Columbia
BILLIE HOLIDAY
Discography:
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The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever. Almost fifty years after her death, it's difficult to believe that prior to her emergence, jazz and pop singers were tied to the Tin Pan Alley tradition and rarely personalized their songs; only blues singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey actually gave the impression they had lived through what they were singing. Billie Holiday's highly stylized reading of this blues tradition revolutionized traditional pop, ripping the decades-long tradition of song plugging in two by refusing to compromise her artistry for either the song or the band. She made clear her debts to Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong (in her autobiography she admitted, "I always wanted Bessie's big sound and Pops' feeling"), but in truth her style was virtually her own, quite a shock in an age of interchangeable crooners and band singers.
Billie Holiday's chaotic life reportedly began in Baltimore on April 7, 1915 (a few reports say 1912) when she was born Eleanora Fagan Gough. Her father, Clarence Holiday, was a teenaged jazz guitarist and banjo player later to play in Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. He never married her mother, Sadie Fagan, and left while his daughter was still a baby. (She would later run into him in New York, and though she contracted many guitarists for her sessions before his death in 1937, she always avoided using him.) Holiday's mother was also a young teenager at the time, and whether because of inexperience or neglect, often left her daughter with uncaring relatives. Holiday was sentenced to Catholic reform school at the age of ten, reportedly after she admitted being raped. Though sentenced to stay until she became an adult, a family friend helped get her released after just two years. With her mother, she moved in 1927, first to New Jersey and soon after to Brooklyn.
In New York, Holiday helped her mother with domestic work, but soon began moonlighting as a prostitute for the additional income. According to the weighty Billie Holiday legend (which gained additional credence after her notoriously apocryphal autobiography -Lady Sings the Blues), her big singing break came in 1933 when a laughable dancing audition at a speakeasy prompted her accompanist to ask her if she could sing. In fact, Holiday was most likely singing at clubs all over New York City as early as 1930-31. Whatever the true story, she first gained some publicity in early 1933, when record producer John Hammond-- only three years older than Holiday herself, and just at the beginning of a legendary career -- wrote her up in a column for Melody Maker and brought Benny Goodman to one of her performances. After recording a demo at Columbia Studios, Holiday joined a small group led by Goodman to make her commercial debut on November 27, 1933 with "Your Mother's Son-In-Law."
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Though she didn't return to the studio for over a year, Billie Holiday spent 1934 moving up the rungs of the competitive New York bar scene. By early 1935, she made her debut at the Apollo Theater and appeared in a one-reeler film with Duke Ellington. During the last half of 1935, Holiday finally entered the studio again and recorded a total of four sessions. With a pick-up band supervised by pianist Teddy Wilson, she recorded a series of obscure, forgettable songs straight from the gutters of Tin Pan Alley -- in other words, the only songs available to an obscure black band during the mid-'30s. (During the swing era, music publishers kept the best songs strictly in the hands of society orchestras and popular white singers.) Despite the poor song quality, Holiday and various groups (including trumpeter Roy Eldridge, alto Johnny Hodges, and tenors Ben Webster and Chu Berry) energized flat songs like "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" and "If You Were Mine" (to say nothing of "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" and "Yankee Doodle Never Went to Town"). The great combo playing and Holiday's increasingly assured vocals made them quite popular on Columbia, Brunswick and Vocalion.
During 1936, Holiday toured with groups led by Jimmie Lunceford and Fletcher Henderson, then returned to New York for several more sessions. In late January 1937, she recorded several numbers with a small group culled from one of Hammond's new discoveries, Count Basie's Orchestra. Tenor Lester Young, who'd briefly known Billie several years earlier, and trumpeter Buck Clayton were to become especially attached to Holiday. The three did much of their best recorded work together during the late '30s, and Holiday herself bestowed the nickname Pres on Young, while he dubbed her Lady Day for her elegance. By the spring of 1937, she began touring with Basie as the female complement to his male singer, Jimmy Rushing. The association lasted less than a year, however. Though officially she was fired from the band for being temperamental and unreliable, shadowy influences higher up in the publishing world reportedly commanded the action after she refused to begin singing '20s female blues standards.
