):
-heavy metal
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. War Pigs
2. Paranoid
3. Iron Man
4. The Mob Rules
5. Sabbra Cadabra
6. Symptom of the Universe
7. Neon Knights
8. Heaven and Hell- Actor
- Soundtrack
Cinderella was an American rock band formed in 1982 from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. Cinderella initially had a heavy metal sound before shifting to a more hard rock/blues rock sound. By the mid-1990s, the band's popularity declined severely due to personal setbacks, break-ups, and changes in the music industry. After a brief hiatus, Cinderella reunited in 1996 and continued to perform live within the next 20 years, but never released any studio material after their 1994 album Still Climbing. The band has sold 15 million records worldwide. They finally disbanded in 2017.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
-blues-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Somebody Save Me
2. Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)
3. Gypsy Road
4. The Last Mile
5. Night Songs
6. Nobody's Fool
7. Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin' Apart at the Seams
8. If You Don't Like It- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams rose to fame with the release of his third album, "Cuts Like a Knife" (1983). The album made him popular throughout the United States. However, it was his fourth album "Reckless" (1984), which is referred to as one of the best albums of the decade that made him an international superstar and gave him his first Grammy nomination. The album also sold four million copies at the time. In 1987, he released his fifth album "Into the Fire", a more social conscious album. The album yielded a top ten single "Heat of the Night", another Grammy nomination and another platinum album to his name.
However, he released the album "Waking Up the Neighbours" (1991) which included the single "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You". The song sold more than three million copies in the United States, becoming the second best selling single, second only to "We Are the World". The song was also Adams' first Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe nomination as the song was written for the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). "Waking Up the Neighbours" sold four million albums in the United States and garnered him six Grammy nominations (a record for a Canadian). He won one for best song written specifically for a motion picture or television ("(Everything I Do) I Do It for You").
In 1993, Adams released a greatest hits album, titled "So Far So Good", which spawned a #1 single, "Please Forgive Me". That same year, he sang the single "All for Love" with Rod Stewart and Sting from the movie The Three Musketeers (1993), which became a #1 single reaching across Europe and North America. He released the single "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" from the movie Don Juan DeMarco (1994), which became his fourth #1 single and his second Academy Award nomination. He became one of two non-American singers to have four number one hits and the most successful Canadian singer ever.
In 1996, Adams released the album "18 Til I Die", which has garnered him another two Grammy nominations. Later that year, he wrote and sang the single "I Finally Found Someone", a duet with Barbra Streisand for her movie, The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). "I Finally Found Someone" became a top ten single and won Adams his third Academy Award nomination. He released three more albums since then, "MTV Unplugged" (1997), "On a Day Like Today" (1998) and most recently the songs for the DreamWorks animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) in which Adams earned his second Golden Globe nomination for "Best Song".
Bryan Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for his contributions to popular music and philanthropic work through his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Heaven
2. Summer of '69
3. Heat of the Night
4. Kids Wanna Rock
5. Run to You
6. Somebody
7. This Time
8. Cuts Like a Knife- Producer
- Actor
- Composer
Sammy Hagar was born on 13 October 1947 in Monterey, California, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar (2016), Footloose (1984) and Over the Top (1987). He has been married to Kari Hagar since 29 November 1995. They have two children. He was previously married to Betsy Berardi.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. I Can't Drive 55
2. There's Only One Way to Rock
3. Give to Live
4. Heavy Metal
5. This Planet's on Fire (Burn in Hell)
6. Eagles Fly
7. I Don't Need Love
8. Trans Am (Highway Wonderland)- Music Artist
- Actress
- Music Department
Pat Benatar was born Patricia Andrzejewski in Brooklyn and raised in suburban Lindenhurst, Long Island. Her mother Millie had sacrificed her own career as an opera singer to bring up Pat and son Andrew. Years later, it was Pat who sang classically, honing the powers of her 4.5-octave voice as a member of Lindenhurst High's musical theater department. Having been accepted at Juilliard, Pat shocked friends and family by marrying her high-school sweetheart Dennis T. Benatar, a soldier, and moving off to Virginia where he had been stationed. Before long, the tedium of life as a housewife/bank teller proved too much for Pat, and she joined Coxon's Army, a cabaret band on the Richmond club circuit. Coxon's Army rose to new heights of fame, and Pat was instilled with the confidence to move to New York City and pursue her own dream, which brought her to Manhattan's "Catch A Rising Star".
