http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&category=genre&genreId=4&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rssTop Oldies Artists on Rhapsody OnlineOldiesen720Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:29:52 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&category=genre&genreId=4&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.978&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Classic Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:48 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.978 art.978 The Rolling Stones art.978 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.978&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.978&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
In the 1964 British Invasion they were promoted as bad boys, but what began as a gimmick has stuck as an indelible image, and not just because of incidents like Brian Jones’ mysterious death in 1969 and a violent murder during their set at Altamont later that year. In their music, the Stones pioneered British rock’s tone of ironic detachment and wrote about offhand brutality, sex as power, and other taboos. In those days, Mick Jagger was branded a “Lucifer” figure, thanks to songs like “Sympathy for the Devil.” In the ’80s the Stones lost their dangerous aura while still seeming “bad” — they’ve become icons of an elegantly debauched, world-weary decadence. But Jagger remains the most self-consciously assured appropriator of black performers’ up-front sexuality; Keith Richards’ Chuck Berry–derived riffing defines rock rhythm guitar (not to mention rock guitar rhythm); the stalwart rhythm section of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts holds its own; and Jagger and Richards continue to add to what is arguably one of the most significant oeuvres in rock history.

Jagger and Richards first met at Dartford Maypole County Primary School. When they ran into each other 10 years later in 1960, they were both avid fans of blues and American R&B, and they found they had a mutual friend in guitarist Dick Taylor, a fellow student of Richards’ at Sidcup Art School. Jagger was attending the London School of Economics and playing in Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with Taylor. Richards joined the band as second guitarist; soon afterward, he was expelled from Dartford Technical College for truancy.

Meanwhile, Brian Jones had begun skipping school in Cheltenham to practice bebop alto sax and clarinet. By the time he was 16, he had fathered two illegitimate children and run off briefly to Scandinavia, where he began playing guitar. Back in Cheltenham he joined the Ramrods, then drifted to London with his girlfriend and one of his children. He began playing with Alexis Korner’s Blues, Inc., then decided to start his own band; a want ad attracted pianist Ian Stewart (b. 1938; d. December 12, 1985).

As Elmo Lewis, Jones began working at the Ealing Blues Club, where he ran into a later, loosely knit version of Blues, Inc., which at the time included drummer Charlie Watts. Jagger and Richards began jamming with Blues, Inc., and while Jagger, Richards, and Jones began to practice on their own, Jagger became the featured singer with Blues, Inc.

Jones, Jagger, and Richards shared a tiny, cheap London apartment, and with drummer Tony Chapman they cut a demo tape, which was rejected by EMI. Taylor left to attend the Royal College of Art; he eventually formed the Pretty Things. Ian Stewart’s job with a chemical company kept the rest of the group from starving. By the time Taylor left, they began to call themselves the Rolling Stones, after a Muddy Waters song.

On July 12, 1962, the Rolling Stones — Jagger, Richards, Jones, a returned Dick Taylor on bass, and Mick Avory, later of the Kinks, on drums — played their first show at the Marquee. Avory and Taylor were replaced by Tony Chapman and Bill Wyman, from the Cliftons. Chapman didn’t work out, and the band spent months recruiting a cautious Charlie Watts, who worked for an advertising agency and had left Blues, Inc. when its schedule got too busy. In January 1963 Watts completed the band.

Local entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky booked the Stones at his Crawdaddy Club for an eight-month, highly successful residency. He was also their unofficial manager until Andrew Loog Oldham, with financing from Eric Easton, signed them as clients. By then the Beatles were a British sensation, and Oldham decided to promote the Stones as their nasty opposites. He eased out the mild-mannered Stewart, who subsequently became a Stones roadie and frequent session and tour pianist.

In June 1963 the Stones released their first single, Chuck Berry’s “Come On.” After the band played on the British TV rock show Thank Your Lucky Stars, its producer reportedly told Oldham to get rid of “that vile-looking singer with the tire-tread lips.” The single reached Number 21 on the British chart. The Stones also appeared at the first annual National Jazz and Blues Festival in London’s borough of Richmond and in September were part of a package tour with the Everly Brothers, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. In December 1963 the Stones’ second single, “I Wanna Be Your Man” (written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney), made the British Top 15. In January 1964 the Stones did their first headlining British tour, with the Ronettes, and released a version of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” which made Number Three.

“Not Fade Away” also made the U.S. singles chart (Number 48). By this time the band had become a sensation in Britain, with the press gleefully reporting that band members had been seen urinating in public. In April 1964 their first album was released in the U.K., and two months later they made their first American tour. Their cover of the Bobby Womack/Valentinos song “It’s All Over Now” was a British Number One, their first. Their June American tour was a smashing success; in Chicago, where they’d stopped off to record the Five by Five EP at the Chess Records studio, riots broke out when the band tried to give a press conference. The Stones’ version of the blues standard “Little Red Rooster,” which had become another U.K. Number One, was banned in the U.S. because of its “objectionable” lyrics.

Jagger and Richards had now begun composing their own tunes (at first using the “Nanker Phelge” pseudonym for group compositions). Their “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back to Me)” was the group’s first U.S. Top 40 hit, in August. The followup, a nonoriginal, “Time Is on My Side,” made Number Six in November. From that point on, all but a handful of Stones hits were Jagger-Richards compositions.

In January 1965 their “The Last Time” became another U.K. Number One and cracked the U.S. Top 10 in the spring. The band’s next single, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” reigned at Number One for four weeks that summer and remains perhaps the most famous song in its remarkable canon. Jagger and Richards continued to write hits with increasingly sophisticated lyrics: “Get Off My Cloud” (Number One, 1965), “As Tears Go By” (Number Six, 1965), “19th Nervous Breakdown” (Number Two, 1966), “Mother’s Little Helper” (Number Eight, 1966), “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” (Number Nine, 1966).

Aftermath, the first Stones LP of all original material, came out in 1966, though its impact was minimized by the simultaneous release of the Beatles’ Revolver and Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. The Middle Eastern–tinged “Paint It, Black” (1966) and the ballad “Ruby Tuesday” (1967), were both U.S. Number One hits.

In January 1967 the Stones caused another sensation when they performed “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (“Ruby Tuesday”’s B side) on The Ed Sullivan Show. Jagger mumbled the title lines after threats of censorship (some claimed that the line was censored; others that Jagger actually sang “Let’s spend some time together”; Jagger later said, “When it came to that line, I sang mumble”). In February Jagger and Richards were arrested on drug-possession charges in Britain; in May, Brian Jones, too, was arrested. The heavy jail sentences they received were eventually suspended on appeal. The Stones temporarily withdrew from public appearances; Jagger and his girlfriend, singer Marianne Faithfull, went to India with the Beatles to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Stones’ next single release didn’t appear until the fall: the Number 14 “Dandelion.” Its B side, “We Love You” (Number 50), on which John Lennon and Paul McCartney sang backup vocals, was intended as a thank-you to fans.

In December came Their Satanic Majesties Request, the Stones’ psychedelic answer record to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper — and an ambitious mess. By the time the album’s lone single, “She’s a Rainbow” had become a Number 25 hit, Allen Klein had become the group’s manager.

May 1968 saw the release of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” a Number Three hit, and a return to basic rock & roll. After five months of delay provoked by controversial album-sleeve photos, the eclectic Beggars Banquet was released and was hailed by critics as the band’s finest achievement. On June 9, 1969, Brian Jones, the Stones’ most musically adventurous member, who had lent sitar, dulcimer, and, on “Under My Thumb,” marimba to the band’s sound, and who had been in Morocco recording nomadic Joujouka musicians, left the band with this explanation: “I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting.” Within a week he was replaced by ex–John Mayall guitarist Mick Taylor. Jones announced that he would form his own band, but on July 3, 1969, he was found dead in his swimming pool; the coroner’s report cited “death by misadventure.” Jones, beset by drug problems — and the realization that the band now belonged squarely to Jagger and Richards — had barely participated in the Beggars Banquet sessions.

At an outdoor concert in London’s Hyde Park a few days after Jones’ death, Jagger read an excerpt from the poet Shelley and released thousands of butterflies over the park. On July 11, the day after Jones was buried, the Stones released “Honky Tonk Women,” another Number One, and another Stones classic. By this time, every Stones album went gold in short order, and Let It Bleed (a sardonic reply to the Beatles’ soon-to-be-released Let It Be) was no exception. “Gimme Shelter” received constant airplay. Jones appeared on most of the album’s tracks, though Taylor also made his first on-disc appearances.

After going to Australia to star in the film Ned Kelly, Jagger rejoined the band for the start of its hugely successful 1969 American tour, the band’s first U.S. trip in three years. But the Stones’ Satanic image came to haunt them at a free thank-you-America concert at California’s Altamont Speedway. In the darkness just in front of the stage, a young black man, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed to death by members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, whom the Stones — on advice of the Grateful Dead — had hired to provide security for the event. The incident was captured on film by the Maysles brothers in their feature-length documentary Gimme Shelter. Public outcry that “Sympathy for the Devil” (which they had performed earlier in the show; they were playing “Under My Thumb” when the murder occurred) had in some way incited the violence led the Stones to drop the tune from their stage shows for the next six years.

After another spell of inactivity, the Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! live album was released in the fall of 1970 and went platinum. That same year the Stones formed their own Rolling Stones Records, an Atlantic subsidiary. The band’s first album for its own label, Sticky Fingers (Number One, 1971) — which introduced their Andy Warhol — designed lips-and-lolling-tongue logo — yielded hits in “Brown Sugar” (Number One, 1971) and “Wild Horses” (Number 28, 1971). Jagger, who had starred in Nicolas Roeg’s 1970 Performance (the soundtrack of which contained “Memo From Turner”), married Nicaraguan fashion model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and the pair became international jet-set favorites. Though many interpreted Jagger’s acceptance into high society as yet another sign that rock was dead, or that at least the Stones had lost their spark, Exile on Main Street (Number One, 1972), a double album, was another critically acclaimed hit, yielding “Tumbling Dice” (Number Seven) and “Happy” (Number 22). By this time the Stones were touring the U.S. once every three years; their 1972 extravaganza, like those in 1975, 1978, and 1981, was a sold-out affair.

Goats Head Soup (Number One, 1973) was termed the band’s worst effort since Satanic Majesties by critics, yet it contained hits in “Angie” (Number One, 1973) and “(Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo) Heartbreaker” (Number 15, 1974). It’s Only Rock n’ Roll (Number One, 1974) yielded Top 20 hits in the title tune and a cover of the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” Mick Taylor left the band after that album; and after trying out scores of sessionmen (many of whom showed up on the next LP, 1976’s Black and Blue), the Stones settled on Ron Wood, then still nominally committed to Rod Stewart and the Faces (who disbanded soon after Wood joined the Stones officially in 1976). In 1979 Richards and Wood, with Meters drummer Ziggy Modeliste and fusion bassist Stanley Clarke, toured as the New Barbarians.

Black and Blue was the Stones’ fifth consecutive LP of new material to top the album chart, though it contained only one hit single, the Number 10 “Fool to Cry.” Wyman, who had released a 1974 solo album, Monkey Grip (the first Stone to do so), recorded another, Stone Alone. Jagger guested on “I Can Feel the Fire” on Wood’s solo first LP, I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Wood has since recorded several more albums, and while none were commercial hits (Gimme Some Neck peaked at Number 45 in 1979), his work was generally well received.

The ethnic-stereotype lyrics of the title song from Some Girls (Number One, 1978) provoked public protest (the last outcry had been in 1976 over Black and Blue’s battered-woman advertising campaign). Aside from the disco crossover “Miss You” (Number One), the music was bare-bones rock & roll — in response, some speculated, to the punk movement’s claims that the band was too old and too affluent to rock anymore.

Richards and his longtime common-law wife, Anita Pallenburg, were arrested in March 1977 in Canada for heroin possession — jeopardizing the band’s future — but he subsequently kicked his habit and in 1978 was given a suspended sentence.

In 1981 Tattoo You was Number One for nine weeks (1980’s Emotional Rescue also went to Number One) and produced the hits “Start Me Up” (Number Two, 1981) and “Waiting on a Friend” (Number 13, 1981), the latter featuring jazz great Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone. The 1981 tour spawned an album, Still Life, and a movie, Let’s Spend the Night Together (directed by Hal Ashby), which grossed $50 million.

Through the ’80s the group became more an institution than an influential force. Nevertheless, both Undercover (Number Four, 1983) and Dirty Work (Number Four, 1986) were certifiable hits despite not topping the chart, as every new studio album had done in the decade before. Each album produced only one Top 20 hit, “Undercover of the Night” (Number Nine, 1983) and “Harlem Shuffle” (Number Five, 1986), the latter a remake of a minor 1964 hit by Bob and Earl.

Jagger and Richards grew estranged from each other, and the band would not record for three years. Jagger released his first solo album, the platinum She’s the Boss, in 1984. His second, 1987’s Primitive Cool, didn’t even break the Top 40. Richards, who’d long declared he would never undertake a solo album (and who resented Jagger’s making music outside the band), countered in 1988 with the gold Talk Is Cheap, backed up by the X-Pensive Winos: guitarist Waddy Wachtel and the rhythm section of Steve Jordan and Charley Drayton.