The standard, written by Café Society regular Lewis Allen and forever tied to Holiday, is an anguished reprisal of the intense racism still persistent in the South. Though Holiday initially expressed doubts about adding such a bald, uncompromising song to her repertoire, she pulled it off thanks largely to her powers of nuance and subtlety. "Strange Fruit" soon became the highlight of her performances. Though John Hammond refused to record it (not for its politics but for its overly pungent imagery), he allowed Holiday a bit of leverage to record for Commodore, the label owned by jazz record-store owner Milt Gabler. Once released, "Strange Fruit" was banned by many radio outlets, though the growing jukebox industry (and the inclusion of the excellent "Fine and Mellow" on the flip) made it a rather large, though controversial, hit. She continued recording for Columbia labels until 1942, and hit big again with her most famous composition, 1941's "God Bless the Child." Gabler, who also worked A&R for Decca, signed her to the label in 1944 to record "Lover Man," a song written especially for her and her third big hit. Neatly side-stepping the musician's union ban that afflicted her former label, Holiday soon became a priority at Decca, earning the right to top-quality material and lavish string sections for her sessions. She continued recording scattered sessions for Decca during the rest of the '40s, and recorded several of her best-loved songs including Bessie Smith's "'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do," "Them There Eyes," and "Crazy He Calls Me."
Though her artistry was at its peak, Billie Holiday's emotional life began a turbulent period during the mid-'40s. Already heavily into alcohol and marijuana, she began smoking opium early in the decade with her first husband, Johnnie Monroe. The marriage didn't last, but hot on its heels came a second marriage to trumpeter Joe Guy and a move to heroin. Despite her triumphant concert at New York's Town Hall and a small film role -- as a maid (!) -- with Louis Armstrong in 1947's New Orleans, she lost a good deal of money running her own orchestra with Joe Guy. Her mother's death soon after affected her deeply, and in 1947 she was arrested for possession of heroin and sentenced to eight months in prison.
During 1954, Holiday toured Europe to great acclaim, and her 1956 autobiography brought her even more fame (or notoriety). She made her last great appearance in 1957, on the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz with Webster, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins providing a close backing. One year later, the Lady in Satin LP clothed her naked, increasingly hoarse voice with the overwrought strings of Ray Ellis. During her final year, she made two more appearances in Europe before collapsing in May 1959 of heart and liver disease. Still procuring heroin while on her death bed, Holiday was arrested for possession in her private room and died on July 17, her system completely unable to fight both withdrawal and heart disease at the same time. Her cult of influence spread quickly after her death and gave her more fame than she'd enjoyed in life. The 1972 biopic Lady Sings the Blues featured Diana Ross struggling to overcome the conflicting myths of Holiday's life, but the film also illuminated her tragic life and introduced many future fans. By the digital age, virtually all of Holiday's recorded material had been reissued: by Columbia (nine volumes of The Quintessential Billie Holiday), Decca (The Complete Decca Recordings), and Verve (The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959).
JUDAS PRIEST
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Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. Decked out in leather and chains, the band fused the gothic doom of Black Sabbath with the riffs and speed of Led Zeppelin, as well as adding a vicious two-lead guitar attack; in doing so, they set the pace for much popular heavy metal from 1975 until 1985, as well as laying the groundwork for the speed and death metal of the '80s. Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1970, the group's core members were guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill. Joined by Alan Atkins and drummer John Ellis, the band played their first concert in 1971. Atkins' previous band was called Judas Priest, yet the members decided it was the best name for the new group. The band played numerous shows throughout 1971; during the year, Ellis was replaced by Alan Moore; by the end of the year, Chris Campbell replaced Moore. After a solid year of touring the U.K., Atkins and Campbell left the band in 1973 and were replaced by vocalist Rob Halford and drummer John Hinch. They continued touring, including a visit to Germany and the Netherlands in 1974; by the time the tour was completed, they had secured a record contract with Gull, an independent U.K. label. Before recording their debut album, Rocka Rolla, Judas Priest added guitarist Glenn Tipton. They released the record in September of 1974 to almost no attention. The following year, they gave a well-received performance at the Reading Festival and Hinch departed the band; he was replaced by Alan Moore.