Having thrilled the audience with her first performance on amateur night, Pat soon found herself with a paying gig, a manager and a recording contract, but her image was still in limbo. Primarily singing torch songs and Judy Garland classics, she longed to perform hard-rocking tunes in the Led Zeppelin vein. Her wishes were fulfilled when her handlers introduced her to Cleveland guitar-man Neil Giraldo, whose aggressive playing unleashed Pat's inner rocker. She had found her muse, and when her audience roared one Halloween night over a sultry costume she wore on stage, she had found her image.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Heartbreaker
2. Shadows of the Night
3. I Need a Lover
4. Hit Me with Your Best Shot
5. Anxiety (Get Nervous)
6. We Belong
7. Don't Let It Show
8. Take It Anyway You Want It- Actor
- Sound Department
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Reach for the Sky
2. Don't Treat Me Bad
3. Love of a Lifetime
4. Rock on the Radio
5. All She Wrote
6. Shake & Tumble
7. Oughta Be a Law
8. When I Look Into Your Eyes- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Born William Michael Albert Broad in Middlesex, England, in 1955, the first child of Bill and Joan Broad. When he was 2, his father moved the family to Long Island, New York, in pursuit of the American dream. They returned 4 years later (now with a baby sister, Jane) to Dorking. America made a big impression on Billy; he loved the big cars and rock music. The family moved next to the Running Horses Public House in Mickleham, until 1963, while their home in Goring, Sussex, was being built.
The time in Goring would be a happy period for the Broads. Billy enjoyed a fairly normal childhood, hanging out with his pals and getting up to the usual mischief strong-willed boys are wont to. The Broads were a religious family who regularly attended church, Billy joined the Boy Scouts in Goring, though was reputedly asked to leave after getting caught kissing a girl. Idol was a bright student, and passed his 11 plus, but he was bored at school. When a teacher wrote "Billy is Idle" in the margin of one of his works, it stuck in his mind and later inspired his stage name. Nevertheless, Billy progressed well and, when the family moved to Bromley in Kent in 1971, he transferred to the Ravensbourne Grammar School.
The distractions of London, however, were not conducive to studying, and he failed to achieve the requirements for university entrance. His disappointed parents arranged for him to retake his exams at Orpington College of further education. Idol enjoyed the more relaxed environment here and, a year later, had secured his place at Sussex University. He began his course in English and Philosophy in September 1975. This coincided with the explosion of punk rock, which captured the imagination of Idol far more than his studies. He started hanging out with a group of like-minded friends at the in-venues in London, instantly recognizable by their Malcolm Mclaren SEX shop clothes and peg pants. They became known as the Bromley Contingent (the contingent included Susan Dallion (Siouxsie Sioux), later of Siouxsie and the Banshees) and began following the anarchic Sex Pistols to every gig. At this time, Bill Broad changed his name to Billy Idol and decided he wanted to be a real part of the musical revolution. This meant dropping out of university and forming his first band, The Rockettes, with his classmate, Steve Upstone. They played covers of various bands, The Animals, The Beatles and The Doors. They gigged in the campus cafeteria and did one gig outside the University at the local youth hall, though they never recorded. They also did an audition for famed music managers Malcolm McLaren and Bernie Rhodes, who told Steve that he was the real star. This and his father's doubt and disapproval only served to make Billy more determined.
When Billy met Tony James, a fellow student, and became Chelsea, then Generation X, they started to get noticed. The final Generation X lineup - Tony James on bass, John Towe on drums, Bob Andrews on guitar and Idol as lead vocals, played their first live show in November 1976 and began writing and recording original material. In 1977, Chrysalis Records offered them a contract. After 3 albums and with management problems, band discord and the decline of the punk movement, Billy decided it was time to go solo. He relocated to New York and hooked up with Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. In 1981, the EP "Don't Stop" (comprising a cover of Tommy James' 1960s hit "Mony Mony" and a pair of remixed Generation X tracks, including "Dancing With Myself") landed him a solo deal with Chrysalis. He found the perfect collaborator and partner in guitarist Steve Stevens and released the self-titled "Billy Idol" in 1982. Idol made full use of the MTV explosion - the hugely successful videos for "White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself" showcased his peroxide spiky hair, sneer and leathers to great effect. The stage was set for the hugely successful "Rebel Yell" in 1984. These early years were wild with Billy's hell-raising antics generating as much (if not more) publicity than his music. An eight-track best-of, "Vital Idol", was released in 1985 and the popularity of the live video of "Mony Mony" on MTV kept him in the spotlight. 1986 saw a new release, "Whiplash Smile" - it sold well and saw him nominated for a second Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (the first was for "Rebel Yell"), but some felt it failed to live up to expectations. Stevens left to form his own band shortly afterwords.
