00s
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
They weren't brothers, but Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield (both born in 1940) were most definitely righteous, defining (and perhaps even inspiring) the term "blue-eyed soul" in the mid-'60s. The white Southern California duo were an established journeyman doo wop/R&B act before an association with Phil Spector produced one of the most memorable hits of the 1960s, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." The collaboration soon fell apart, though, and while the singers had some other excellent hit singles in a similar style, they proved unable to sustain their momentum after just a year or two at the top.
When Medley and Hatfield combined forces in 1962, they emerged from regional groups the Paramours and the Variations; in fact, they kept the Paramours billing for their first single. By 1963, they were calling themselves the Righteous Brothers, Medley taking the low parts with his smoky baritone, Hatfield taking the higher tenor and falsetto lines. For the next couple of years they did quite a few energetic R&B tunes on the Moonglow label that bore similarity to the gospel/soul/rock style of Ray Charles, copping their greatest success with "Little Latin Lupe Lu," which became a garage-band favorite covered by Mitch Ryder, the Kingsmen, and others.
Even on the Moonglow recordings, Bill Medley acted as producer and principal songwriter, but the duo wouldn't break out nationally until they put themselves at the services of Phil Spector. Spector gave the Wall of Sound treatment to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," a grandiose ballad penned by himself, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. At nearly four minutes, the song was pushing the limits of what could be played on radio in the mid-'60s, and some listeners thought they were hearing a 45 single played at 33 rpm due to Medley's low, blurry lead vocal. No matter; the song had a power that couldn't be denied, and went all the way to number one.
The Righteous Brothers had three more big hits in 1965 on Spector's Philles label ("Just Once in My Life," "Unchained Melody," and "Ebb Tide"), all employing similar dense orchestral arrangements and swelling vocal crescendos. Yet the Righteous Brothers-Spector partnership wasn't a smooth one, and by 1966 the duo had left Philles for a lucrative deal with Verve. Medley, already an experienced hand in the producer's booth, reclaimed the producer's chair, and the Righteous Brothers had another number one hit with their first Verve outing, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." Its success must have been a particularly bitter blow for Spector, given that Medley successfully emulated the Wall of Sound orchestral ambience of the Righteous Brothers' Philles singles down to the smallest detail, even employing the same Mann-Weil writing team that had contributed to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."
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It's a bit of a mystery as to why the Righteous Brothers never came close to duplicating that success during the rest of their tenure at Verve. But they would only have a couple of other Top 40 hits in the 1960s ("He" and "Go Ahead and Cry," both in 1966), even with the aid of occasional compositions by the formidable Goffin-King team. In 1968 Medley left for a solo career; Hatfield, the less talented of the pair (at least from a songwriting and production standpoint), kept the Righteous Brothers going with Jimmy Walker (who had been in the Knickerbockers).
Medley had a couple of small hits in the late '60s as a solo act, but unsurprisingly neither "brother" was worth half as much on their own as they were together. In 1974 they reunited and had a number three hit with "Rock and Roll Heaven," a tribute to dead rock stars that some found tacky. A couple of smaller hits followed before Medley retired from performing for five years in 1976. The Righteous Brothers continued to tour the oldies circuit off and on in the 1980s and 1990s. It was while on one of these tours that Bobby Hatfield died suddenly on November 5, 2003. ~ All Music Guide
Discography:
Just Once in My Life
Rock 'N' Roll Legends
Best of Righteous Brothers
Anthology 1962-1974
The Best of The Righteous Brothers
The Best of the Righteous Brothers
The Very Best of The Righteous Brothers: Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody: Best of Righteous Brothers
Anthology (disc 2)
The Best of Righteous Brothers
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' / There's a Woman
Soul & Inspiration
The Universal Masters Collection: Classic Righteous Brothers
Melancholy Music Man
( 1993 ) Unchained Melody Greatest Hits
Go Ahead and Cry
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
Rock and Roll Heaven
The Definititve Collection
All the Hits
This is New!
The Wonderful World of The Righteous Brothers
Master Series: The Righteous Brothers
Unchained Melodies
Unchained Melody
The Sons of Mrs Righteous
Gold
Back to Back
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Righteous Brothers
The Best
Greatest Hits
Reunion
Source: Richie Unterberger
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Muse
Muse started out as a band under a number of names including Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls. After winning a battle of the bands type competition, it changed its name to Muse and started playing gigs in London and Manchester.
In 1998, Muse signed a deal with America’s Maverick Records. This opened the doors to other deals in Europe and Australia but in the age of indie music, Muse was keen to maintain creative control.
To support the release of its first album, Showbiz, the band toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and the festival circuit in Europe.