The two Stones sniped at each other in the press and in song: Richards’ album track “You Don’t Move Me” was directed at his longtime partner. Nevertheless, shortly before the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in January 1989 the two traveled to Barbados to begin writing songs for a new Stones album. Steel Wheels (Number Three, 1989) showed the group spinning its wheels musically, and were it not for the band’s first American tour in eight years, it is doubtful the LP would have sold anywhere near its 2 million copies. But the 50-date tour, which reportedly grossed $140 million, was an artistic triumph. As the group’s fifth live album, Flashpoint (Number 16, 1991), demonstrated, never had the Stones sounded so cohesive onstage.

Bill Wyman announced his long-rumored decision to leave the group after 30 years, in late 1992. “I was quite happy to stop after that,” the 56-year-old bassist told a British TV show. The announcement helped deflect attention from Wyman’s love life: In 1989 he married model Mandy Smith, who was just 131⁄2 when the two began dating. The couple divorced in 1990, the same year that Mick Jagger finally married his longtime lover, Jerry Hall. (Jagger and Hall would later split up.)

The early ’90s were a time for solo albums from Richards — Live at the Hollywood Palladium and Main Offender (Number 99, 1992)and Jagger’s Wandering Spirit (Number 11, 1993). Neither sold spectacularly; apparently fans are most interested in Jagger and Richards when they work together. Wood released Slide on This, his first solo album in over a decade, and Watts pursued his real love, jazz, with the Charlie Watts Orchestra.

In 1994 Jagger, Richards, Watts, and Wood, along with bassist Darryl Jones (whose credits include working with Miles Davis and Sting) released the critically well-received Voodoo Lounge (Number Two, 1994) and embarked on a major tour that proved one of the highest-grossing of the year, earning a reported $295 million. Voodoo Lounge brought the Stones their first competitive Grammy, 1994’s Best Rock Album award. Voodoo Lounge was also the group’s first release under its new multimillion-dollar, three-album deal with Virgin Records, which included granting Virgin the rights to some choice albums from the Stones’ back catalogue, including Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers, and Some Girls. After having languished in storage for nearly three decades, the Rolling Stones’ Rock & Roll Circus concert film and soundtrack was released in 1996, which featured the Stones in the era of Beggars Banquet, and other rock luminaries — the Who, Jethro Tull, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, and more — as well as various acrobats, fire-eaters, and other circus artists who performed routines between songs.

Meanwhile, back to their standard time lapse of three years between tours, the Stones released Bridges to Babylon (Number Three, 1997, their 19th platinum LP) and launched yet another lavish, sold-out worldwide tour, where they played two-hour concerts consisting of only a few songs off the new album and lots of hits. Corporate sponsorship was particularly intense: long-distance carrier Sprint, for example, paying $4 million to print its company logo on tickets and stage banners. In 1998 the Stones released the obligatory tour album, No Security.

In 1997 Richards coproduced and played on Wingless Angels, an album of Rastafarian spirituals; guested, with Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, on All the King’s Men, a tribute to Presley; and with the rest of the Stones, played on B.B. King’s Deuces Wild. Assembling the roots-rock band the Rhythm Kings, with Peter Frampton and Georgie Fame sitting in, Bill Wyman put out three albums in the late ’90s. Watts continued his jazz excursions with 1996’s orchestral offering, Long Ago and Far Away, and then forayed into world beat with a 2000 collaboration with veteran session drummer Jim Keltner. Mick Taylor’s recording career revived, as the ex-Stone put out Stonesy releases with Carla Olson.

In 2000 "Satisfaction" topped a VH1 Poll of 100 Greatest Rock Songs. Jagger gained more attention in the social columns. In 1999 29-year-old Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez Morad claimed that she was pregnant with his child; Jagger disagreed. Jerry Hall filed for divorce. Jagger, despite the couple’s four children, maintained that their Hindu nuptials did not constitute a legal marriage. When Morad’s child was born, DNA tests concluded that Jagger was indeed the boy’s father. In 2001 he released his fourth solo album, Goddess in the Doorway (Number 39). At the post-9-11 "Concert for New York City," held at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21, 2001, Jagger, Richards and a backing band performed "Salt of the Earth" and "Miss You."

In 2002, the Stones released Forty Licks, a greatest hits package including four new songs, and embarked on yet another tour, including two—one in Toronto and another in Hong Kong—to benefit victims of the SARS epidemic. In November 2003, the band inked a deal allowing the Best Buy chain to be the exclusive seller of their 4-DVD tour document Four Flicks. Some music retailers in the U.S. and Canada, including Best Buy competitor Circuit City and the 100-store HMV Canada, responded by pulling Stones merchandise from their shelves. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Stones No. 4 in its "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," just below the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley.

On Jagger’s 62nd birthday, July 26, 2005, the Stones announced they were releasing a new album, A Bigger Bang (Number 3), followed by a tour. The album included a rare political song from Jagger, "Sweet Neo Con," which was stingingly critical of the Bush Administration’s post Iraq War tactics and included the line, "You say you are a patriot/I think that you’re a crock of shit." The Stones’ A Bigger Bang Tour began in August 2005 and by year’s end had already set the year’s record at $162 million in gross receipts. The tour took the band from North and South America to Europe, Asia and even the 2006 Super Bowl. The tour ended two years later in London. Overall, the Bigger Bang tour earned a staggering $558 million, the highest-grossing tour of all time. The tour was not without its setbacks. During the New Zealand stretch, in May 2006, Richards was hospitalized for brain surgery after reportedly falling from a coconut tree in Fiji. In June, Wood went into rehab for alcohol problems.

The Stones released another 4-CD box set, The Biggest Bang, in June 2007; it also was sold exclusively through Best Buy. The Very Best Of Mick Jagger, a collection of the singer’s solo works, came out in October 2007. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese's April 2008 documentary Shine a Light intimately captured the Stones' 2006 Bigger Bang live performance at New York City's Beacon Theater from sixteen different camera angles and included guest performances by Christina Aguilera, Jack White, and Buddy Guy.

Updated from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69132&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Art & Progressive Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:53 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.69132 art.69132 Pink Floyd art.69132 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69132&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69132&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Dark Side of the Moon. The concept album par excellence, Moon utilizes a narrative lyric structure and musical leitmotifs to give the album a sense of coherence. These compositional strategies culminated in '79s harrowing magnum opus, The Wall, an unflinching look at England's soul -- its educational system, its flirtations with fascism, the conservatism leading up to Thatcher. After Waters' defection, the remaining members came down with a crippling case of the blands but decided to stick it out, releasing a series of flashy (note '95's Pulse), nostalgic commodities that basically sounded like David Gilmour solo efforts (even if they continued to sell like genuine Pink Floyd productions). In July 2005, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and Roger Waters reformed for the Live 8 charity concert. Sadly, in July 2006, Syd Barrett died at the age of 60, from complications of diabetes. - Chad Driscoll]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.154&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '50s Rock 'n' Roll Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.154 art.154 Elvis Presley art.154 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.154&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.154&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.831&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Singer-Songwriter Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:54 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.831 art.831 Bob Dylan art.831 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.831&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.831&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan catapulted the artist to stardom but he was already burning to get away from acoustic backing and match his unique vision to rock, country and blues. Dylan's music influenced a whole new generation of musicians -- such as the Beatles and Stevie Wonder -- to start crafting songs about what was important to them. While Dylan kick-started folk and country rock in his '60s studio work, the ragged home recordings he made with the Band showed that not even poorly placed microphones could stifle brilliance. Dylan still tours these days and records less often then he used to, but as albums such as 1997's Time Out of Mind and 2006's Modern Times prove, the man still has a lot to say and continues to do it in a way that no one else can. - Nick Dedina]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.298&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Classic Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.298 art.298 Bruce Springsteen art.298 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.298&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.298&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska are American Gothics haunted by star-crossed lovers and noble souls hag-ridden by fate into crime, depression, and worst of all, ordinariness. But lest we forget, the original denim rocker has also written some of the most uplifting songs in AOR: every line of "Born to Run" and "Glory Days" offers an ideal place to hang your troubles out to dry. Springsteen plays the perfect tailor for the damaged lives that populate his lyrics, recognizing the tiny flaws and the holes that gape in the human fabric, and doing his best to mend them -- sometimes with simple compassion, sometimes with joy. Just about everything the Boss has done has an air of permanence about it. You just know that when generations hence try to grasp what life meant to us, his music will offer an important clue. But despite his many accomplishments and incredible fame, something has kept the Boss down to earth. He generously handed out hit songs to Patti Smith and Robert Gordon in the 1970s, and even today continues to promote the careers of lesser luminaries such as duet partner Elliot Murphy. - Henry B.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39830&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.39830 art.39830 The Jackson 5 art.39830 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39830&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39830&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44122&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '60s Oldies Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.44122 art.44122 The Beach Boys art.44122 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44122&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44122&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Pet Sounds in May of 1966. In the liner notes of this orchestrated pop masterpiece, Wilson admits that his aim was to write a "teenage symphony to God." Generally hailed as the greatest rock 'n' roll album ever, Pet Sounds struggled to attain the commercial success of the band's earlier suburban hymns. Although the Beach Boys (as well as Brian Wilson) went on to make many more successful albums, they never came close to approximating the innovative genius and transcendent, childlike innocence that was Pet Sounds. - Eric Shea]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61027&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Jam Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:50 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.61027 art.61027 The Grateful Dead art.61027 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61027&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61027&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Workingman's Dead and American Beauty LPs will be pleased to know that there is an overwhelming amount of well-recorded and downloadable live jams from that era when Jerry was younger, the songs were fresh, and the guitars sounded especially warm.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1967&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Soul Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1967 art.1967 Stevie Wonder art.1967 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1967&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1967&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Stevie Morris' prodigious musical talents were recognized when Ronnie White of the Miracles heard the 10-year-old boy, blind from infancy, playing the harmonica for his children, and introduced him to Berry Gordy Jr. of the Hitsville U.S.A. &Number 8212; soon Motown &Number 8212; organization. Gordy named him Little Stevie Wonder. His third single, "Fingertips (Part 2)" was a Number 1 pop and R&B hit eight months later. Both on records and in live shows he was featured playing harmonica, drums, piano, and organ, as well as singing &Number 8212; sometimes all in one number.

During his first three years in show business, Wonder was presented as an R&B screamer in the Ray Charles mold; much was made of the fact that both were blind. In 1964 he appeared on the screen in Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach. Uptight (Number Three, 1966) included "I Was Made to Love Her" (Number Two, 1967), "For Once in My Life" (Number Two, 1968), and "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" (Number Nine, 1968). The Wonder style broadened to include Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" (Number Nine, 1966), the optimistic "A Place in the Sun" (Number Nine, 1968), and an instrumental version of Burt Bacharach's "Alfie." In 1969 he hit the upper reaches of the charts with the ballads "My Cherie Amour" (Number 4) and "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (Number 7).

As his adolescence came to an end, Wonder took charge of his career. By the time of Signed Sealed & Delivered (Number 25, 1970), he was virtually self-sufficient in the studio, serving as his own producer and arranger, playing most of the instruments himself, and writing material with his wife, Syreeta Wright. In this phase, he scored three more hit singles: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Number Three, 1970), "Heaven Help Us All" (Number Nine, 1970), and "If You Really Love Me" (Number Eight, 1971).

When he reached his 21st birthday in 1971, he negotiated a new contract with Motown that made him the label's first artist to win complete artistic control (also at 21 he was due the money he had made as a minor; despite earning over $30 million, he received only $1 million). While his singles upheld the company tradition of hook-happy radio fare, they distinguished themselves with such socially conscious subjects as ghetto hardship and political disenfranchisement, especially in evidence in "Living for the City" (Number Eight, 1973). His albums, beginning with Music of My Mind (Number 21, 1972), on which he played most of the instruments, were devoted to his more exotic musical ideas (which incorporated gospel, rock & roll, jazz, and African and Latin rhythms). To his panoply of instruments, he added synthesizers; played with rare invention and funk, they became the signature of his sound.

Wonder's 1972 tour of the United States with the Rolling Stones helped make Number 1 hits of two singles released within the next year &Number 8212; "Superstition" (written for Jeff Beck) and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" &Number 8212; from Talking Book (Number Three, 1972). The period was difficult personally for Wonder: In 1972 his marriage to Wright ended after only a year (later, with companion Yolanda Simmons, he had two children, as well as a third child by vocalist Melody McCulley). In 1973 he was in a serious car crash that left him in a coma for four days.

In the four years and three albums following Talking Book, Wonder made three more Number 1 singles ("You Haven't Done Nothin'," "I Wish," and "Sir Duke"), sold millions of each, and received 15 Grammy Awards. Innervisions (Number Four, 1973) also included "Higher Ground" (Number Four, 1973), while Fulfillingness' First Finale (Number One, 1974) yielded "Boogie On Reggae Woman" (Number Three, 1974). His songs were covered widely, and he was an acknowledged influence on musicians from Jeff Beck to George Benson to Bob Marley. Working with B.B. King, the Jacksons, the Supremes, Minnie Ripperton, Rufus, and Syreeta Wright, he established himself as a major songwriter and producer. Songs in the Key of Life (Number One, 1976) (a double album released after he had signed a $13-million contract with Motown) was a tour de force and topped the charts for 14 weeks.

Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (Number Four, 1979) three years in the making, was ostensibly the soundtrack to an unreleased film of the same name. Predominantly instrumental, it failed to catch on in a big way at the time but can be seen as a precursor to New Age music. Hotter Than July (Number Three, 1980) returned to the street-dancing spirit of earlier periods (updated in contemporary idioms such as reggae and rap). It yielded "Master Blaster (Jammin')" (Number Five, 1980) and Wonder's plea for an international holiday in memory of Martin Luther King Jr., "Happy Birthday." In 1982 fans still waiting for an album of new material were placated with hit singles: "That Girl" (Number 4), "Do I Do" (Number 13), "Ebony and Ivory"(Number 1) &Number 8212; a duet with Paul McCartney &Number 8212; and the greatest-hits package Musiquarium (Number Four, 1982).

The '80s saw Wonder drastically curtailing studio work but continuing to tour (by the end of the decade becoming Motown's first artist to play the Eastern bloc). In 1982, with Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne, he played the "Peace Sunday" antinuclear rally at the Rose Bowl. In 1984 Detroit gave him the key to the city (he later considered a run for mayor of Detroit), and he played harmonica on Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." Participating in the recording of USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in 1985, he won that year's Oscar for Best Song for "I Just Called to Say I Love You," (Number One, 1984) off The Woman in Red (Number Four, 1984) soundtrack. Dedicating the award to Nelson Mandela, he angered South African radio stations, which then banned all his music.

"Part-Time Lover" (Number One, 1985) became the first single simultaneously to top the pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary, and dance/disco charts; its parent album, In Square Circle, reached Number 5 and won the Grammy for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance. Singing with Elton John and Gladys Knight on Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For" (Number One, 1986) gained Wonder another hit, but, deemed relatively lightweight, neither Characters (Number 17, 1987) nor the soundtrack for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (Number 24, 1991) were greeted with the almost universal acclaim his '70s work had generated.

In 1988 duets with Michael Jackson ("Get It") and Julio Iglesias ("My Love") kept Wonder's name before the public. And, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and earning a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, Stevie Wonder continued to enjoy an ultimately unassailable critical reputation even while his recording output was slender. In 1995, four years after receiving the Nelson Mandela Courage Award, he released Conversation Peace, an intended epic he'd been working on since the late '80s. Critics greeted the 74-minute long work with mixed reviews but were heartened by his return to recording after an eight-year absence. In 1999 Wonder performed at the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXIII and was among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. He also made a rare hour-long appearance on Donny & Marie, where he performed a number of his hits, mostly accompanying himself on keyboards.

Wonder's extensive humanitarian work has concentrated on AIDS awareness; antiapartheid efforts; crusades against drunk driving and drug abuse; and fund-raising for blind and retarded children and the homeless.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster) ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2196&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Soul Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.2196 art.2196 Marvin Gaye art.2196 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2196&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2196&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Gaye started singing at age three in church and was soon playing the organ as well. After a stint in the Air Force, he returned to DC and started singing in streetcorner doo-wop groups, including a top local group, the Rainbows. He formed his own group, the Marquees, in 1957. Under the auspices of supporter Bo Diddley, they cut "Wyatt Earp" for the Okeh label. In 1958 Harvey Fuqua heard the group and enlisted it to become the latest version of his ever-changing backing ensemble, the Moonglows [see entry]. As such, Gaye was heard on "Mama Loocie" and other songs for the Chess label in 1959.

By 1961, the group was touring widely. Detroit impresario Berry Gordy Jr. heard the group and quickly signed Gaye to his fledgling Motown organization later that year. Soon after, Gaye married Gordy's sister Anna. Gaye's first duties with the label were as a session drummer (he played on all the early hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles).

Gaye got his first hit with his fourth release, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," in 1962. Over the next 10 years, working with nearly every producer at Motown (including the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield), he enjoyed over 20 big hits. Although he specialized in midtempo ballads, he also had dance hits: "Hitch Hike" (Number 30, 1963), the 12-bar blues "Can I Get a Witness" (Number 22, 1963), which became a virtual anthem among the British mods), and "Baby Don't You Do It" (Number 27, 1964). But by and large he favored romantic, sometimes sensual ballads. He felt that his desire to move into a more mainstream, sophisticated style was hindered by Motown's emphasis on hits. For a performer as unenthusiastic about some of his material as Gaye later claimed to be, he gave almost every song he ever recorded an inspired reading. His Top 10 hits included "Pride and Joy" (Number 10, 1963), "I'll Be Doggone" (Number Eight, 1965), "Ain't That Peculiar" (Number Eight, 1965), and "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You" (Number Six, 1965). Among his 39 Top 40 singles of the period were also such unlikely hits as "Try It Baby" (Number 15, 1964, with background vocals by the Temptations), "You're a Wonderful One" (Number 15, 1964, with backing vocals by the Supremes), "One More Heartache" (Number 29, 1966), "Chained" (Number 32, 1968), and "You" (Number 34, 1968).

Beginning in 1964 Gaye was teamed with Mary Wells [see entry] for a couple of hits, "Once Upon a Time" (Number 19, 1964) and "What's the Matter With You" (Number 17, 1964), and with Kim Weston for "It Takes Two" (Number 17, 1967). But his greatest duets were with Tammi Terrell: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Number 19, 1967), "Your Precious Love" (Number Five, 1967), "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (Number Eight, 1968), and "You're All I Need to Get By" (Number Seven, 1968), all penned and produced by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. In a 1967 concert Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms onstage, the first sign of the brain tumor that killed her three years later. Although, contrary to popular belief, Gaye and Terrell were not romantically involved (she was involved with Temptation David Ruffin), he was deeply affected by her illness and death. Shortly thereafter Gaye had his biggest solo hit of the '60s with a dejected, paranoid reading of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Number One, 1968), a song that had already been given a fiery treatment by another Motown act, Gladys Knight and the Pips.

The second, quite distinct phase of Gaye's career — and black popular music — began in 1971 with What's Going On. Along with Stevie Wonder, Gaye was one of the first Motown artists to gain complete artistic control of his records. What's Going On was a self-composed and produced song cycle that could rightfully be called a concept album. Berry Gordy Jr., who still maintains that he didn't understand the record, was reluctant to release it. Gaye was vindicated when the album hit Number 6 and spun off three Top 10 singles: "What's Going On" (Number Two, 1971), "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Number Nine, 1971), and "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)" (Number Four, 1971) were impassioned, timeless statements on Vietnam, civil rights, and the state of the world. "What's Going On" has been covered many times in the ensuing years, including a Top 20 version by Cyndi Lauper in 1986.

In 1972 Gaye scored the 20th Century–Fox film Trouble Man, and the dark, minimalist title track gave him yet another Top 10 hit (Number Seven, 1973). By 1973, he had shifted his attention to pure eroticism with Let's Get It On, the title track of which went to Number 1. His late-1973 album with Diana Ross, Diana and Marvin, produced three fairly successful singles: "You're a Special Part of Me" (Number 12, 1973), "Don't Knock My Love" (Number 46, 1974), and "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" (Number 19, 1974), but this project was one of many things Gaye did with Motown that he felt were forced upon him.

Gaye's rocky marriage of 14 years to Anna Gordy Gaye was the subject of Here, My Dear as the '70s closed, with Gaye still reeling from the divorce settlement. He filed for bankruptcy, and his ex-wife later considered suing him for invasion of privacy over the content of Here, My Dear. (The album had been precipitated by court hearings in 1976, when a judge instructed Gaye to make good on overdue alimony payments by recording an album and giving his wife $600,000 in royalties.) With Gordy he fathered a son, Marvin Gaye III. He married his second wife, Janice, in 1977 and that year had a Number 1 hit, "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1." They had two children: Nona, who has since become a recording artist in her own right, and Frankie. Janice was Gaye's muse, but he was also obsessed with her, and the relationship was tumultuous.

Under pressure from the Internal Revenue Service, Gaye moved to Europe to record his 1981 release, In Our Lifetime, which concentrated on his philosophies of love, art, and death. The next year, he left Motown for Columbia. His first album for the label, Midnight Love, sold 2 million copies and included the hit "Sexual Healing," which won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. He sang live on the Grammy broadcast and, in 1983, in concert at Radio City Music Hall. During his Sexual Healing Tour, Gaye closed the show singing his hit in a silk robe, often stripping down to bikini underwear. Fan reaction was mixed. Also in 1983 he appeared in one of the more memorable segments of Motown's 25th-anniversary television special, obviously somewhat disoriented but riveting nonetheless. His a cappella version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," performed before the 1983 NBA All-Star game that year, became an instant bootlegged classic and is included on The Marvin Gaye Collection.

Gaye's comeback was one for the record books. But even with the recognition he longed for, Gaye was depressed, and his cocaine abuse was escalating, despite several attempts to clean up. He returned to the U.S. and moved into his parents' home — where he often quarreled with his father, with whom he'd been at odds since his teenage years. As Gaye later confessed to David Ritz, his internal life was marked by what Gaye viewed as an irreconcilable conflict between good (as represented by his strict religious upbringing) and evil (sex, drugs). In early 1984 Gaye reportedly threatened suicide several times and had become paranoid and irrational. Following a Sunday morning shouting match in his parents' home, Gaye's father shot him to death at point-blank range, he later claimed, in self-defense. Gaye's father was charged with and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He was found to have a brain tumor, and was given a six-year suspended prison sentence.

After his death Motown and Columbia collaborated to produce Dream of a Lifetime and Romantically Yours, both based on unfinished recordings from the Sexual Healing sessions; among the tracks on the first album were the ribald, "Savage in the Sack" and "Masochistic Beauty," and some questioned whether Gaye had intended to release them at all. Since then, Gaye's work has been repackaged in a steady stream of new compilations. In addition, his work has been the subject of several tribute projects. In 1987 Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1632&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Disco Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:58 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1632 art.1632 Bee Gees art.1632 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1632&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1632&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Saturday Night Fever soundtrack with tunes like "Night Fever," "How Deep is Your Love," and of course, "Stayin' Alive." Lush harmonies, symphonic arrangements, and a tendency to reinvent themselves when the going gets tough have made this band one of the longest-running pop acts around. - Sarah Bardeen]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.774&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Classic Rock Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:59 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.774 art.774 The Who art.774 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.774&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.774&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
All four band members grew up around London – Townshend, Daltrey, and Entwistle in the working-class Shepherd's Bush area. Townshend's parents were professional entertainers. He and Entwistle knew each other at school in the late-1950s and played in a Dixieland band when they were in their early teens, with Townshend on banjo and Entwistle on trumpet. They played together in a rock band, but Entwistle left in 1962 to join the Detours. That band included Roger Daltrey, a sheet-metal worker. When the Detours needed to replace a rhythm guitarist, Entwistle suggested Townshend, and Daltrey switched from lead guitar to vocals when the original singer, Colin Dawson, left in1963. Not long after that, drummer Doug Sandom was replaced by Moon, who was then playing in a surf band called the Beachcombers. By early 1964 the group had changed its name to the Who, and not long after, the excitement inspired by Townshend's bashing his guitar out of frustrating during a show ensured it would become a part of the act.

Shortly thereafter, the group came under the wing of manager Pete Meaden, who renamed them the High Numbers and gave them a better-dressed Mod image. The High Numbers released an unsuccessful single, "I'm the Face" b/w "Zoot Suit" (both written by Meaden), then got new managers, former small-time film directors Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. By late 1964 the quartet became the Who again, and with Lambert and Stamp's encouragement they became an even more Mod band, with violent stage show and a repertoire including blues, James Brown, and Motown covers, solely because their Mod audiences loved that music. In fact, despite the billing, the Who's original songs were anything but classic R&B. The group's demo of "I Can't Explain," with sessionman Jimmy Page adding guitar, brought them to producer Shel Talmy (who had also worked with the Kinks) and got them a record deal. When "I Can't Explain" came out in January 1965, it was ignored until the band appeared on the TV show Ready, Steady, Go. Townshend smashed his guitar, Moon overturned his drums, and the song eventually reached Number Eight in Britain. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" also reached the British Top Tem, followed in November 1965 by "My Generation." It went to Number Two in the U.K. but only reached Number 75 in the U.S. But the Who were already stars in Britain, having established their sound and their personae. Townshend played guitar with full-circle windmilling motions, Daltrey strutted like a bantam fighter, Entwistle (whose occasional songwriting effort revealed a macabre sense of humor) just stood there seemingly unmoved as Moon happily flailed all over his drum kit.

After the Who's fourth hit single, "Substitute" (Number 5 U.K.), Lambert replaced Talmy as producer. Their second album, A Quick One (While He's Away) (Happy Jack in the U.S.; Number 67, 1967), included a 10-minute mini-opera as the title track, shortly before the Beatles' concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. The Who also began to make inroads in the U.S. with "Happy Jack" (Number 24, 1967) and a tour that included the performance filmed at the Monterey Pop Festival in June.