Idol was ready to try new things, moving to Los Angeles, taking on a new band and appearing in an all-star stage version of The Who's "Tommy". In 1990, however, around the time of the release of his new album, "Charmed Life", Idol was involved in a serious motorcycle accident when he ran a stop sign on his Harley. He almost lost a leg and was confined to bed for 6 months. He battled back bravely - the video for the first single, "Cradle of Love", showed him from the waist up - at the time, he was paralysed below. The album was a success, his fourth in a row to achieve, at least, platinum sales. Idol decided to take a break and try his hand at acting, making his screen debut in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991) in 1991. His next appearances before the camera were less auspicious, after pleading guilty to punching companion Amber Nevel outside a West Hollywood restaurant in 1992. He paid $2700 in fines and was required to appear in a series of anti-drug commercials.
The year 1993's "Cyberpunk" saw a new-look Idol, he had changed his famous peroxide spikes to dreadlocks, and his sound to synthesized techo beats. The album flopped, and Idol sank into drug addiction. He had another brush with death in 1994 when he overdosed and had to be treated in a Los Angeles hospital. Upon his discharge, he calmed down and began to focus more on fatherhood. Although he has never married, Idol has two children - a son from his long term relationship with former Hot Gossip Dancer Perri Lister, William Broad, born in June 1988, and a daughter, Bonnie Blue, from another relationship, born 1989. The next few years were quiet until 1998, when a cameo appearance in the hit movie, The Wedding Singer (1998), began an Idol revival. In 1999, his recognition was confirmed with his second wax model opening in Las Vegas. He teamed up with Stevens, once more, and found the old magic was still there. A more extensive "Greatest Hits" was released in 2001 and sold over half a million copies in the USA alone, 2002 saw two VH1 specials - Behind the Music and Storytellers.
Idol is currently working with Stevens on new material, some of which has featured in the most recent tours over the past four years. It may be some time since the hedonistic, hell-raising days but his unbridled passion for music and performing remain and the shows are still no-holds barred. Despite his bad-boy image, offstage Idol is said to be quite gentle and sensitive, knowledgeable with a good sense of humour and vegetarian.Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Rebel Yell
2. Eyes Without a Face
3. White Wedding
4. Cradle of Love
5. Mony Mony
6. L.A. Woman
7. Speed
8. Flesh for Fantasy- Shooting Star is known for Shooting Star: Tonight (1980), Shooting Star: Where You Gonna Run (1982) and Shooting Star: Straight Ahead (1983).Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Touch Me Tonight
2. Flesh and Blood
3. Last Chance
4. You've Got What I Need
5. Bring It On
6. Breakout
7. Hang On for Your Life
8. Let's Roll - Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian hard rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. The band's self-titled debut album was released in June, 1984. The album featured four charting hits in Canada: a completely re-recorded version of "New Girl Now," "Burning In Love," "Wave Babies," and "Stay In the Light." "New Girl Now" was also Honeymoon Suite's first single to reach the top-50 in the United States. In the spring of 1987, the band performed the title track for the Mel Gibson film Lethal Weapon, which was composed by Michael Kamen.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. New Girl Now
2. What Does It Take
3. Feel It Again
4. Lethal Weapon
5. Burning in Love
6. Love Changes Everything
7. Lookin' Out for Number One
8. Wounded- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Billy Squier was born on 12 May 1950 in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for St. Elmo's Fire (1985), Battleship (2012) and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). He has been married to Nicole Schoen since 2002.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. The Stroke
2. My Kinda Lover
3. Everybody Wants You
4. Lonely Is the Night
5. In the Dark
6. Don't Let Me Go
7. (L.O.V.E.) Four Letter Word
8. Rock Me Tonite- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Skid Row is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
-heavy metal (output from 1991 on)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Youth Gone Wild
2. Slave to the Grind
3. Wasted Time
4. I Remember You
5. 18 and Life
6. Rattlesnake Shake
7. Big Guns
8. Monkey Business- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and John Densmore on drums. The band got its name, at Morrison's suggestion from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception. They were unique and among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison's death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanding in 1973. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.Primary Genre(s):