Later that year, the group released Sad Wings of Destiny, which earned some positive reviews. However, the lack of sales was putting the band in a dire financial situation, which was remedied by an international contract with CBS Records. Sin After Sin (1977) was the first album released under that contract; it was recorded with Simon Phillips, who replaced Moore. The record received positive reviews and the band departed for their first American tour, with Les Binks on drums. When they returned to England, Judas Priest recorded 1978's Stained Class, the record that established them as an international force in metal. Along with 1979's Hell Bent for Leather (Killing Machine in the U.K.), Stained Class began the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. A significant number of bands adopted Priest's leather-clad image and hard, driving sound, making their music harder, faster, and louder. After releasing Hell Bent for Leather, the band recorded the live album Unleashed in the East (1979) in Japan; it became their first platinum album in America. Les Binks left the band in 1979; he was replaced by former Trapeze drummer Dave Holland. Their next album, 1980's British Steel, entered the British charts at number three, launched the hit singles "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight," and was their second American platinum record; Point of Entry, released the following year, was nearly as successful.
At the beginning of the '80s, Judas Priest was a top concert attraction around the world, in addition to being a best-selling recording artist. Featuring the hit single "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," Screaming for Vengeance (1982) marked the height of their popularity, peaking at number 17 in America and selling over a million copies. Two years later, Defenders of the Faith nearly matched its predecessor's performance, yet metal tastes were beginning to change, as Metallica and other speed/thrash metal groups started to grow in popularity. That shift was evident on 1986's Turbo, where Judas Priest seemed out of touch with current trends; nevertheless, the record sold over a million copies in America on the basis of name recognition alone. However, 1987's Priest...Live! was their first album since Stained Class not to go gold. Ram It Down (1988) was a return to raw metal and returned the group to gold status. Dave Holland left after this record and was replaced by Scott Travis for 1990's Painkiller. Like Ram It Down, Painkiller didn't make an impact outside the band's diehard fans, yet the group was still a popular concert act.
In the early '90s, Rob Halford began his own thrash band, Fight, and soon left Judas Priest. In 1996, following a solo album by Glenn Tipton, the band rebounded with a new young singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens, (formerly a member of a Priest tribute band and of Winter's Bane). They spent the next year recording Jugulator amongst much self-perpetuated hype concerning Priest's return to their roots. The album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard album charts upon its release in late 1997. Halford had by then disbanded Fight following a decrease in interest and signed with Trent Reznor's Nothing label with a new project, Two. In the meantime, the remaining members of Judas Priest forged on with '98 Live Meltdown, a live set recorded during their inaugural tour with Ripper on the mic. Around the same time, a movie was readying production that was to be based on Ripper's rags-to-riches story of how he got to front his all-time favorite band. Although Priest was originally supposed to be involved with the film, they ultimately pulled out, but production went on anyway without the band's blessing (the movie, Rock Star, was eventually released in the summer of 2001, starring Mark Wahlberg in the lead role). Rob Halford in the meantime disbanded Two after just a single album, 1997's Voyeurs, and returned back to his metal roots with a quintet titled simply... Halford. The group issued their debut in 2000, Resurrection, following it with a worldwide tour that saw the new group open up Iron Maiden's Brave New World U.S. tour, and issuing a live set one year later (which included a healthy helping of Priest classics) -- Live Insurrection. In 2001 the Ripper-led Priest issued a new album, Demolition, and Priest's entire back catalog for Columbia was reissued with remastered sound and bonus tracks. In 2003 the band--including Halford--collaborated on the liner notes and song selections for their mammoth career-encompassing box Metalogy, a collaboration that brought Halford back into the fold. Owens split from the group amicably in 2003, allowing the newly reunited heavy metal legends to plan their global live concert tour in 2004, with their sixteenth studio album, Angel of Retribution, to be released the following year.
Source: Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
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THE BYRDS
The Byrds were an American rock and roll band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The Byrds underwent a number of line-up changes, with lead singer, Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group's disbandment in 1973.
McGuinn had been playing Beatles songs acoustically in Los Angeles folk clubs when Gene Clark (who later became The Byrds’ guitarist) approached him to form a duo. Soon after, David Crosby (who also became a Byrds’ guitarist) joined them to form a group named The Jet Set. The Jet Set soon expanded their ranks to include drummer Michael Clarke and mandolin-player-turned-bassist Chris Hillman. The band released a single on Elektra Records in October 1964 entitled "Please Let Me Love You". It was after an audition for Columbia records that the band was renamed, from ‘The Beefeaters’ to ‘The Byrds.’
