Detroit minimalist rock duo (specifically, southwest Detroit minimalist rock duo) the White Stripes -- Jack White, guitar and vocals, Meg White, drums -- formed in 1997 (Bastille Day, to be precise) with the idea of making simple rock & roll music.

From the red-and-white peppermint candy motif of their debut singles, self-titled album, and stage show to their on-the-surface rudimentary style, they succeeded wildly and immediately with that mission. Their first recordings were a mix of garage rock, blues, and the occasional show tune. In frontman Jack (a former drummer for Detroit country outfit Goober & the Peas), the White Stripes have a formidable songwriter, guitar player, and vocalist capable of both morphing between styles and changing the musical styles themselves; ranging from the folk blues of Blind Willie McTell to soaring Kinks-esque pop and narrative pop tunes worthy of Cole Porter and into deepest Captain Beefheart territory within the span of 15 minutes is not an uncommon listening experience with either The White Stripes live show or on record. In drummer Meg, The White Stripes have a minimalist percussionist who seems to sense intuitively exactly when to not play. The White Stripes are grounded in punk and blues, but the undercurrent to all of their work has been the aforementioned striving for simplicity, a love of American folk music, and a careful approach to intriguing, emotional, and evocative lyrics not found anywhere else in the modern punk, or garage rock (or among postmodern "blues" practitioners such as Jon Spencer, for that matter).

While they may have sprung from the Detroit rock scene, The White Stripes quickly gained a national following after two successive tours with indie rockers Pavement and Sleater-Kinney in 1999 and 2000. The White Stripes released their second LP, De Stijl, in 2000 and it further spread the group's reputation. They followed its release with successful tours of Japan and Australia and entered the Memphis studio of renowned producer Doug Easley for 2001's White Blood Cells. The album was a critical smash and The White Stripes soon found themselves, along with The Strokes and The Hives, at the forefront of the new wave of rock & roll bands poised to take over the world. The band certainly did their best to achieve world domination, appearing on Late Night with David Lettterman, being written about in Time, The New Yorker, and Entertainment Weekly, playing the MTV Movie Awards, and having their video for "Fell in Love with a Girl" in heavy rotation on MTV. They also made the tough decision to jump to a major label; White Blood Cells was reissued on V2 in January of 2002 and their first two records followed suit in June. The White Stripes truly became big time rock stars when their "Fell in Love with a Girl" clip was nominated for four MTV Video Awards, including Best Video of the Year (alongside Eminem and NSYNC!), Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Editing in a Video. That summer the group also played four triumphant shows with the Strokes, two apiece in the bands' respective hometowns. In spring 2003 their fourth full-length, Elephant -- recorded in two weeks at London's Toerag Studio and dedicated to "the death of the sweetheart" -- arrived to nearly unanimous critical acclaim.

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In 2005 the Stripes returned with Get Behind Me Satan, a dizzyingly diverse album that spanned disco-metal and light, marimba-driven pop and was written and recorded in two weeks that spring. While touring that year, the band covered Tegan and Sara's "Walking with a Ghost", which they released as a single at the end of 2005. That year, Jack White and his wife, model/singer Karen Elson, moved to Nashville, TN. White also formed The Raconteurs with Brendan Benson and the Greenhornes' Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, and spent much of 2006 touring in support of the group's debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers. Early in 2007, The White Stripes announced they were working on a new album; Icky Thump, which included the first-ever Stripes songs with bagpipes and mariachi horns, was recorded in three weeks at Nashville's Blackbird Studio and was released that summer.

Sources: http://www.artistdirect.com; Bruce Walker

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AC/DC

MC5

Elvis Presley

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Jimmy Page is without doubt one of the most influential guitarist of our time. Jimmy Page went from a bright eyed, young Skiffle lad to a founding member of Led Zeppelin, Page is a prolific songwriter and musician.

Born in England, Page haphazardly discovered the guitar as an adolescent and according to sources is largely, self taught. Like many young musicians of this time, he was inspired by the blues and rock-n-roll music being imported from America. Page’s first televised appearance was in 1957 playing in a Skiffle group.

Page would often jam with other icons but then only other local musicians like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He eventually would go on to be a session musician and work on songs for other artists more notably, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull and Van Morrison. Some of these recordings were documented, some not and some controversial.

In 1964 and 1965, Page was offered Eric Clapton’s spot in The Yardbirds. He declined both times and didn’t actually join the band until 1966. The band eventually had some line-up drop outs. Page decided to recruit Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones and out of the ashes of the failing Yardbirds rose Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin created classic rock radio standards such as Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, Black Dog, and Stairway to Heaven.

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The music produced, composed and played by Page during his Led Zeppelin days continues to be the archetype for future rock, punk and metal bands. His techniques in downstroke guitar riffs, innovative dual guitar harmony, mesmerising solos and on-stage theatrics are some of the most quoted inspirations. According to a 2005 interview, Page estimated that he owned over 1500 guitars but he is most well-known for playing a double headed Gibson and Les Pauls. Gibson would go on to release signature Jimmy Page models.