-psychedelic rock
-blues-rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Light My Fire
2. Touch Me
3. The End
4. Break On Through (To the Other Side)
5. L.A. Woman
6. Roadhouse Blues
7. Riders on the Storm
8. Hello, I Love You- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band is known for Armageddon (1998), Striking Distance (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994).Primary Genre(s):
-heartland rock
-roots rock
-blues-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Old Time Rock and Roll
2. Shakedown
3. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
4. Her Strut
5. Downtown Train
6. Hollywood Nights
7. Like a Rock
8. Katmandu- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-progressive rock
-hard rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Tom Sawyer
2. Limelight
3. The Spirit of Radio
4. Working Man
5. YYZ
6. Red Barchetta
7. Freewill
8. 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx- Primary Genre(s):
-country-rock
-Southern rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Can't You See
2. Heard It in a Love Song
3. Fire on the Mountain
4. This Ol' Cowboy
5. Long Hard Ride
6. See You Later, I'm Gone
7. Hillbilly Band
8. Take the Highway - Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver, and was of Irish and Dutch ancestry. His mother, Adele Ann (Zerilli), worked as a legal secretary, and was of Italian descent. He has an older sister, Virginia, and a younger sister Pamela Springsteen. Bruce was raised as a Catholic. He was inspired to take up music when he, at the age of seven, saw Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). When he was thirteen he bought his first guitar for 18 dollars. His mother took out a loan when Bruce was 16 and bought him a Kent guitar for 60 dollars.
In 1965, he became the lead guitarist in the band "The Castiles", he would later become lead singer in the band. The Castiles recorded two original songs at a public recording studio in Brick Township, New Jersey. From 1969 to 1971 he performed with Steven Van Zandt, Danny Federici and Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez in a band called "Child", that was renamed later to "Steel Mill" when guitarist Robbin Thompson joined the band.
In 1972, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records and released his debut album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.", with his New Jersey-based colleagues, who would later be called "The E Street Band", In January, 1973. The album had critical success and so did their second album, "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle", released in September, 1973, but had little commercial success. In 1975, after more than 14 month of recording, their third album was released, "Born to Run", which had both critical and commercial success for Springsteen and the band.
In 1977, he returned to the studio, after a two-year legal battle with former manager Mike Appel, and produced the album, "Darkness on the Edge of Town", released in 1978 and became a turning point musically for his career. In 1980 came the release of "The River", the album sold well and he followed up with the album "Nebraska" which had critical success but had little commercial success. Springsteen came back with a bang with the release of the album "Born in the U.S.A." in 1984, which sold 15 million copies in the U.S. alone and had seven top ten singles. It became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
After the huge success of the "Born in the U.S.A." album he released a more calm and sedate album in 1987, "Tunnel of Love", which included songs about love lost and the challenges of love, after the break-up with first wife, Julianne Phillips. The albums released in 1992, "Lucky Town" and "Human Touch" were also popular, Human Touch being the most popular of the two, hitting the number one spot of the best-selling albums in the UK. In 1994 he won an academy award for the song "Streets of Philadelphia" featured in the film Philadelphia (1993).
In 1995, he released the album "The Ghost of Tom Joad", which was mostly a solo guitar album and was inspired by "Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass," a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dale Maharidge. After being apart from the E Street Band for several years they reunited with a successful tour which ended in Madison Square Garden in New York in the year 2000. In 2002 he released the first studio album with the full band in over 18 years, "The Rising", and it became a critical and commercial success. In 2005 he released his third folk album (after "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad"), "Devils & Dust" It was followed by "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" in 2006 and "Magic" in 2007. His 16th album will be released on January 27, 2009 and is called "Working on a Dream".