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The Byrds went through a journey of musical genres, adopting a somewhat psychedelic influence after their first successful year of producing the standard folk rock sound, which gave them hits such as “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” The psychedelic age saw the groundbreaking lead guitar work of McGuinn replicate the free style poetic jazz melodies of the great saxophonist, John Coltrane. Tracks such as ‘Why?’ also showed Indian Raga influence, which helped expand The Byrds’ fused genre repertoire. After the band played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the genre of country rock was adopted till the end of the bands’ fame. The band had undergone some personnel changes with Gene Clarke and David Crosby being replaced by session musicians.
The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 where the original lineup of Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn was honored at this induction. Gene Clark died later that year, and two years later Michael Clarke succumbed to liver disease caused by alcoholism. More recently, in 2004 Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #45 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Though both Hillman and Crosby have expressed an interest in working with McGuinn again on future Byrds projects, no such reunion has occurred and all three have successful individual careers.
Original members included Gene Clark (born November 17, 1941, in Tipton, MO; died May 24, 1991, in Los Angeles, CA; left group, 1966), vocals; Michael Clarke (born June 3, 1944, in New York, NY; left group, 1968), drums; David Crosby (born August 14, 1941, in Los Angeles; left group, 1967), guitar; Chris Hillman (born December 4, 1942, in Los Angeles; left group, 1968), bass; and Roger McGuinn (born Jim McGuinn, July 13, 1942, in Chicago, IL, [changed name, 19681), guitar.
Later members included Skip Battin (born February 2, 1934, in Gallipolis, OH; joined group, 1969), bass; John Guerin (joined group, 1972), drums; Kevin Kelly (born in 1945 in California; joined group, 1968), drums; Gene Parsons (born in 1944 in Los Angeles), drums; Gram Parsons (born Cecil Connor, November 5, 1946, in Winter Haven, FL [changed name, c. I960); died September 19, 1973, in Joshua Tree, CA; joined and left group, 1968), guitar; Clarence White (born June 6, 1944, in Lewiston, ME; died July 14, 1973), guitar; and John York (left group, 1969) bass.
Group formed in 1964 in Los Angeles; originally named the Jet Set; signed with Elektra Records, released first single as the Beefeaters; signed with Columbia Records, released "Mr. Tambourine Man," 1965; released three LPs; released several LPs with various lineups, 1967-73; group disbanded, 1973; original members reunited to make one album, The Byrds, Asylum, 1973.
Albums:
Mr. Tambourine Man, Columbia, 1965.
Turn! Turn! Turn!, Columbia, 1966.
Fifth Dimension (includes "Eight Miles High"), Columbia, 1966.
Younger Than Yesterday (includes "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "My Back Pages)," Columbia, 1967.
The Byrds Greatest Hits, Columbia, 1967.
The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Columbia, 1968.
Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Columbia, 1968.
Dr. Byrds and Mrs. Hyde, Columbia, 1969.
Preflyte, Together, 1969.
(Untitled), Columbia, 1970.
Farther Along, Columbia, 1971.
Byrdmaniax, Columbia, 1971.
The Best of the Byrds: Greatest Hits Volume II, Columbia, 1972.
The Byrds, Asylum, 1973.
Never Before, Murray Hill, 1988.
Sources: Mathew Jones; Tim Connor
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BILLY JOEL
Billy Joel's entry into the rock and roll songwriters and long island hall of fame confirms his status as one of the Americas greatest singer-songwriters of the last 25 years. According to the recording industry association of America (Organisation that represents recording industry distributors and records units sold by the major record labels) is the sixth highest selling artist in the United States and has sold over 100 million records worldwide.
William (Billy) Martin Joel was born on May 9th 1949, in the Bronx, New York and raised in Hicksville, Long Island, New York, a hamlet and census-designated place (town identified for statistical purposes by United States Bureau). Joel’s parents were both Jewish immigrants; at the age of 4 years old Joel began taking piano lessons, in part due to his mothers assertion and the fact that his father was an accomplished classical pianist. (Joel’s brother Alexander is the chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunshweig).
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After failing to graduate Joel embarked on a career in the music business, Joel’s start came with British invasion cover band that gave Joel his first experiences on stage and in the studio. Joel recorded his debut album ‘Cold spring Harbor’ which received little or no acclaim although it did garner the attention of the Columbia records whom Joel would sign to in 1972. Joel’s first big hit came in the shape of the ‘Piano Man’ album, the hit single from the album was the single of the same name and stands up as one of Joel’s most memorable moments in song. The Piano Man was a success although it would be a few years down the line until Joel hit his commercial peak with the 10x platinum album ‘Stranger’ (1977). Between 1977 and 1993 Joel had eight multi-platinum selling album’s.