The Who Sell Out (Number 48, 1967) featured mock-advertisement songs and genuine jingles from offshore British pirate radio stations; it also contained another mini-opera, "Rael," and a Top Ten hit in England and the U.S., "I Can See for Miles." In October 1968 the band released Magic Bus (Number 39, 1968), a compilation of singles and B-sides, while Townshend worked on his 90 minute opus, Tommy. The story of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy turned pinball champion-pop idol turned autocratic messianic guru was variously considered both pretentious and profound. Most important, however, Tommy was the first successful rock opera. The album hit Number Four in the U.S., and its first single, "Pinball Wizard," went to Number 19. The band would perform Tommy in its entirety a handful of times – -at London's Coliseum in 1969, at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House on June 6th and 7th, 1970, and on some dates during its 1989 reunion tour. Excerpts, including "See Me, Feel Me," "Pinball Wizard," and the instrumental "Underture," were thereafter part of the live show. Troupes mounted productions of it around the world (the Who's performances had been concert versions), and Townshend oversaw a new recording of it in 1972, backed by the London Symphony and featuring Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Sandy Denny, and Richard Burton, among others. In 1975 Ken Russell directed the controversial high-pop film version, which included Eric Clapton ("Eyesight to the Blind"), Tina Turner ("Acid Queen"), and Elton John ("Pinball Wizard"), as well as Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, and Jack Nicholson. Moon (as the lecherous Uncle Ernie) and Daltrey (in the lead title role) also appeared in the film.

Bits of Tommy turned up on Live at Leeds (Number Four, 1970), a juggernaut live set, which was followed by Who's Next (Number Four, 1971), a staple of FM rock radio. It included Townshend's first experiments with synthesizers – "Baba O'Riley," "Bargain," "Won't Get Fooled Again" – three songs that Townshend originally conceived as part of another rock opera entitled Lifehouse. The singles comp Meaty, Beaty, Big, and Bouncy (Number 11, 1971) was followed two years later by the Who's second double-album rock opera, Quadrophenia (Number Two, 1973), a tribute to the tortured inner life of the Mods. It too was a hit and became a movie directed by Franc Roddam in 1979, with Sting of the Police in the wordless role of the bellboy.

While the Who were hugely popular, Quadrophenia signaled that Townshend was now a generation older than the fans he had initially spoken for. As he agonized over his role as an elder statesman of rock — as he would do for years to come — the Who released Odds and Sods (Number 15, 1974), a compilation of the previous decade's outtakes. The Who by Numbers (Number Eight, 1975) was the result of Townshend's self-appraisal ("However Much I Booze"); it lacked the Who's usual vigor, but yielded a hit single in "Squeeze Box" (Number 16, 1975). The band could dependably pack arenas wherever it went, but it took some time off the road after By Numbers.

The group members — whose personality clashes are almost as legendary as their music — began pursuing more individual projects. Moon released a novelty solo disc, Two Sides of the Moon, which featured guest stars galore; Entwistle recorded two solo LPs with bands called Ox and Rigor Mortis. Daltrey also recorded solo; his first two efforts are widely regarded as mediocre and he only had one Top 40 hit in the U.S., "Without Your Love," from the McVicar soundtrack. The Townshend-penned "After the Fire" received substantial video exposure when released in 1985. Daltrey found considerably more success as an actor. Besides Tommy, he starred in Ken Russell's over-the-top "biography" of composer Franz Liszt, Lisztomania (1975) and McVicar (1980), the true story of the famous British criminal John McVicar. In the mid-1980s he played the double role of the Dromio twins in a PBS production of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. He's also appeared on the London stage (The Beggar's Opera, 1991) and on British television (The Little Match Girl, 1990). In 1999 he played Scrooge in a stage version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in New York City.

In 1970 Townshend contributed four tracks to Happy Birthday, a privately released, limited edition album recorded as a tribute to Townshend's guru, Meher Baba. The following year, I Am, a similar limited-edition Baba tribute album, was released. It contained another Townshend track, a nine-minute instrumental version of "Baba O'Riley." As both these records were heavily bootlegged, Townshend's response was to create an "offical" version of both albums. The result, Who Came First (Number 69, 1972), was Townshend's first "real" solo album. It included the tracks from Happy Birthday and I Am, plus new songs, and demos of the Who tracks "Pure and Easy" and "Let's See Action." His second solo release was a collaboration with ex-Faces Ronnie Lane, Rough Mix (Number 45, 1977), which featured a number of FM/AOR radio staples: "Street in the City," "My Baby Gives It Away," and "A Heart to Hang on To."

Meanwhile, punk was burgeoning in Britain, and the Sex Pistols among others were brandishing the Who's old power chords and attitude. Townshend's continuing identity crisis showed up in the title of Who Are You (Number Two, 1978), but the title song became a hit single (Number 14) that fall, and the album went double platinum. It was the last and highest-charting album of the original band.

The next few years brought tragedy and turmoil, and in a sense, the end of the Who in the death of Keith Moon. Moon always reveled in his reputation as the madman of rock, and his outrageous stunts, onstage and off, were legend. His prodigious drinking and drug abuse (he was once paralyzed for days after accidentally ingesting an elephant tranquilizer) had begun to diminish his playing ability. In 1975 he left England for L.A., where he continued to drink heavily. He returned to England and was trying to kick his alcoholism, but on September 7, 1978, Moon died of an overdose of a sedative, Heminevrin, that had been prescribed to prevent seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal. Although the group continued for another three years, each of the three surviving original members has stated repeatedly that the Who was never the same again.

In 1979 the Who oversaw a concert documentary of their early years, The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack, Number Eight, 1979), and worked on the soundtrack version of Quadrophenia (Number 46, 1979), which also included a number of Mod favorites performed by the original artists (such as Booker T. & the M.G.'s' "Green Onions" and James Brown's "Night Train"). Kenney Jones, formerly of the Small Faces, replaced Moon, and session keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick began working with the Who. The new lineup toured, but tragedy struck again when 11 concert goers were killed — trampled to death or asphyxiated — in a rush for "festival seating" spots at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum on December 3, 1979. The incident occurred before the show, and the group wasn't told of it until afterward.

After 15 years with Decca/MCA, the Who signed a band contract with Warner Bros., and Townshend got a solo deal with Atco. His Empty Glass (Number Five, 1980) included the U.S. Top 10 hit "Let My Love Open the Door" and "Rough Boys," a song long believed to have been an angry reply to a punk musician who had insulted the Who during an interview. Much later, in a 1989 interview with writer Timothy White, Townshend denied that was the case, saying, "It's about homosexuality," and adding that "And I Moved" was as well. Townshend's admission of having "had a gay life," and the statement "I know how it feels to be a woman because I am a woman," came as a surprise to many, including his band mates.

In 1981 Townshend performed solo with an acoustic guitar at a benefit for Amnesty International, which was recorded as The Secret Policeman's Ball. His falling asleep onstage was the first public sign of his deepening drug addiction. Since the year before, Townshend had been abusing alcohol, cocaine, and freebase cocaine mixed with heroin. He subsequently developed an addiction to Ativan, a tranquilizer he was prescribed during treatment for alcoholism. Ativan combined with freebase and heroin resulted in a highly publicized, near-fatal overdose during which he was rushed to the hospital from a London club. Townshend subsequently underwent electro-acupuncture treatment and cleaned up in 1982.

Amid all this, the revamped Who soldiered on. Face Dances (Number Four, 1981) included the hit single "You Better You Bet" (Number 18, 1981) and "Don't Let Go the Coat." But Townshend later called the new lineup's debut album a disappointment. One month after Face Dances came out, the Who's former producer/manager, Kit Lambert, died after falling down a flight of stairs; he was 45. (Pete Meadon had died three weeks before Moon, in 1978.) Townshend released the wordy All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (Number 26, 1982), and soon followed it with the group's It's Hard (Number Eight, 1982), an album Daltrey has since been quoted as saying should never have been released. It produced the group's last Top 30 hit to date, "Athena" (Number 28). The Who then embarked on what they announced would be their last tour, ending with a concert in Toronto on December 17, 1982. Although the group officially broke up then, the Who have reunited to perform several times since. They appeared at Live Aid in 1985 and at a U.K. music-awards program in 1988. They celebrated the group's silver anniversary in 1989 with a 43-date tour of the U.S. which included guest-star-studded performances of Tommy in L.A. and New York, and later in London. For this tour Jones was replaced by session drummer Simon Phillips. It was also during this tour that Townshend, whose hearing was extremely damaged from years of listening to loud music through headphones, had to play standing behind a plastic baffle to block the onstage noise.

Townshend also released a number of solo projects throughout the 1980s: Scoop (Number 35, 1983) and Another Scoop (Number 198, 1987) collect demo tapes, home recordings, and sundry tracks of historical interest to fans. White City — a Novel (Number 26, 1985) is a concept piece, the soundtrack to a long-form video of the same title and includes "Face the Face"; The Iron Man: The Musical is the star-studded (Daltrey, Nina Simone, John Lee Hooker) soundtrack to Townshend's rock opera based on a children's story by poet Ted Hughes. Deep End Live!, released with an accompanying live video, barely scraped into the Top 100.

Townshend wrote in the liner notes to the 1994 box-set career retrospective Thirty Years of Maximum R&B: "I don't like the Who much . . . " Through the years of his derisive attitude toward the group has rung false at worst, disingenuous at best. In fact, Townshend's pride (and joy) in performing with the Who was abundantly clear during the band's 2000 tour, when he introduced it, happily, as "the fucking Who."

Despite Townshend's other projects and endeavors, including an editorship with book publisher Faber and Faber and publication of his collected stories, Horse's Neck (1985), the Who legacy endures. In 1993 the Broadway production of Tommy won five Tony Awards, including one for Townshend for Best Original Score. The next year saw the release of Townshend's PsychoDerelict (Number 118, 1994), a concept album that includes pieces written originally for the Lifehouse project. An examination of rock stardom's ravages, PsychoDerelict was also performed as a theater piece and filmed (it was subsequently broadcast on PBS). That year he also embarked on his first solo tour with a set list that included a number of Who classics, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." In February 1994 Townshend, Daltrey, and Entwistle reunited for Carnegie Hall performances in celebration of Daltrey's 50th birthday. Accompanied by a 65-piece orchestra, the trio was also joined by guest stars including Sinéad O'Connor, Eddie Vedder, and Lou Reed, and the show was filmed for cable television.

Two years later, the group recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) along with a 12-piece backing band and embarked on a series o dates in which they performed the Quadrophenia album in its entirety for the first time. Townshend again stuck to rhythm guitar to preserve his hearing, leaving electric guitar duties to his brother Simon Townshend.

In 1999 Townshend reunited the band again for a charity concert at the House of Blues in Chicago, which led to yet another reunion tour the following year. This time around, however, the Who toured as a quintet: Townshend, Daltrey, Entwistle, Starkey, and John Bundrick on keyboards, with Townshend returning to electric guitar. The no-nonsense approach resulted in glowing reviews hailing the group's 2000 shows as some of their best in nearly two decades. A live album, Live: The Blues to the Bush/1999, was issued online via a partnership with Musicmaker.com, and the band even began talking about the possibility of a new studio set in the future. To cap their year, the Who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 43rd annual Grammy Awards.

In the midst of all the Who activity in late 1999 and 2000, Townshend returned yet again to his lifelong Lifehouse project. The BBC broadcast a Lifehouse radio play in December 1999, and in February 2000, Townshend performed the rock opera himself at London's Sadler's Wells Theater. Shortly thereafter he released a six-disc box set, Lifehouse Chronicles, on his own Eelpie label via his Web site; a single-disc version, Lifehouse Elements, was released in stores by Redline Entertainment. Daltrey has continued planning his pet project, a film biography of the life of Moon.

In October 2001, the Who appeared at the Concert for New York City, a 9/11 benefit, where the band was received with the most warmth of any act on the evening's program. But before they could continue on the road again the following summer, John Entwistle died of a cocaine-fueled heart attack in his hotel room. They went out anyway, with session bassist Pino Palladino filling in. In 2004, Townshend and Daltrey recorded a pair of new songs, "Old Red Wine" and "Real Good Looking Boy," for a compilation. (The Who have released more compilations since their initial breakup than they did studio albums before it.) In July 2005 they appeared in London as part of Live 8. In October 2006, the Who released Endless Wire, their first album under that name in 24 years. It reached Number Seven and received middling reviews. November 2007 saw the DVD release of Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who, an extensive band documentary. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1505&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Adult Contemporary Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:22:59 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1505 art.1505 Neil Diamond art.1505 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1505&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1505&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1783&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Folk Pop Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1783 art.1783 Simon & Garfunkel art.1783 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1783&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1783&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
The first songs Simon and Garfunkel sang together were doo-wop hits, but soon they were singing their own songs. One of those was "Hey, Schoolgirl," which the duo recorded in 1957. An agent of Big Records present at the session signed them on the spot. Calling themselves Tom and Jerry ("Tom Graph" and "Jerry Landis"), they had a Top 50 hit with "Hey, Schoolgirl" and appeared on American Bandstand. (In a 1984 Playboy interview Simon asserted that the record company agent used payola to get the record played.) Garfunkel estimates the record sold 150,000 copies. When a few follow-ups flopped, Tom and Jerry split up. When they met again in 1962, Garfunkel was studying architecture after trying to record as Arty Garr, and Simon was studying English literature but devoting most of his time to writing and selling his songs. In 1964 Simon, who had just dropped out of law school and quit his job as a song peddler for a music publishing company, took one of his originals to Columbia Records producer Tom Wilson. Wilson bought the song and signed the Everly Brothers–influenced duo.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. — a set that combined traditional folk songs with Simon's originals and Dylan anthems like "The Times They Are A-Changin'," performed solely by the two singers accompanied by Simon's acoustic guitar — was lost in the glut of early Dylan imitators. Simon went to work the folk circuit in London, where in May 1965 he recorded a solo album. Several months later, he was performing around England and the Continent when he received the news that Wednesday's "The Sounds of Silence" was the Number One single in the United States. It was not quite the song Simon and Garfunkel had recorded. Wilson (who had played a part in electrifying Dylan's music) had added electric guitars, bass, and drums to the original track. The remixed single was at the vanguard of "folk rock." Simon returned to hit the college circuit with Garfunkel and to record a second duo album. Along with the redubbed "Sounds of Silence," the album of that name comprised folk-rock remakes of many of the songs from Simon's U.K. solo album. The production was elaborate, an appropriate setting for Simon's self-consciously poetic songs and Garfunkel's angelic voice, and Simon and Garfunkel turned out to be acceptable to both teenagers (who found them relevant) and adults (who found them intelligent).