He married for the first time at the age of 35 to actress Julianne Phillips. The marriage helped boost her acting career, but his traveling took it's toll on the marriage and the final blow came when she found out his affair with the American singer/songwriter/guitarist Patti Scialfa. Their marriage ended in 1989. He then married Patti Scialfa on June 8th, 1991, They had lived together since the separation between him and his first wife and they had a child before they married. They have three children together: Evan James Springsteen (born July 25, 1990), Jessica Rae (born December 30, 1991) and Sam Ryan Springsteen (born January 5, 1994).Primary Genre(s):
-heartland rock
-folk-rock
-pop-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Born to Run
2. Born in the U.S.A.
3. Prove It All Night
4. Badlands
5. Cover Me
6. Blinded by the Light
7. Dancing in the Dark
8. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Started performing in the New York club, CBGBs. They released their first album, "Talking Heads: 77," in 1977. They recorded the film, Stop Making Sense (1984), in 1984, with director Jonathan Demme. After releasing their 1988 album, "Naked," the group broke up. In 1992, they released "Popular Favorites: Sand in the Vaseline," a 2-disc set of greatest hits with rarities and never-before-released hits. After 1992, the group never got together again until 1999, to record the commentary for the special edition "Stop Making Sense" DVD. They played for the first time in a decade in 2002, when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They played four early hits there: "Psycho Killer," "Life During Wartime," "Burning Down the House" and "Take Me to the River." Now, in 2005, they will be re-releasing all their albums remastered to perfection in a box-set complete with unreleased songs, included. Thus far, no reunion date has been set for them to play.Primary Genre(s):
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. (Nothing But) Flowers
2. Once in a Lifetime
3. Burning Down the House
4. Psycho Killer
5. Life During Wartime
6. And She Was
7. Wild Wild Life
8. Memories Can't Wait- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Blondie rates highly as the single most popular and successful group to emerge from the 1970s New York City punk/New Wave music scene. Blondie was founded by singer/songwriter Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein in 1974. Drummer Clem Burke, bass player Gary Valentine and keyboardist Jimmy Destri joined the band in 1975. Blondie started out by performing in such noted New York City underground club venues as CBGB's, Max's Kansas City (Harry had previously worked at this place as a waitress), and Club 51. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1976. Their second album "Plastic Letters" followed in 1977; the song "Denis" was a #2 hit in England.
Blondie achieved even greater success with their third album "Parallel Lines" in 1978; the excellent disco song "Heart of Glass" was a #1 hit on the US and UK radio charts alike and sold over a million copies. The album went on to sell over twenty million copies worldwide. The punchy "One Way or Another" reached #24 on the US Billboard charts and the charming "Sunday Girl" was a #1 hit in Britain. Blondie enjoyed three more US #1 radio hits in steady succession in the early 1980s: the rousing "Call Me" (this song was featured as the opening credits tune for the film American Gigolo (1980)), the catchy calypso number "The Tide is High", and the funky proto-rap offering "Rapture". Alas, the group was forced to break up in 1982 because of the failure of their ill-received sixth album "The Hunter" and Stein being diagnosed with the rare severe illness pemphigus.
In 1997, Blondie got back together and went on an international tour in 1998. In 1999, the band released their seventh album "No Exit". The song "Maria" was a #1 hit in England (this single was the sixth Blondie song to reach the #1 top spot in Britain). This comeback album was followed by "The Curse of Blondie" in 2003. Blondie's songs have been featured on the soundtracks to numerous films that include The Heartbreak Kid (2007), New York Minute (2004), Mean Girls (2004), Monster (2003), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Coyote Ugly (2000), 54 (1998), Donnie Brasco (1997), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Summer School (1987), The Last American Virgin (1982), Just Before Dawn (1981), Endless Love (1981), Roadie (1980) and Little Darlings (1980).