By now, Muse gained a reputation for its energetic live performances and fusion of progressive and alternative rock. Matthew Bellamy’s style has also become a trademark for the band as he uses falsetto vocals and pitch-shift guitar effects. NME Magazine described Muse’s style as “every guitar here sounds like it’s from the future, every flourish and movement scored and orchestrated with celestial vision.”
Its second album Origin of Symmetrywas well-received by critics but Maverick Records wanted to make some changes with the songs due to their reservations over lead singer, Bellamy’s vocal style. The band refused and jumped ship to the loving arms of Warner. By 2006, the album was rated in Q Magazine’s fan poll of the 100 greatest albums ever.
Stockholm Syndrome was released as a download only single to give fans a taste of what was to come on the next album. It proved to be one of the most popular download singles ever. Absolution, Muse’s third album, debuted at #1 in the UK charts and yielded a top ten hit Time is Running Out.
In 2004, the band started picking up awards for “Best Alternative Act” and “Best Live Act” and headlined the Glastonbury Festival. In 2006, Muse released its fourth album entitled Black Holes and Revelations. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize but narrowly missed out to the Arctic Monkeys. The most notable single from the album was Supermassive Black Hole which ended up being featured on the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
By 2008, Muse was the headline act for the V Festival and members Bellamy, Dominic Howard (drums) and Christopher Wolstenholme (bass) received Honorary Doctorates of Arts from the University of Plymouth.
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Muse released Resistance in 2009. It was the first album that proudly claimed a self-production. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached #3 in the US.
The song United States of Eurasia from its 2009 release was available for download but only after it was unlocked in a clever worldwide treasure hunt, consisting of USB keys with song data hidden in seven major cities.
Now a regular headliner for festivals and an arena sell-out, Muse successfully capitalised on the indie movement by not backing down to record label management whims and integrating new technology in not only its musical style but also in its promotion.
Juanita Appleby
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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LENNY KRAVITZ
American “retro” rocker, Lenny Kravitz’s style has been compared to such greats as Prince and Jimi Hendrix. His career boasts multi-platinum albums, four consecutive Grammy awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and over 40 million album sales globally.
Kravitz’s influence also reaches his peers. His collaborative efforts read more like a Hollywood A-List party - Jay-Z, Aerosmith, Mick Jagger and P. Diddy amongst others.
In the 80s, Kravitz worked under the stage name Romeo Blue. He developed a demo but was told he wasn’t “black enough” to compete with the RnB styles that dominated the radio airwaves at the time. Undeterred and without a label, Kravitz decided to started work on an album and managed to attract the attention of Virgin Records.
Within a few years, he traded the Shakespearian nom de plume for a freshly signed Virgin Records contract and released his debut album Let Love Rule in 1989 to mixed reviews.
In the first few years of the 90s, Kravitz spent writing and producing for other artists including Madonna’s Justify My Love but also experienced his first chart success with second album Mama Said. This album featured a song titled It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over and collaborations with Guns 'N' Roses’ Slash and Beatles’ Offspring, Sean Lennon.
In 1993, Are You Gonna Go My Way was released and reached #12 on the Billboard charts and won Kravitz a BRIT award. He followed up with Circus in 1995 which hit #10 despite it only having two moderately successful singles.
In 1998, Kravitz exploded onto the mainstream music scene with his fifth album, suitably named 5, thanks to the hit single Fly Away. This song helped make the album multi-platinum, featured on advertisements and secured Kravitz his first Grammy in 1999.
Success continued in 2001 with an award-winning, cover version of the Guess Who’s American Woman for the second Austin Powers movie soundtrack.
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Kravitz subsequently released three more studio albums and became more involved in other projects like political activism, acting and collaboration. He also established his own record label named Roxie Records and a design company aptly named Kravitz Designs. In an era of throwaway music careers, Kravitz has proven his critics wrong with a three decade long career that continues to flourish.
Juanita Appleby
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Metallica
Metallica, the most innovative metal band of the late 80s and 90s, formed in 1981 in California, by drummer Lars Ulrich and vocalist James Hetfield. Despite many line-up changes, Cliff Burton joined on bass in 1982, and Kirk Hammet replaced Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine in 1983.
This combination endured until September 1986, when Metallica’s tour bus overturned in Sweden, killing Cliff Burton. During the four years with Burton, the band put thrash metal on the map, with the aggression of their debut album ‘Kill ‘Em All’. Although 1984’s ‘Ride The Lightening’ was a distinctive metal release, it was 1986’s ‘Master of Puppets’ that shock the metal scene, taking thrash to a whole new level.
Following the death of Burton, the band chose to continue, recruiting Jason Newstead on bass. Sessions for ‘And Justice For All’ began, resulting in a spectacular moment in ‘One’, which entered highly in the UK and US charts.