In 1966 they placed four singles and three albums in the Top 30 (the revived Wednesday Morning, Sounds of Silence, and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme). "Homeward Bound" (Number Five), "I Am a Rock" (Number Three), and "Sounds of Silence" (Number One) reached the Top Five. Simon was not a prolific writer — most of the material on the first three Simon and Garfunkel albums had been composed between 1962 and 1965 — and once Parsley, Sage was completed, the duo's output slowed considerably. They released only two singles in 1967: "At the Zoo" (Number 16) and "Fakin' It" (Number 23). Simon was developing the more colloquial, less literary style he would bring to his later solo work; the first sign of it was the elliptical "Mrs. Robinson," composed for the soundtrack of The Graduate. The film and the soundtrack album were followed within two months by Bookends; "Mrs. Robinson" hit Number One in June 1968, Bookends soon afterward.

Simon and Garfunkel produced Bookends with engineer Roy Halee, who had worked on every Simon and Garfunkel session. (With Parsley, Sage, Halee had taken a major role in the arranging; it was Columbia's first album recorded on eight tracks.) "The Boxer" (Number Seven), Simon and Garfunkel's only release in 1969, was Columbia's first song recorded on 16 tracks.

Bridge Over Troubled Water took almost two years to make as the duo began pursuing individual projects. They often worked separately in the studio, and as their music became more complex they performed less often on stage. Their only appearance together in 1969 was on their own network television special. Around this period, Garfunkel's acting career began with a role in Catch-22. Soon after the record's release, Simon and Garfunkel staged a brief but very successful tour, which quieted rumors about a breakup, but by the time Garfunkel's second movie, Carnal Knowledge, and Simon's 1972 solo album came out, it was clear that their individual solo careers [see entries] were taking precedence.

The two left their joint career at its peak, though both have said that their initial intention was not to break up permanently but just take a break from each other. After reaching Number One in spring 1970, Bridge Over Troubled Water rode the charts for over a year and a half (spending ten weeks at the top), eventually selling over 13 million copies worldwide. The LP yielded three hit singles - the title song (a Number one hit, the biggest seller of their career), "Cecilia" (Number Four), and "El Condor Pasa" (Number 18) — and won six Grammys. In 1977 it was given the British Britannia Award as Best International Pop Album of the past 25 years, and the title song received the equivalent award as a single. To date the duo has sold more than 20 million albums in the U.S. alone.

Since 1970 the Forest Hills classmates have gotten together on a few notable occasions. The first was a benefit concert for presidential candidate George McGovern at Madison Square Garden, New York, in June 1972. (That occasion also saw the reunions of Peter, Paul and Mary and the comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May.) In 1975 Simon and Garfunkel had a Top Ten hit single with "My Little Town," a song Simon wrote for Garfunkel and sang with him, which appeared on solo LPs by both. Garfunkel joined Simon to perform a selection of their old hits on Simon's 1977 television special, and the two got together again the next year in a studio with James Taylor to record a trio rendition of Sam Cooke's "(What a) Wonderful World." On September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel gave a free concert for an estimated 500,000 fans in New York's Central Park, and in 1982, a double album, The Concert in Central Park, went platinum, peaking at Number Six. They embarked on an extended tour and began recording what was to have been a new Simon and Garfunkel album. Unable to resolve their creative differences, the two abandoned the project, and the material was released on the Paul Simon solo LP Hearts and Bones.

The pair performed several shows for charitable causes in the early Nineties, and in 1993 a smash 21-date sold-out run at the Paramount Theater in New York City, followed by a tour of the Far East. Though, technically speaking, these shows were not Simon and Garfunkel concerts (they performed together only in the first and last of the show's four segments; the balance was dedicated to Simon's solo work), fans seemed to feel otherwise. The two were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

In February 2003, a decade after the duo's previous reunion, Simon and Garfunkel appeared together at the Grammy Awards show, where they performed "The Sounds of Silence" together and were presented a Lifetime Achievement award. That fall, they hit the road again for a two-month "Old Friends" tour that took them to 28 cities and resulted in the 2004 live album of the same name. Simon and Garfunkel reprised the tour that summer, ending with a performance at the Colosseum in Rome to a reported 600,000 fans, even larger than the audience at the 1981 Central Park show. Three years later, Simon won an award at the first PBS Gershwin Awards show, where he and Garfunkel performed "Bridge over Troubled Water." Whether for its exquisite craftsmanship or place as a musical-cultural touchstone, or both, the music Simon and Garfunkel created and recorded seems destined to endure. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44156&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Acid Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.44156 art.44156 Jimi Hendrix art.44156 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44156&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44156&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Hendrix's studio craft and his virtuosity with both conventional and unconventional guitar sounds have been widely imitated, and his image as the psychedelic voodoo child conjuring uncontrollable forces is a rock archetype. His songs have inspired several tribute albums, and have been recorded by a jazz group (1989's Hendrix Project), the Kronos String Quartet, and avant-garde flutist Robert Dick. Hendrix's musical vision had a profound effect on everybody from Sly Stone to George Clinton to Miles Davis to Prince to OutKast. Hendrix's theatrical performing style--full of unmistakably sexual undulations, and such tricks as playing the guitar behind his back (a tradition that went back at least to bluesman T-Bone Walker) and picking it with his teeth--has never quite been equaled. In the decades since Hendrix's death, pop stars from Rick James and Prince to Lenny Kravitz and Erykah Badu have evoked his look and style.

As a teenager growing up in Seattle, Hendrix taught himself to play guitar by listening to records by blues guitarists Muddy Waters and B.B. King and rockers such as Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. He played in high school bands before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1959. Discharged in 1961, Hendrix began working under the pseudonym Jimmy James as a pickup guitarist. By 1964, when he moved to New York, he had played behind Sam Cooke, B.B. King, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Ike and Tina Turner, and Wilson Pickett. In New York he played the club circuit with King Curtis, the Isley Brothers, John Paul Hammond, and Curtis Knight.

In 1965 Hendrix formed his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, to play Greenwich Village coffeehouses. Chas Chandler of the Animals took him to London in the autumn of 1966 and arranged for the creation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Englishmen Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

The Experience's first single, "Hey Joe," reached Number Six on the U.K. chart in early 1967, followed shortly by "Purple Haze" and its double-platinum debut album, Are You Experienced? (Number Five, 1967). Hendrix fast became the rage of London's pop society. Though word of the Hendrix phenomenon spread through the U.S., he was not seen in America (and no records were released) until June 1967, when, at Paul McCartney's insistence, the Experience appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. The performance, which Hendrix climaxed by burning his guitar, was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker for the documentary Monterey Pop.

Hendrix's next albums were major hits (Axis: Bold as Love [Number Three, 1968], Electric Ladyland [Number One, 1968]) and he quickly became a superstar. Stories such as one reporting that the Experience was dropped from the bill of a Monkees tour at the insistence of the Daughters of the American Revolution became part of the Hendrix myth, but he considered himself a musician more than a star. Soon after the start of his second American tour, early in 1968, he renounced the extravagances of his stage act and simply performed his music. A hostile reception led him to conclude that his best music came out in the informal settings of studios and clubs, and he began construction of Electric Lady, his own studio in New York.

Hendrix was eager to experiment with musical ideas, and he jammed with John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and members of Traffic, among others. Miles Davis admired his instinctiveness (and, in fact, planned to record with him), and Bob Dylan--whose "Like a Rolling Stone," "All Along the Watchtower," and "Drifter's Escape" Hendrix performed and recorded--later returned the tribute by performing "Watchtower" in the Hendrix mode.

As 1968 came to a close, disagreements arose between manager Chas Chandler and co-manager Michael Jeffrey; Jeffrey, who opposed Hendrix's avant-garde leanings, got the upper hand. Hendrix was also under pressure from Black Power advocates to form an all-black group and play to black audiences. These problems exacerbated already existing tensions within the Experience, and early in 1969 Redding left the group to form Fat Mattress. Hendrix replaced him with an army buddy, Billy Cox. Mitchell stayed on briefly, but by August the Experience was defunct. In summer 1969 the double-platinum Smash Hits (Number Six) was released.

In August 1969, Hendrix appeared at the Woodstock Festival with a large, informal ensemble called the Electric Sky Church, and later that year he put together the all-black Band of Gypsys--with Cox and drummer Buddy Miles (Electric Flag), with whom he had played behind Wilson Pickett. The Band of Gypsys' debut concert at New York's Fillmore East on New Year's Eve 1969 provided the recordings for the group's only album during its existence, Band of Gypsys (Number Five, 1970). (A second album of vintage tracks was released in 1986.) Hendrix walked offstage in the middle of their Madison Square Garden gig; when he performed again some months later it was with Mitchell and Cox, the group that recorded The Cry of Love (Number Three, 1971), Hendrix's last self-authorized album. With them he played at the Isle of Wight Festival, his last concert, in August 1970, a recording of which would see release in 2002. A month later he was dead. The cause of death was given in a coroner's report as inhalation of vomit following barbiturate intoxication. Suicide was not ruled out, but evidence pointed to an accident.

In the years since his death, the Hendrix legend has lived on through various media. Randi Hansen (who appeared in the video for Devo's 1984 cover of "Are You Experienced?") became the best known of a bunch of full-time Hendrix impersonators, even re-forming the Band of Gypsys with bassist Tony Saunders and Buddy Miles--who, briefly in the late '80s, was replaced by Mitch Mitchell.

Well over a dozen books have been written about Hendrix, including tones by both Redding and Mitchell; the most authoritative bio was generally considered to be David Henderson's 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, while Charles R. Cross's Room Full of Mirrors delves deepest into Hendrix's early years in Seattle. And virtually every note Hendrix ever allowed to be recorded has been marketed on over 100 albums, some of which mine his years as a pickup guitarist, various bootlegs and legitimate live concerts and jam sessions, and even taped interviews and conversations. A controversial series produced by Alan Douglas, who recorded over 1,000 hours of Hendrix alone at the Electric Lady studio in the last year of his life, garnered attention through the mid-'90s. With the consent of the Hendrix estate, Douglas edited the tapes, erased some tracks, and dubbed in others, with mixed results. Radio One collected energetic live-in-the-studio performances by Hendrix and the Experience recorded for British radio in 1967; the later BBC Sessions mined the same material more thoroughly.

In 1990 the first of several Hendrix tribute albums, If Six Was Nine, was released. Former Free/Bad Company/Firm vocalist Paul Rodgers released another tribute (The Hendrix Set, 1993) and appeared on the all-star Stone Free, which featured Hendrix covers from musicians ranging from Eric Clapton to Buddy Guy to the Cure to Ice-T to classical violinist Nigel Kennedy.

In 1991 Hendrix's ex-girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, along with Mitch Mitchell and his wife Dee, began prodding Scotland Yard to reopen an investigation into their friend's death. England's attorney general finally agreed to the request in 1993; in early 1994 Scotland Yard announced it had found no evidence to bother pursuing the case any further. In 1993 an audio-visual exhibit of Hendrix's work called "JimI Hendrix: On the Road Again" toured college campuses and art galleries in the U.S., to enthusiastic--and predominately young--audiences.