The group appear as themselves in the documentary movie The Blank Generation (1976). Blondie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006 and the Rock Walk Hall of Fame on May 22, 2006. In 2008, Blondie embarked on another international tour.Primary Genre(s):
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Hanging on the Telephone
2. One Way or Another
3. Call Me
4. Maria
5. Dreaming
6. Rapture
7. Heart of Glass
8. Island of Lost Souls- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-hard rock
-Southern rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. The Lumberjack
2. I Stand Alone
3. Reach for Me
4. Headed for Destruction
5. Locked and Loaded
6. Dumb Ass Country Boy
7. We're an American Band
8. Screwdriver- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Huey Lewis and the News is an American pop rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Mainstream Rock charts. Their most successful album, Sports, was released in 1983. The album, along with its videos being featured on MTV, catapulted the group to worldwide fame. That expanded when the song "The Power of Love" was featured in the hit film Back to the Future.Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-soul-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Heart and Soul
2. The Power of Love
3. Do You Believe in Love
4. I Want a New Drug
5. Workin' for a Livin'
6. If This Is It
7. The Heart of Rock & Roll
8. Bad Is Bad- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. They began playing in 1972 and disbanded in 2016. Twisted Sister's best-known hits include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", which had music videos noted for their sense of slapstick humor.Primary Genre(s):
-hair band
-heavy metal
Top Favorite Songs:
1. You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll
2. We're Not Gonna Take It
3. I Wanna Rock
4. Stay Hungry
5. Come Out and Play
6. The Kids Are Back
7. Shoot 'Em Down
8. The Price- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest collections of 20th century art.
Born David Jones, he changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with the then well-known Davy Jones (lead singer of The Monkees). The 1960s were not a happy period for Bowie, who remained a struggling artist, awaiting his breakthrough. He dabbled in many different styles of music (without commercial success), and other art forms such as acting, mime, painting, and play-writing. He finally achieved his commercial breakthrough in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity", which was released at the time of the moon landing. Despite the fact that the literal meaning of the lyrics relates to an astronaut who is lost in space, this song was used by the BBC in their coverage of the moon landing, and this helped it become such a success. The album, which followed "Space Oddity", and the two, which followed (one of which included the song "The Man Who Sold The World", covered by Lulu and Nirvana) failed to produce another hit single, and Bowie's career appeared to be in decline.
However, he made the first of many successful "comebacks" in 1972 with "Ziggy Stardust", a concept album about a space-age rock star. This album was followed by others in a similar vein, rock albums built around a central character and concerned with futuristic themes of Armageddon, gender dysfunction/confusion, as well as more contemporary themes such as the destructiveness of success and fame, and the dangers inherent in star worship. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.
In 1975, he changed tack. Musically, he released "Young Americans", a soul (or plastic soul as he later referred to it) album. This produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame". He also appeared in his first major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien. The following year, he released "Station to Station," containing some of the material he had written for the soundtrack to this film (which was not used). As his drug problem heightened, his behavior became more erratic. Reports of his insanity started to appear, and he continued to waste away physically. He fled back to Europe, finally settling in Berlin, where he changed musical direction again and recorded three of the most influential albums of all time, an electronic trilogy with Brian Eno "Low, Heroes and Lodger". Towards the end of the 1970s, he finally kicked his drug habit, and recorded the album many of his fans consider his best, the Japanese-influenced "Scary Monsters". Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama The Elephant Man, and to considerable acclaim.
The next few years saw something of a drop-off in his musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album which proved an unexpected massive commercial success, and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States. According to producer Nile Rodgers, the album was made in just 17 days and was "the easiest album" he'd ever made in his life. The tour which followed, "Serious Moonlight", was his most successful ever. Faced with this success on a massive scale, Bowie apparently attempted to "repeat the formula" in the next two albums, with less success (and to critical scorn). Finally, in the late 1980s, he turned his back on commercial success and his solo career, forming the hard rock band, Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By now, his acting career was in decline. After the comparative failure of Labyrinth (1986), the movie industry appears to have decided that Bowie was not a sufficient name to be a lead actor in a major movie, and since that date, most of his roles have been cameos or glorified cameos. Tin Machine toured extensively and released two albums, with little critical or commercial success.
In 1992, Bowie again changed direction and re-launched his solo career with "Black Tie White Noise", a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman. He released three albums to considerable critical acclaim and reasonable commercial success. In 1995, he renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled 'Reality.' The Reality Tour began in November 2003 and, after great commercial success, was extended into July 2004. In June 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack and the tour did not finish its scheduled run.