Joel’s personal life was often addressed in his songs, ‘Uptown girl’ was reportedly written for girlfriend of the time Christie Brinkley (supermodel), ‘And So It Goes’ was reportedly written for Elle Macpherson. In the early part of his career Joel experienced depression and contemplated suicide when his career struggled to take off, even leaving a suicide note which later become the lyrics to ‘Tomorrow is Today’. Billy Joel’s legacy will be defined by his songwriting skill that has delivered some of the truly great moments in American music history.
For The Record:
Born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949, in Hicksville, Long Island, NY; son of Howard (an engineer and classically trained pianist) and Rosalind (a homemaker) Joel; married Elizabeth Weber (his business manager), 1973 (divorced, 1982); married Christie Brinkley (a model), 1985 (divorced, 1994); married Kate Lee, 2004; children: (second marriage) Alexa Ray.
Performed at Hicksville High School with teenage group the Echos (later known as the Lost Souls) c. 1965; worked as housepainter and oyster harvester, late 1960s-early 1970s; joined rock group the Hassles, Long Island, NY, and recorded two albums for United Artists, 1967-68; formed Attila (organ and drum duo) with Jonathan Small, 1970; signed with Columbia, 1972; teamed with Elton John for tours in 1994, 1995, and 2001; formed the Long Island Boat Company, 1996; presented lecture series at 32 schools, "An Evening of Questions, Answers…and a Little Music," 1996; presented Master Class series, which later aired as an A&E special, "Billy Joel: In His Own Words," 2001; signed a book contract with Scholastic, 2004.
Awards: Cash Box, Best New Male Vocalist, 1974; Stereo Review, Record of the year for The Stranger, 1977; Grammy Awards, Best Album for The Stranger and Best Song for "Just the Way You Are," 1978; ASCAP Awards, Song of the Year and Artist of the Year, 1978; Grand Prix Award (Japan), 1978; Billboard Music Awards, Number One Pop Album, Pop Album Artist, Male Pop Album Artist, and Male Pop Artist, 1979; Grammy Legend Award, 1990; Humanitarian Award, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1990; Century Award, 1994; ASCAP Founder's Award for lifetime achievement, 1997; American Music Awards "Award of Merit", 1999; Smithsonian Institute's James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, 2000; "Johnny Mercer Award," Songwriter's Hall of Fame, 2001; Star placed on Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2004.
Addresses: Record company—Columbia Records/Division of Sony Music, 2100 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Website—Billy Joel Official Website: http://www.billyjoel.com.
After a six-month tour to promote the ill-fated album, Joel married Elizabeth Weber, ex-wife of fellow Attila member Small. Weber would eventually manage her husband's career and become the model for many of his songs about women.
It was "Captain Jack," one of the songs Joel had performed live while on tour to promote Cold Spring Harbor, that indirectly gave him the break he needed. After hearing the song during Joel's set at the Mary Sol Rock Festival near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and later on East Coast FM radio stations, Columbia Records executive Clive Davis tracked Joel down, helped extricate him from his contract with Ripp, and signed him to the Columbia label.
Discography:
(With the Hassles) The Hassles, United Artists, 1967.
(With the Hassles) Hour of the Wolf,United Artists, 1969.
(With others) Attila, Epic, 1970.
Cold Spring Harbor, Family Productions, 1972.
Piano Man, Columbia, 1973.
Streetlife Serenade, Columbia, 1974.
Turnstiles, Columbia, 1976.
The Stranger, Columbia, 1977.
52nd Street, Columbia, 1978.
Glass Houses, Columbia, 1980.
Songs in the Attic, Columbia, 1981.
Nylon Curtain, Columbia, 1982.
An Innocent Man, Columbia, 1983.
Greatest Hits, Volume I and II, Columbia, 1985.
The Bridge, Columbia, 1986.
Kohuept (live), Columbia, 1987.
Storm Front, Columbia, 1989.
River of Dreams, Columbia, 1993.
Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume III, Sony, 1997.
Billy Joel: 2000 Years – The Millenium Concert, Sony, 2000.
The Essential Billy Joel, Sony, 2001.
Fantasies and Delusions, Sony, 2001.
Movin' Out, Sony, 2002.
Goodnight My Angel, A Lullabye, Scholastic, 2004.
Source: Segun Murray Ogunsheye, eNotes.
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