In 1994 a 24-year-old Swede named James Henrik Daniel Sundquist claimed to have been conceived by the guitarist and Eva Sundquist during a 1969 Stockholm sojourn. Sundquist legally challenged Hendrix's father, James "Al" Hendrix, as the sole heir to the Jimi Hendrix estate, which was estimated to be worth at least $30 million. A year earlier, Al Hendrix, who in the mid-'70s had signed away the rights to portions of his son's work to various international conglomerates, had claimed that he'd been misled. With the financial aid of Paul Allen, the billionaire Hendrix fan who'd cofounded Microsoft with Bill Gates, he filed a federal lawsuit against those conglomerates and against the holding companies and lawyers connected to the estate. In 1995 he regained complete control of his son's estate, which included Jimi Hendrix's finished and unreleased recordings, as well as his musical compositions. This evolved into a series of CD reissues that were remastered from the original tapes. Having re-released CDs of the guitarist's entire catalogue, the Hendrix estate, under the Experience Hendrix imprint of MCA, also issued the album on which Hendrix was working at the time of his death, First Rays of the New Rising Sun (Number 49, 1997). South Saturn Delta (Number 51, 1997) delved further into the archives. Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (Number 133, 1998) followed, as did the double-CD BBC Sessions (Number 50, 1998), the Band of Gypsys-era Live at the Fillmore East (Number 65, 1999), Live at Woodstock (Number 90, 1999), and, in 2000, the four-CD/eight-LP Jimi Hendrix Experience box set. (Several other live discs were made available through an online imprint, Dagger Records.) Meanwhile Paul Allen amassed his cash to fund a modest Jimi Hendrix museum, which eventually blossomed into the $100 million Experience Music Project. Eight years in the making, the high-tech, interactive rock & roll museum - complete with a Jimi Hendrix Gallery - opened at the Seattle Center in 2000. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.942&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.942 art.942 The Temptations art.942 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.942&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.942&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.43266&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Classic Rock Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:55 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.43266 art.43266 The Doors art.43266 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.43266&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.43266&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4710&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Soul Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:36 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.4710 art.4710 Aretha Franklin art.4710 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4710&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4710&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss A Rose is Still A Rose embraced hip-hop production with great success. Aretha Franklin remains a vital part of the modern music scene. - Nick Dedina]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1185&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Art & Progressive Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:54 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1185 art.1185 The Moody Blues art.1185 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1185&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1185&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Days of Future Passed(1967). Embraced by flower children and art rock lovers alike, the album-story winds through a prototypical day before ending with their most famous song, "Nights in White Satin." Over the top? Absolutely. Pretentious? Possibly. So, the Moodies dropped the orchestra and placed more importance on keyboardist Mike Pinder's mellotron and the rest of the group's ability as multi-instrumentalists. The streamlined sound served them well, especially on songs such as the joyous rocker "Ride My See-Saw." After making a series of albums in this vein, the band went on hiatus, only to reemerge in the late 1970s. They never again broke new ground in popular music, but they did have enjoy a few more hits, most notably "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986). The band has continued frequent touring and the sporadic release of records into the present day, with Keys of the Kingdom, Strange Times and December appearing in 1991, 1999 and 2003, respectively. - Will Lerner]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.7515017&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '60s Oldies Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:05 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.7515017 art.7515017 Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons art.7515017 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.7515017&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.7515017&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69253&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Soul Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.69253 art.69253 Otis Redding art.69253 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69253&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69253&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
In his youth, Redding was influenced by both Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and early in his career he was a member of Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters. In the late '50s, he met Johnny Jenkins, a local guitarist, who invited him to join his group, the Pinetoppers, who were managed by Phil Walden. Feeling that he'd gone as far as he could go in Macon, Redding moved to L.A. in 1960. There he cut a handful of singles, including the Little Richard-esque "Gamma Lamma." Upon returning to Macon in 1961, he recorded "Shout Bamalama" and garnered some local attention.

After taking odd jobs around the South, Redding worked as a chauffeur and was working again with Jenkins when the guitarist landed a contract with Atlantic. One day in October 1962, when it seemed that Jenkins' session wasn't going anywhere, Redding hastily recorded his own ballad, "These Arms of Mine." He had accompanied Jenkins to the session with the intent of getting a chance to record. By 1963, "These Arms of Mine" had become Redding's first hit. It hit Number 20 on the R&B chart and established Redding as a recording artist. But it was his impassioned performances on the so-called chitlin' circuit that made him, next to James Brown, the most popular black entertainer of the mid-'60s.

Redding wrote many of his own hits, including "Mr. Pitiful" (Number 41 pop, Number 10 R&B, 1965), "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" (Number 29 pop, Number 12 R&B, 1966), and "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" (Number One pop, Number One R&B, 1968), all co-credited to Stax session guitarist Steve Cropper; "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (Number 21 pop, Number Two R&B, 1965), with Jerry Butler; "Respect" (Number 35 pop, Number Four R&B, 1965), "I Can't Turn You Loose" (Number 11 R&B, 1965), and "My Lover's Prayer" (Number 61 pop, Number 10 R&B, 1966). He also had hits with the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" (Number 31 pop, Number Four R&B, 1966) and Sam Cooke's "Shake" (Number 47 pop, Number 16 R&B, 1967). Among his LPs, Dictionary of Soul is considered one of the best examples of the Memphis soul sound.

Redding also played an important role in the careers of other singers. In 1967 he cut a duet album with Carla Thomas, King and Queen, which had a hit in "Tramp" (Number 26 pop, Number Two R&B). Redding produced his protégé Arthur Conley's tribute "Sweet Soul Music" (Number Two pop and R&B) in 1967 — an adaptation of Sam Cooke's "Yeah Man" — which became a soul standard. Redding also established his own label, Jotis, and was planning to get more deeply involved in talent management, development, and production.

Redding's appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 introduced the singer to white rock fans. His intense performance (captured in the film Monterey Pop and on the LP Otis Redding/Jimi Hendrix) was enthusiastically received. As a gesture of thanks, Redding and Steve Cropper wrote "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay." It was recorded on December 6, 1967, at the end of a long session. The whistling at the end came about, Cropper claims, because Redding forgot a vocal fadeout he had rehearsed before. It would become his biggest hit, yet Redding never lived to see its release.

On December 10, 1967, his chartered plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake, killing Redding and four members of his backup band, the Bar-Kays. In early 1968 "The Dock of the Bay" hit Number One on both the pop and R&B charts. Fourteen years later his two sons and a nephew formed their own group, called the Reddings, and covered "The Dock of the Bay" (Number 55 pop, Number 21 R&B). Otis Redding was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 by Little Richard.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4195&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.4195 art.4195 Diana Ross art.4195 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4195&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4195&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Lady Sings The Blues) and secured an Academy Award nomination. Not bad for an acting novice and singer on her own for the first time. Over the years, Diana Ross has continued to earn film roles, chart placements, and the undying respect and admiration of drag queens the world over. - Kali Holloway]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38470&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Funk Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:03 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.38470 art.38470 James Brown art.38470 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38470&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38470&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61022&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '50s Rock 'n' Roll Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:52:21 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.61022 art.61022 Roy Orbison art.61022 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61022&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61022&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Orbison's songwriting and his near-operatic singing have been a prominent influence on Bruce Springsteen, Chris Isaak, and k.d. lang, among others. His ostensibly placid, introverted demeanor was offset by his trademark "look": sunglasses (contrary to popular belief, he was not blind), black leather, and a slicked-back black pompadour. Despite limited success through the late '60s and '70s, Orbison never quit, and he was in the midst of a major commercial and critical comeback when he died suddenly in 1988.

Like many other early rockers, Orbison came to rock from country music. His father played Jimmie Rodgers songs on guitar, and an uncle played the blues. By age eight, Orbison was performing on local radio shows, and while attending high school in Wink, Texas, he formed the Wink Westerners, whose repertoire consisted mainly of country and pop standards. In contrast to many early rock stars, Orbison found rock & roll relatively late in his youth, and then almost by accident. His college buddy at North Texas State College was the newly famous Pat Boone, who urged Orbison to experiment with more pop-oriented songwriting. Orbison then formed the Teen Kings from the Wink Westerners, and they recorded "Ooby Dooby." Though Orbison would later profess a greater liking at that time for slower country material than frenetic rock, the first song he sent Sun Records' Sam Phillips — the rocking "Ooby Dooby" — impressed Phillips and in 1956 became Orbison's first hit (Number 59). The Teen Kings soon disbanded, and Orbison remained under contract to Sun as a solo artist. But future hits eluded Orbison, who was never entirely comfortable with rockabilly and was unhappy with Phillips' direction.

Orbison then moved to Nashville, where he wrote songs for Acuff-Rose Publishing. One of his first successes was "Claudette," named for his wife, which became a hit for the Everly Brothers. Working with producer Chet Atkins, Orbison resumed his solo career, and by 1960 had signed with Monument Records. Then came the hits, starting with "Only the Lonely," a song originally written for the Everly Brothers. Subsequent hits included "Blue Angel" (Number Nine, 1960), "I'm Hurtin'" (Number 27, 1961), "Candy Man" (Number 25, 1961), "The Crowd" (Number 26, 1962), "Leah" (Number 25, 1962), "In Dreams" (Number Seven, 1963), "Falling" (Number 22, 1963), "Mean Woman Blues" (Number Five, 1963), "Blue Bayou" (Number 29, 1963, later covered by Linda Ronstadt), Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper" (Number 15, 1963), "It's Over" (Number Nine, 1964), "Goodnight" (Number 21, 1965), and "Ride Away" (Number 25, 1965). He cowrote virtually all of his hits and often produced them as well. Successful in the U.S., Orbison was also a smash in Britain, where in 1963 he toured with the Beatles. Orbison's bands during the '60s included guitarist Bobby Goldsboro and drummer Dewey Martin (later of Buffalo Springfield).

Following his wife's death in 1966, Orbison's career went on hold. He remarried in March 1969 and later had another son. When he returned to the U.K. in 1969, the adulation was overwhelming. Even in the late '60s, when his popularity in the U.S. was waning, he had a monthlong run at London's Talk of the Town club. In 1975 he released a chart-topping greatest-hits compilation.

After steady but uneventful work through the '70s, Orbison closed the decade with an opening slot on the Eagles' 1980 tour and a Grammy-winning duet with Emmylou Harris (1980's "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again") on the Roadie soundtrack. A 1981 comeback show in New York was a great commercial and critical success. In 1982 "Oh, Pretty Woman" was a hit for Van Halen; it would be revived again as the title theme song of the 1990 hit film Pretty Woman. Orbison's comeback began in earnest, however, when director David Lynch used the sumptuously romantic "In Dreams" in a startling scene in his film Blue Velvet. The next year, Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bruce Springsteen. The year 1987 also saw the release of In Dreams: The Greatest Hits, which presented newly recorded versions of Orbison's classic hits, and the taping of an all-star tribute show called A Black and White Night. Taped in L.A.'s Coconut Grove nightclub, the tribute starred Orbison with all-star backing from Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang, Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes, Tom Waits, and J.D. Souther.

In 1987 Orbison's duet remake of "Crying" with k.d. lang hit Number 42 on the country chart. A chance meeting with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne resulted in the formation of the extremely successful Traveling Wilburys [see entry]. At the same time, Orbison was completing work on his next solo album, Mystery Girl, which included the hit Orbison-Lynne-Petty composition "You Got It" (Number Nine, 1989), destined to become the singer's first Top 20 hit in 25 years. While Lynne produced that track, several other artists, including T Bone Burnett (who had produced In Dreams), Bono, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, and Orbison lent production assistance on various cuts. In addition, Bono and the Edge composed "She's a Mystery to Me."

Orbison was on the brink of a major comeback when he died suddenly of a heart attack. The posthumously released Mystery Girl (Number Five, 1989) became the highest-charting album of his career and was eventually certified platinum. In the wake of Orbison's passing, a number of compilations and a collection of previously unreleased tracks (King of Hearts) were released.

from the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1524&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:13:22 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1524 art.1524 Smokey Robinson art.1524 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1524&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1524&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
In addition, Smokey Robinson made major contributions to the success of Motown, a fact acknowledged by label founder Berry Gordy Jr., when he surprised the singer with a corporate–vice president title in 1961. In addition to providing the label with 27 Top 40 hits with the Miracles, he also wrote, cowrote, or produced some of Motown's biggest hits (the Temptations' "My Girl," Mary Wells' hits) as well as some of its lesser known but more adventurous releases (like the Four Tops' "Still Water [Love]," the Supremes' "Floy Joy").

Robinson founded the Miracles — all Detroit-born — while attending that city's Northern High School. As the Matadors, they played locally, usually performing Robinson originals. In 1957 they met Berry Gordy Jr. while they were auditioning for Jackie Wilson's manager. Gordy, who had written songs for Wilson, was impressed not only by their presentation but by Smokey's prodigious songwriting. "Got a Job," an answer to the Number One hit "Get a Job" by the Silhouettes, attracted local attention in 1958. In 1959 "Bad Girl" was distributed locally by Motown and nationally by Chicago's Chess Records. It hit Number 93 on the pop chart and convinced Berry Gordy Jr. to expand his fledgling record company into one that would produce and distribute its own product rather than creating records to lease out to others. In 1960 "Shop Around" established both the group and the company when it went to Number One R&B, Number Two pop. Its B side was the oft-covered soul ballad "Who's Lovin' You." This marked the beginning of Smokey and Gordy's relationship. According to one Motown history, when Gordy met Smokey, the young songwriter had hundreds of finished and unfinished song lyrics in notebooks, and it was Gordy who trained him to distinguish which were the best among them.

Throughout the '60s, Robinson wrote songs for and produced many other Motown acts, including the Marvelettes ("Don't Mess with Bill," "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game," and "My Baby Must Be a Magician"); Marvin Gaye ("I'll Be Doggone," with Warren Moore and Marvin Tarplin; "Ain't That Peculiar," with Moore); Mary Wells ("My Guy," "The One Who Really Loves You," and "You Beat Me to the Punch," with Ronald White); and the Temptations ("Get Ready," "Don't Look Back," and "My Girl," with White; "The Way You Do the Things You Do," with Bobby Rogers; "It's Growing," with Moore).

Though the Miracles made numerous uptempo singles such as "Mickey's Monkey" (Number Eight pop, Number Three R&B) in 1963 and "Going to a Go-Go" (Number 11 pop, Number Two R&B) in 1966, they are best known for their ballads, including "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (Number Eight pop, Number One R&B, 1963), "Ooo Baby Baby" (Number 16 pop, Number Four R&B, 1965), "The Tracks of My Tears" (Number 16 pop, Number Two R&B, 1965), "More Love" (Number 23 pop, Number Five R&B, 1967 — by which time they had become Smokey Robinson and the Miracles), "I Second That Emotion" (Number Four pop, Number One R&B, 1967), and "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" (Number Eight pop, Number Three R&B, 1969). Their last big hit together was the uptempo "The Tears of a Clown," a Number One hit on both the R&B and pop charts, and in England, in 1970. A great deal of their work in these years featured Marv Tarplin on guitar; he even appeared on a few album covers as if he were a Miracle.