After recovering, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in November 2006. He also returned to acting. He played Tesla in The Prestige (2006) and had a small cameo in the comedy David Bowie (2006) for fan Ricky Gervais. In 2007, he did a cartoon voice in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) playing Lord Royal Highness. He had a brief cameo in the movie ''Bandslam'' released in 2009; after a ten year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called 'The Next Day', featuring a homage cover to his earlier work ''Heroes''. The music video of ''Stars are Out Tonight'' premiered on 25 February 2013. It consists of other songs like ''Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day", "Love is Lost", "The Next Day", etc.
In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries The Last Panthers (2015), which aired in November 2015. The theme used for The Last Panthers (2015) was also the title track for his January 2016 release, ''Blackstar" (released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday) was met with critical acclaim. Following Bowie's death two days later, on 10 January 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day.
On 15 January, "Blackstar" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. The song also debuted at #1 on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bowie won all five nominated awards: Best Rock Performance; Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package; and Best Rock Song. The wins marked Bowie's first ever in musical categories. David Bowie influenced the course of popular music several times and had an effect on several generations of musicians.Primary Genre(s):
-glam rock
-New Wave
-progressive rock (debatable)
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Suffragette City
2. Young Americans
3. Space Oddity
4. Let's Dance
5. Rebel Rebel
6. Modern Love
7. Changes
8. Ziggy Stardust- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Primary Genre(s):
-pop-rock
-psychedelic rock
-blues-rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Jungle Love
2. Take the Money and Run
3. Space Intro/Fly Like an Eagle
4. Swingtown
5. Threshold/Jet Airliner
6. Abracadabra
7. I Want to Make the World Turn Around
8. Rock'n Me- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
"Europe" is a Swedish rock band founded by vocalist Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum. In the first period of its existence, the group belonged to the genre of glam metal, but after the revival moved to modern hard rock and heavy metal. Group Europe was founded in 1979 in Stockholm under the name of Force; its first lineup included Joey Tempest, John Norum, Peter Olsson and Tony Reno. However, at first they could not build their career, because the record companies they sent their demos to, demanded to cut their hair and sing in Swedish instead of English. This led to the departure of Olsson, whose place was later taken by Marcel Jacob. However, after three months Olsson returned without getting along with the new group. In 1982, thanks to the Tempest's girlfriend, the band got into the Rock-SM contest, where for the first time it was called Europe and won; Joey Tempest and John Norum received separate awards for the best vocalist and best guitar player, respectively, and the band received a contract with the label Hot Records. The band took a new name from one of the albums of Deep Purple. The debut album of the same name was released in 1983. The album did not achieve much commercial success, did not receive any certification, and took only 8th position in the Swedish chart, although the single Seven Doors Hotel hit the Top 10 in Japan. A year later followed the second album Wings of Tomorrow, which, like the previous one, was not successful, although it drew the attention of Columbia Records, who offered the band an international contract. Two years later, in May 1986, the third album, The Final Countdown, was released, glorifying the band to the whole world. The album was produced by Epic Records. He took a position in the top ten in the 12 charts, received four certifications. Doug Stone from Allmusic called this album "one of the brightest and most outstanding in history." The song of the same name became an international hit. However, after its release, John Norum decided to leave the band, disappointed in the dominance of synthesizers in production. In his place was invited to Ki Marcello. One year later the album Out of This World was released, which repeated the success of its predecessor, took the position in the 12th chart, received five certifications. Prisoners in Paradise came out three years later, became gold in Sweden and hit the 6th chart. In 1992, the group disintegrated, although formally it was positioned as a break; Vocalist Joey Tempest was engaged in a solo career, and the other participants took part in other projects. The band's contract with Epic Records was dissolved.Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Rock the Night
2. The Final Countdown
3. Seven Doors Hotel
4. Cherokee
5. Ninja
6. Superstitious
7. Scream of Anger
8. Open Your Heart- Axe is known for Axe: Heat in the Street (1983) and Axe: I Think You'll Remember Tonight (1983).Primary Genre(s):
-AOR/melodic rock
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Rock 'n' Roll Party in the Streets
2. Heat in the Street
3. Burn the City Down
4. I Think You'll Remember Tonight
5. Foolin' Your Mama Again
6. Young Hearts
7. Holdin' On
8. I Got the Fire - Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Primary Genre(s):
-New Wave
Top Favorite Songs:
1. Mesopotamia
2. Love Shack
3. Rock Lobster
4. Private Idaho
5. Roam
6. Strobe Light
7. Deadbeat Club
8. Good Stuff