1991’s chart-topping album ‘Metallica’ held some of the bands most impressive hits, with the MTV-friendly ‘Enter Sandman’ breaking the band on a stadium level, showing how the band had matured from the chaotic ‘Kill ‘Em All’ ten years previous. A stopgap live set marked time while the band completed work on the eagerly awaited follow-up to ‘Metallica’.
Finally released in 1996, ‘Load’ entered the US charts at number one. The album marked a change in image for the band, who began to court the alternative rock audience. The following year's ‘Reload’ collected together more tracks recorded at the ‘Load’ sessions, and featured 60s icon Marianne Faithfull on the first single to be released from the album, ‘The Memory Remains’. ‘Garage Inc.’ collected assorted cover versions, and the following years release ‘S&M’, was recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra..
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In January 2001, Newstead announced he was leaving after almost 15 years with the band. His replacement was former Suicidal Tendencies' bass player Rob Trujillo. Recording sessions for the new studio album were fraught with difficulty, with Hetfield at one point departing to spend several months in rehab. When it finally appeared in 2003, ‘St. Anger’ was given a mixed reception by critics who had rapidly fallen out of love with the band.
Death Magnetic was released on September 12, 2008, topping the UK and US album charts – making Metallica the first band to have five consecutive number one albums. Despite previous criticisms, the album charmed music journalists - and it was hailed as some of Metallica's best work.
On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Metallica would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.
Carly Page
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Primal Scream
Formed in 1984 and winners of the first ever Mercury Music Prize for 1991's ‘Screamadelica’, Primal Scream have influenced a generation of fans over their 20 year career. Fronted by former Jesus & Mary Chain's Bobby Gillespie with Andrew Innes (guitar), Robert Young (guitar), ex-Felt keyboardist Martin Duffy (keyboards) and Stone Roses bass guitarist Robert 'Mani' Mounfield, they signed to Alan McGee's Creation Records in 1985.
The band's 1987 debut LP ‘Sonic Flower Groove’ was influenced by The Byrds, Velvet Underground and the C86 scene. The album set the tone for a musical style that would define the following decade and pave the way for bands like the Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays.
Their follow-up album ‘Primal Scream’ witnessed a musical progression for the band, but it was 1991's Mercury Music Prize winning ‘Screamadelica’ which became their landmark release, changing the face of British pop music with its mix of dance, dub, techno, acid house and rock.
They returned in 1994 with ‘Give Out but Don't Give Up’ which featured the hit single 'Rocks', but with 1997's ‘Vanishing Point’ they created a more complex dynamic sound of the indie-genre, re-establishing the group as a major force in British rock.
Two Top Ten albums followed; 'XTRMNTR’ in 2000 and ‘Evil Heat’ in 2002, flaunting a greater electronic feel. Evil Heat also featured guest appearances by Kate Moss and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. In 2003 they released their ‘Dirty Hits’ collection, a retrospective of their career to date.
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In June 2005, Primal Scream played a controversial set at the Glastonbury Festival, throughout which Gillespie was playfully abusive to the crowd and was alleged to have made Nazi salutes during the song "Swastika Eyes".
They released ‘Rock City Blues’ in June 2006, which reached number five in the charts, and featured hit single ‘Country Girl’. A live DVD of the album’s tour followed in 2007.
On July 21 2008, Primal Scream released a new album called ‘Beautiful Future’, and are still going strong to this day.
Carly Page
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Gene
Gene was a British indie/rock quartet formed in 1993 in London. They were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew somewhat superficial comparisons to The Smiths, if only because of their slightly Morrissey-esque lead singer. Despite this comparison, there is a lot more to Gene’s music than met the eyes of their critics. Their music takes influence from punk-rockers The Jam, blues riffs from the Small Faces, all mixed in with the soulful sound of motown.
The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Despite Spin’s split, Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles. The trio eventually met vocalist Martin Rossiter, and they formed Gene in 1993. Soon after forming, the quartet began to write songs, and had performed a number of shows by the end of the year. They were later signed to Costermonger, a label set up by two journalists, through which they released their debut single, ‘For The Dead’ in 1994.
After their next single ‘Be My Light, Be My Guide’ reached number one in the indie charts, the band signed to Polydor. In 1995, following this, they were named Best New Act at NME’s Brat Awards.
Their debut album, ‘Olympian’ was released in 1995. It received mixed reviews, and although it entered into the Top Ten – the band were soon overshadowed by upcoming acts such as Blur and Oasis.
Early in 1996, ‘To See the Lights’, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. A new single, ‘Fighting Fit’ was shortly released as a teaser from their new album, and entered into the top ten. However, the album that followed ‘Drawn to the Deep End’ did not follow in the single’s success.
By 2000, the band was without a label. They founded, and issued the live set ‘Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour’, but this went almost unnoticed among the indie scene. However, in mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with ‘Libertine’, their strongest material since Olympian. A tour followed, but the band went their separate ways in 2003.
Carly Page
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