In 1972 Robinson left the group to record on his own and to spend more time with his wife, Claudette (Bobby Rogers' sister, and a Miracle until 1964, though she continued to sing on the group's records). Claudette had toured with the group until a series of miscarriages forced her off the road in the mid-'60s. Robinson wrote "More Love" for Claudette after one of their babies was lost. Their first child, Berry William (named after Gordy), was born in 1968; their daughter Tamla (named for the label) followed. The couple divorced in 1985.

Robinson continued in his duties as a Motown vice president. He also worked frequently with Tarplin, who, after a few years with the Miracles, rejoined Robinson. A Quiet Storm (1975) is regarded as his best early solo album. (Its title was eventually used to name a smooth subgenre of modern R&B that developed in the 1990s.) While Smokey has always been a popular concert attraction, his record sales during the '70s fluctuated. It wasn't until 1979's "Cruisin'" (Number Four pop, Number Four R&B) that Robinson again enjoyed mass success. His Number One R&B single "Being With You" (Number Two pop) in 1981 continued his performing comeback, but in the ensuing years, he has placed just two more singles in the pop Top 10 (1987's "Just to See Her" and "One Heartbeat") and one LP in the Top 40 (One Heartbeat, which is gold). Despite rampant defections from the label through the '70s and '80s, Robinson did not leave Motown until 1990 (he had resigned his vice presidency there in 1988). He returned to the label in the late '90s and released Intimate (Number 134 pop, Number 28 R&B, 1999). In his 1989 autobiography, Smokey: Inside My Life (cowritten with David Ritz), Robinson openly discussed his marital infidelities and a mid-'80s addiction to cocaine.

Among the artists who have covered Robinson's songs are the Beatles ("You've Really Got a Hold on Me"), the Rolling Stones ("Going to a Go-Go"), Terence Trent D'Arby ("Who's Lovin' You"), Johnny Rivers ("The Tracks of My Tears"), Blondie ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), Linda Ronstadt ("Ooo Baby Baby," "The Tracks of My Tears"), Kim Carnes ("More Love"), Rare Earth ("Get Ready"), the English Beat ("The Tears of a Clown"), Rita Coolidge ("The Way You Do the Things You Do"), and Luther Vandross ("Since I Lost My Baby"). He has received the Grammys' Living Legend Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Miracles in 1987. In 1999 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The following year he became the host of Intimate With Smokey Robinson, a two-hour program of love songs and call-ins on the L.A. oldies station Mega 92.3.

After Robinson made his final concert appearance with the group in July 1972, the Miracles continued with lead vocalist Billy Griffin. While they kept charting through 1978, only three singles had significant chart status: "Do It Baby" (Number 13 pop, Number 14 R&B) and "Don't Cha Love It" (Number Four R&B) in 1974, and their early-1976 Number One pop hit "Love Machine (Part 1)" (Number Five R&B). Billy Griffin was replaced by his brother Donald, but the Miracles disbanded in the late '70s. They have reappeared in concert and on records, sometimes including Claudette Robinson. White died of leukemia in 1995.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2959&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:42 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.2959 art.2959 The Commodores art.2959 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2959&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2959&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Three's Company. - Rosemary Pepper]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.653&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Singer-Songwriter Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:53 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.653 art.653 Carole King art.653 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.653&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.653&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Tapestry, a mondo hit that did for female singer-songwriters what Paul Simon did for the guys. One of the main consequences of this key album was that the public got clued into all the great songs King had written -- often with Jerry Goffin -- for other artists when the Brill Building ruled '60s pop. Such wonders as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "You've Got a Friend" are ultra-catchy, yet have a depth that is sorely missing in today's market of disposable singles. King's career was the inspiration behind the movie Grace of My Heart. - Nick Dedina]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1172&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Folk-Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1172 art.1172 The Byrds art.1172 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1172&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1172&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38141&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss British Invasion Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:24:10 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.38141 art.38141 The Kinks art.38141 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38141&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38141&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Lola vs. the Powerman & the Money-Go-Round, Part One (1970). The record is a cutting, acerbic look at the music industry, and the song "Lola" put the band back on top -- and what a song to do so, as it's become the most famous song in the rock 'n' roll oeuvre to deal with gender-swapping and/or transvestism. The Kinks continued to record powerful singles and solid albums, but their fame rests firmly on their utterly unique early material. - Eric Shea]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1311&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1311 art.1311 The Four Tops art.1311 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1311&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1311&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39656&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Blues & Boogie Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:50 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.39656 art.39656 Cream art.39656 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39656&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.39656&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38144&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Blues & Boogie Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.38144 art.38144 Janis Joplin art.38144 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38144&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.38144&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
A fifth generation Texan, born in the deep water anchorage town of Port Arthur, Joplin always had one of her tiny high-heels firmly placed on the open road. A noisy and wildly talented harbinger of the burgeoning cultural revolution, she turned her back on small town life and hitchhiked to San Francisco with the equally atavistic impresario Chet Helms. With Helms' help, she hooked up with bluesy folk rock combo Big Brother and the Holding Company, sharpening their rather soft psychedelic edges and transforming the group into a firebrand outfit that would make a huge mark on the 1960s' musical landscape.

Joplin took her cues from the blues greats, grafting the sensual rhythms of Bessie Smith and the defiance of Willie Mae Thornton to a pulsating rock beat. The world noticed what the wild-haired chanteuse was up to when Big Brother performed at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, bringing her rare and bombastic talent to that infamous stage and holding her own with Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Big Brother's second album, 1968's Cheap Thrills, found Joplin helping to midwife a new mode of musical expression for "chick" singers. Being a refined looker who could actually carry a tune (think Mary Hopkin, Marianne Faithfull) was no longer enough once Janis started belting with authority from her heart and deepest soul.

Unfortunately, her massive talent did not bring the peace and self-acceptance she craved. She used to bemoan her sense of isolation, remarking sadly, "Every night I make love to 25,000, but I go home alone." Ironically, she was adored by millions but had apparently lost her capacity to recognize real love when it was offered. She tried to fill the void with drugs and alcohol, and ultimately died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970. She looms as large in death as she did in life, encouraging subsequent generations to feel without holding back. Joplin left behind a small but tremendous legacy, including two albums with Big Brother, and two solo albums (I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Bules Again, Mama!, recorded with the Kozmic Blues Band, and Pearl, with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, which came out a month after her death). - Jaan Uhelszki]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1105&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Funk Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:23 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1105 art.1105 Sly & the Family Stone art.1105 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1105&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1105&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Sylvester Stewart's family moved from Texas to the San Francisco area in the 1950s. At age four, he began singing gospel music and at age 16 made a local hit, "Long Time Away." Stewart studied trumpet, music theory, and composition at Vallejo Junior College and while in school became active on the Bay Area music scene. With his brother, Fred, he formed several short-lived groups, like the Stewart Bros. He was a disc jockey at soul station KSOL, and at Autumn Records he produced records by the Beau Brummels, Bobby Freeman, the Mojo Men, and Grace Slick's first band, the Great Society. He later worked for KDIA.

In 1966 Sly formed a short-lived group called the Stoners, which included female trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. With her he started his next band, Sly and the Family Stone. Sly, Robinson, and Fred Stewart were joined by Larry Graham [see separate entry], Greg Errico, and Jerry Martini, all of whom had studied music and worked in numerous amateur groups. Rosie Stone joined the group soon after. Working around the Bay Area in 1967, this multiracial band made a strong impression. They recorded their debut single, "I Ain't Got Nobody" b/w "I Can't Turn You Loose," on the local Loadstone label.

The Family Stone's debut LP, A Whole New Thing, flopped. Its follow-up, Dance to the Music, included the hit title cut (Number Eight Pop, Number Nine R&B). Life sold fewer copies than their previous albums, but their next release, a double-sided single, "Everyday People" b/w "Sing a Simple Song," was Number One on both the R&B and Pop charts. 1969’s Stand! mixed hard-edged politics with the Family's ecstatic dance music. It rose to Number 13 on the Pop Chart and contained Sly standards like the title song, "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey," "Sex Machine," "Somebody's Watching You," and "I Want to Take You Higher" (Number Three Pop, Number 24 R&B). Fiery versions of "Dance to the Music" and "Higher," heard on Woodstock soundtrack (Cotillion), established the Family Stone as one of the finest live bands of the late 1960s.

Singles like "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (Number Two Pop, Number 3 R&B) and "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin" b/w "Everybody Is a Star" (Number One Pop and R&B), saw the band hit a commercial peak, and the success of Greatest Hits (Number Two Pop) reflected their immense popularity. The smooth post-doo-wop/pop/soul of "Hot Fun" and the eerie funk of "Thank You" demonstrated the band's considerable range. By this time, Stand! had been on the charts for more than 80 weeks, and most of the Family's Top Ten singles had gone gold, as had most of their post-Dance to the Music LPs. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who'd been flummoxing critics with electrified "fusion" albums, did it again when he named Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix as his favorite musicians.



After 1970 Sly became notorious for arriving late for or missing concerts, and it was generally known that he was suffering from drug problems. The group's turning point came in 1971, when There's a Riot Goin' On went to Number One. Its darkly understated sound and pessimistic lyrics (the album’s first words are, “I’m gonna tell you something: Feels so good inside myself, don’t wanna move”) contrasted sharply with the optimism of earlier albums, and instead of the flamboyant group interplay that had been a Family Stone hallmark, most of the album featured Sly overdubbing multiple vocal and instrumental parts, exploring the possibilities of electronic rhythm (Riot is one of the first major albums to feature a drum machine), and utilizing the services of guitarist/arranger and R&B veteran Bobby Womack. The result was the most powerful depiction of the bitter aftermath of the hippie dream; "Family Affair," about dissolution and breakdown, went Number One Pop and R&B, Sly's last chart-topping hit.

By 1972, the Family Stone was growing restless. Key members Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico, both well on their way out during Riot’s recording, left, to be replaced by Rusty Allen and Andy Newmark. From Fresh (Number Seven pop, 1973), "If You Want Me to Stay" (Number 12 pop, Number Three R&B) did fairly well, and a blues version of "Que Sera Sera" got some airplay, particularly when (untrue) rumors of a romance between Sly and Doris Day emerged. Small Talk fared moderately well. It took advertising of Sly's public wedding ceremony to Kathy Silva at Madison Square Garden in 1974 to sell it out. "I Get High on You" (Number Three R&B) did respectably, but subsequent albums failed.



Meanwhile, disco had emerged, and in 1979 Epic issued Ten Years Too Soon, a compilation album on which the quirky original rhythm tracks were erased and a disco beat dubbed in. By the mid 1970s, stories of drug problems and arrests were part of the Sly Stone legacy. By 1979, he was with Warner Bros., attempting to make the comeback many observers felt would be as natural as James Brown's, given the current interest in and popularity of funk. In 1981, having been cited as a major influence by George Clinton, he appeared on Funkadelic's Electric Spanking of War Babies. He toured with Clinton's P-Funk All-Stars, on his own, and with Bobby Womack in the early 1980s. In 1983 Sly released Ain’t But the One Way, which was roundly ignored; that year he was arrested for cocaine possession and entered a rehabilitation program a year later.

In 1986 Stone guested on ex-Time guitarist Jesse Johnson's minor hit "Crazay," which led to a deal with A&M Records. That year a single, "Eek-a-Bo-Static," failed to chart; Stone also duetted with ex-Motel Martha Davis on "Love & Affection," for the soundtrack of the movie Soul Man, in 1986, but the A&M contract fell through. In 1989, Stone was arrested, serving his fourteen-month sentence in a rehab center. In 1993 Sly and the Family Stone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; a subdued Stone appeared to accept the honor.

That would presumptively have been it, but in February 2006, for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, rumors began that Stone would appear. And appear he did, wearing a silver lamé atrench coat and sporting a giant blonde Mohawk — as outrageously dressed as he’d been in his heyday, but had somehow come back to life at the center of the pop world. An exceedingly rare interview with the notoriously reclusive Sly appeared in Vanity Fair in 2007 that portrayed the musician as both an eccentric and relatively lucid. In the interview he said he had been working on music for a couple of decades, waiting for the right moment to spring it on the world. A handful of live performance followed in Europe in 2007 and the U.S. in 2008 to mixed reviews. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.49644&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '60s Oldies Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:54 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.49644 art.49644 The Mamas & The Papas art.49644 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.49644&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.49644&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3910&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.3910 art.3910 Gladys Knight art.3910 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3910&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3910&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.41141&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Psychedelic Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.41141 art.41141 Jefferson Airplane art.41141 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.41141&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.41141&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Surrealistic Pillow (the same lp that hit with the alleged druggie anthem "White Rabbit"). Loaded with swirling guitars and lysergic solos, this album provided part of the soundtrack to San Francisco's Summer of Love. The Jefferson Airplane was founded by Marty Balin, who left the band in 1971. Besides Anderson and Balin, many other notable musicians traveled on the Jefferson Airplane through a revolving door that once welcomed Alexander "Skip" Spence of Moby Grape as well as David Freiberg of the Quicksilver Messenger Service. Following a myriad of lineup changes, the band went through some name changes as well. Jefferson Airplane became Jefferson Starship and then Starship. Jefferson Starship's most celebrated appearance came in the form of a Star Wars made-for-television musical special that was aired shortly after the film's box office success. Hosted by Bea Arthur, the one-hour show featured much of the Star Wars cast as well as a now-endearing musical performance by Jefferson Starship. The band later had a hit in the '80s as Starship with "We Built This City," a MOR/AOR pop hit built with synthesizers, sound bites and the shelf-life of a soft-banana.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3143&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '50s Rock 'n' Roll Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:22 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.3143 art.3143 Chuck Berry art.3143 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3143&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3143&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.896&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Motown Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.896 art.896 The Supremes art.896 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.896&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.896&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.36786&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Bubblegum Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.36786 art.36786 The Monkees art.36786 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.36786&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.36786&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Head is still a creative tour de (unfocused) force. What does it say about modern pop music that the Prefab Four made better music than today's "uncompromising" artistic geniuses? - Nick Dedina]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61021&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Classic R&B Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:37 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.61021 art.61021 The Drifters art.61021 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61021&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61021&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56835&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Brill Building Pop Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:13:21 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.56835 art.56835 Bobby Darin art.56835 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56835&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56835&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.559&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Vocal-Pop Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:13:21 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.559 art.559 Tom Jones art.559 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.559&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.559&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.62064&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss British Invasion Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.62064 art.62064 The Hollies art.62064 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.62064&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.62064&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
The Manchester-bred quintet's early U.K. hits were watery versions of American R&B discs such as Maurice Williams and the Zodiac's "Stay" and Doris Troy's "Just One Look." When they began melding their vocal harmonies with more thumping band sounds and songs that better reflected their distinctly English sensibility, the Hollies' records became something truly special. Writer-for-hire Graham Gouldman (who also gave "Heart Full of Soul" to the Yardbirds and later became a focal point of 10cc) provided unstoppable smashes like "Bus Stop" and "Look Through Any Window," which snugly fit in the band's repertoire alongside originals such as "Carrie Anne" and "Pay You Back With Interest."

The Hollies' slightly fey quality perfectly fit the psychedelic-influenced pop of 1967, and they made one of the most timeless singles of that genre with "King Midas in Reverse." Nash was unhappy to see it stall at No. 18 in Britain, however, and was further disillusioned when the group rejected his "Marrakesh Express." Upon his departure, the Hollies recruited Terry Sylvester and went on to some of their biggest American successes. They introduced "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," a standard on the talk show and Vegas circuits, and later hit with the 180-degree turnaround of "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," which repackaged Creedence's "Travelin' Band" into an anthem with an incomprehensible vocal. Their final big U.S. hit came two years later with 1974's "The Air That I Breathe," another big ballad that proved hard for listeners to resist. Personnel changes continued, with singer Allan Clarke notably in and out in the mid-'70s. Nash rejoined for one album, What Comes Around, in 1983; past glories, though, were hard to regain. Clarke retired in the '90s, to be replaced by Move singer Carl Wayne, who died in 2004. Though now a hobbling concern, the Hollies will forever be remembered by hardcore fans and casual admirers as the makers of a high stack of rock 'n' roll classics. - Jaan Uhelszki]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3835&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Folk-Rock Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:54 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.3835 art.3835 Donovan art.3835 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3835&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3835&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Details readers are into his son's band Nancy Boy, but aging Aquarians know that Donovan was one of the key artists of the revolutionary 1960s. He started his career as Britain's answer to Bob Dylan, and his first two acoustic folk albums are charming, low-key winners; but he turned into a "Sunshine Superman" just in time for the Psychedelic revolution. If all you've heard from Donovan is "Mellow Yellow," do yourself a favor and check out his late '60s material. He remained a folk-popper at heart and the ultra-groovy production touches are completely in key with the current Indie scenes in America and Europe. Donovan's career didn't survive the post-Altamont age of '70s cynicism, but in 1996 he cut his album Sutras with Rick Rubin, showing that his flowery style is as groovadelic as ever. - Eric Shea]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.50378&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Singer-Songwriter Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.50378 art.50378 Harry Nilsson art.50378 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.50378&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.50378&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Pandemonium Shadow Show,appeared in 1967, Harry Nilsson was a music-industry veteran. He'd quit his bank job, the story went, after hearing the Monkees' version of his "Cuddly Toy" on the radio. Soon, his inventive medley of Beatle tunes, "You Can't Do That," had caught the group's ear, if not the world's. Despite his rich variety of self-penned classicist pop gems, it wasn't until Nilsson's cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" was used in the film Midnight Cowboy that he scored a hit. He carried his gorgeous, vaguely precious style, rife with overdubbed voices (all his), through two more albums and the beloved kids' TV special The Point! before leaping in another direction. Hooking up with producer Richard Perry, he recorded Nilsson Schmilsson, a state-of-the-art pop-rock disc that still retained every bit of the artist's strange charm. Filled with oddball touches from a solo version of Louis Jordan's "Early in the Morning" to the mock-Caribbean "Coconut" and the thunderous rock 'n' roll of "Jump Into the Fire," it ultimately became best known for its most conventional track. Badfinger's "Without You" became a standard in Nilsson's version, which spent four weeks at No. 1. A bona fide superstar for the moment, Nilsson set off on the path of self-destruction. His excesses while recording 1974's Pussy Cats with John Lennon at the board led to his permanently damaging his voice. He continued to make occasionally striking music afterward -- most interestingly for the soundtrack to Robert Altman's Popeye -- but he never had another hit. Released around the time of his death in 1994, the two-CD anthology Personal Best did much for Nilsson's profile. His was suddenly a hip name to drop again in circles that revered the Beach Boys' and the Zombies' artier moments. He'd no doubt appreciate the irony of being at once an easy-listening oldies staple and a favorite of twentysomething indie rockers. - Jaan Uhelszki]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.60399&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '60s Oldies Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.60399 art.60399 The 5th Dimension art.60399 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.60399&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.60399&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Sesame Street theme song. Fun, light and satisfying, everybody should have a copy of Stoned Soul Picnic.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3952&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Vocal-Pop Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.3952 art.3952 Dionne Warwick art.3952 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3952&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3952&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Solid Gold, as Whitney Houston's aunt, and then as the mouthpiece for the Psychic Friends Network. Now these people are rediscovering her roots as a great vocalist. - Nick Dedina]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1060&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss Doo-Wop Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:43:20 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1060 art.1060 The Platters art.1060 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1060&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1060&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5701&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '50s Rock 'n' Roll Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:38:36 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.5701 art.5701 Jerry Lee Lewis art.5701 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5701&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5701&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61183&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss '50s Rock 'n' Roll Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:43:16 -0800 Top Oldies Artists on Rhapsody Online art.61183 art.61183 Buddy Holly art.61183 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61183&variant=play&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.61183&variant=data&rws=%2Foldies%2Fartist-chart.rss
Holly learned to play the piano, fiddle, and guitar at an early age. He was five when he won $5 for singing "Down the River of Memories" at a local talent show. In the early '50s he formed the country-oriented Western and Bop Band with high school friends Bob Montgomery and Larry Welborn. Between late 1953 and 1955 they performed on local radio station KDAV and recorded demos and garage tapes, several of which were posthumously released as Holly in the Hills. By 1956 (after Holly had dropped the e from his last name), the group's reputation on the Southwestern country circuit led to a contract to cut country singles in Nashville for Decca. The label didn't think much of Montgomery, who graciously bowed out, insisting that Holly accept the deal. With Sonny Curtis and Bob Guess, Holly cut "Blue Days, Black Nights" b/w "Love Me," billed as Holly and the Two Tunes. Like subsequent pure country releases ("Modern Don Juan," "Midnight Shift," and "Girl On My Mind"), it went unnoticed. One of his last recordings for the label (which Decca refused to release) was "That'll Be the Day," a song that in a later rock version became one of Holly's first hits. During this period, Holly began writing prolifically. Typical of his romantic fare was a song that began as "Cindy Lou" but was changed to "Peggy Sue" at new Cricket Jerry Allison's suggestion. ("Peggy Sue" was the future Mrs. Allison; they've since divorced.) It eventually became one of Holly's biggest hits.

Following the failed sessions with Decca, Holly and his friends returned to Lubbock. In 1956 and 1957 Holly and drummer Allison played as a duo at the Lubbock Youth Center and shared bills with well-known stars as they passed through the area. Once they opened for a young Elvis Presley (Holly later said, "We owe it all to Elvis"), who influenced Holly's move into rock & roll.

On February 25, 1957, Holly and the newly named Crickets drove 90 miles west to producer Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, to cut a demo. Their rocking version of "That'll Be the Day" attracted a contract from the New York–based Coral/Brunswick label, and it rose to Number One by September. As with many of Holly's early hits, producer Petty picked up a cowriter's credit. The song's success prompted the Crickets' first national tour in late 1957. Several promoters (including those at the Apollo Theatre in New York, where Holly and his group became one of the first white acts to appear) were surprised that the group was white.

Under a contractual arrangement worked out by Petty (who quickly became Holly's manager), some discs were credited to the Crickets, while others bore only Holly's name. His first hit under the latter arrangement was "Peggy Sue" (Number Three, 1957), which also became one of several big hits in England, where he toured to much acclaim in 1958. "Oh, Boy!," released at year's end by the Crickets, hit Number 10. By 1958, Holly had reached the Top 40 with "Maybe Baby" (Number 17), "Think It Over" (Number 27), "Early in the Morning" (Number 32), and "Rave On" (Number 37).

In October 1958 Holly left Petty and the Crickets (who continued on their own), moved to Greenwich Village, and married Puerto Rico-born Maria Elena Santiago after having proposed to her on their first date. His split from Petty (who died in 1984) led to legal problems, which tied up his finances and prompted Holly to reluctantly join the Winter Dance Party Tour of the Midwest in early 1959. He also did some recording in New York; many of the tapes were later overdubbed and released posthumously. During that last tour, Holly was supported by ex-Cricket guitarist Tommy Allsup and future country superstar Waylon Jennings (whose first record, "Jolé Blon," Holly produced).

Tired of riding the bus, and in order to get his laundry done, Holly, along with a couple of the tour's other featured performers, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, chartered a private plane after their Clear Lake, Iowa, show to take them to Moorhead, Minnesota. Piloted by Roger Peterson, the small Beechcraft Bonanza took off from the Mason City, Iowa, airport at about 2:00 a.m. on February 3, 1959, and crashed a few minutes later, killing all on board.

Holly's death was marked by the release of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (Number 13, 1959), which topped the U.K. chart for six consecutive weeks. In his wake, Holly left behind enough old demos and uncompleted recordings to fill several posthumous collections. A 1978 feature film, The Buddy Holly Story (starring Gary Busey), revived interest in Holly's life and career.

The Crickets continued on as a group through 1965, with a variety of personnel revolving around Allison, Curtis, and Glen D. Hardin. This lineup had some minor U.S. success but, like Holly, the Crickets were most popular in England, where they had three early-'60s hits — "Love's Made a Fool of You," "Don't Ever Change," and "My Little Girl" — the latter of which was included in the British film Just for Fun. The Crickets later costarred with Lesley Gore in The Girls on the Beach. As the '60s progressed, the Crickets' activities became more sporadic and included a Holly tribute album recorded with Bobby Vee. It was Vee who had filled Holly's spot on the ill-fated 1959 tour.

In 1973 Hardin left to join Elvis Presley's band (he would later join Emmylou Harris' Hot Band). Around this time the Crickets recorded an album with a lineup that included Allison, Curtis, and English musicians Rick Grech and Albert Lee (another future Hot Band member). Curtis and Mauldin regrouped the original Crickets in 1977 to perform in England for Buddy Holly Week (sponsored by Paul McCartney, who had just purchased the entire Holly song catalogue).

Some of the Crickets have had solo careers. In 1958 Allison released "Real Wild Child" for Coral Records (with Holly on lead guitar) under the nom de disc of Ivan. Curtis, who wrote Holly's "Rock Around With Ollie Vee," went on to write "I Fought the Law" (covered by the Bobby Fuller Four and the Clash), "Walk Right Back" (for the Everly Brothers, for whom Curtis played lead guitar off and on throughout the '60s), and the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He has made solo albums since 1958 for A&M, Mercury, Coral, Liberty, Imperial, and other labels. By the early '80s, he was still active with Elektra/Asylum, for which he released the single "The Real Buddy Holly Story" as a response to the Hollywood biopic, which he and others criticized as being factually inaccurate.

In 1986 Holly was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; seven years later he was honored with his own postage stamp. In 1988 the Crickets released a new album, Three Piece, on Jerry Allison's Rollercoaster label. Again they played the Buddy Holly Week festival that year; McCartney joined them onstage. In 1989 the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story opened on London's West End; it ran on Broadway in 1990, and as of this writing continues its London run. It has starred Brits as well as Americans in the role of Buddy Holly, including U.S. actor Paul Hipp and musician Robert Burke Warren [see the Fleshtones entry]. In 1996 MCA released Not Fade Away: Remembering Buddy Holly, featuring contributions from Waylon Jennings, Los Lobos, the Band, the Crickets, and others, as well as a "duet" between Holly and namesake the Hollies. Three years later the Buddy Holly Museum opened in Lubbock.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)]]>