After the death of Bonham, Led Zeppelin broke up. Page continued to be active within the music industry including forming a supergroup with Yes bassist, Chris Squire called XYZ, featuring on a Honeydripper’s recording, film soundtracks and session work. In 1988, he released a solo album called Outrider. In the 90s, he successfully collaborated with Whitesnake front man, David Coverdale. In 1994, he reunited with Plant again for a widely acclaimed MTV Unplugged session.

Four years later, a US rapper, Puff Daddy sampled Kashmir for his hit, Come with Me which featured on the Godzilla soundtrack. Page played a cameo role in the video to support the single.

Page has carried on in this vain by playing live with modern acts and re-mastering Led Zeppelin material.

Die-hard (and not so die-hard) fans were in awe and admiration when Page joined the surviving Led Zeppelin members for a reunion concert in 2007. The reunion caused an international stir and media frenzy.

Juanita Appleby

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Led Zeppelin

Jeff Beck

The Yardbirds

Jimmy Page Playing Skiffle

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The Birds should probably do down in history as being one of the hardest done by, misfortunate acts to come out of the British rock invasion in the 1960s. This five piece consisted of Ali MacKenzie, Ron Wood (later famous for being in The Faces and The Rolling Stones), Tony Munroe, Kim Gardner and Bob Langham (later replaced by Pete McDaniel).

The band formed out of London and were known for their edgy approach to rock and were compared to other successful acts of the time like The Who and The Kinks.

After an appearance in a battle of the bands competition, Decca signed them on the spot and released the first single, You Don’t Love Me. The future looked bright for this raunchy rhythm and blues band.

But in 1965, the LA band, The Byrds, arrived in England with its hit Hey Mr. Tambourine Man. The Birds’ manager attempted legal action but to no avail. This unforeseen circumstance was a major disturbance to the sale of its second release, Leaving Here.

The Birds hired a new manager, switched record labels and even contemplated changing their name. This promising act from West London seemed to be in free fall.

In 1965, they recorded their last single, Say Those Magic Words. In 1966 secured a cameo appearance on a horror film.

By 1967, the band disbanded after only laying down about a dozen tracks.

Motorhead would go on to cover Leaving Here.

Sources: Juanita Appleby

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The Rolling Stones

Motorhead

The Small Faces

Ronnie Wood - The Legend

The Hollies are a British rock group, formed in the early sixties, had the hits 'He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother' and 'Searchin’'. Formed in the early 1960s, the band have gone through line up changes but remain one of few bands from the ‘British Invasion’ era, alongside the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, Rolling Stones and Steeleye Span, who still record and tour today.

The Hollies were the third most successful British 'singles' group of the 1960s, scoring twenty UK Top 40 singles between 1963 and 1969, following The Shadows and The Beatles. However, despite their numerous chart placings, the band only reached number one once in the UK , with 1965 single 'I’m Alive'.

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Following guitarist Graham Nash’s departure in 1968, when he went on to form the original ‘supergroup’ Crosby, Stills and Nash with Stephen Stills and ex Byrds singer David Crosby, Terry Sylvester joined The Hollies and saw continued success, with Sylvester proving a more than an adequate replacement.

The band have continued to tour steadily since, continuing to capitalise on their 1960s heyday, even though singles throughout the 70s and 80s failed to chart. In 2009 the band were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Members include Bernie Calvert (born on September 16, 1942, in Lancashire, England), drums; Allan Clarke (born on April 5, 1942, in Lancashire, England; left group temporarily, 1972), lead vocals; Bobby Eliott (born on December 8, 1942, in Lancashire, England), bass guitar; Eric Haydock, drums; Tony Hicks (born on December 16, 1945, in Lancashire, England), lead guitar; Graham Nash (born on February 2, 1942, in Blackpool, England; left group, 1968), songwriting, guitar; Don Rathbone, bass guitar; Terry Sylvester (born on January 8, 1947, in Liverpool, England), vocals, guitar.

Albums:

Source: Susan Salter

(SM)

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The Kinks

Rolling Stones

Manfred Mann

The Beatles Secret Hideaway

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English band, Mott The Hoople were a 1970s band, with R&B roots, they thrived in the glam rock era, and were named after a Willard Manus novel, a book about an eccentric who worked in a circus freak show. They are best known for their hit: ''All The Young Dudes'', written for them by their friend and legendary artist David Bowie. 

Their debut album was written in a week and was a cult hit, it covered a couple of songs: ''Laugh At Me'' by Sonny Bono and an instrumental version of ''You Really Got Me'' by The Kinks.

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Sadly, their 2nd and 3rd albums flopped and that's when David Bowie rushed to the rescue - a fan, he heard they were to split and persuaded them to stay together by writing them ''All The Young Dudes''.

A Bowie produced album, with the same title, was also successful and hit No.2 in the U.K charts.

The band eventually split in 1974, prior to this however they toured America, with Queen supporting, which resulted in a lifelong friendship. At the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter and David Bowie performed ''All The Young Dudes'' for posterity.

Mott The Hoople reunited 25 years later, for 2 concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, October 2009.

Wendy Gabriel

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David Bowie

Queen

Bad Company

Queen At Live Aid

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Meat Loaf started his music career in the 60s as the lead singer for a Californian band named Meat Loaf Soul. This band changed its name twice and opened for many famous acts at the time including Janis Joplin, The Kinks and The Who.

The band was relatively unsuccessful so Meat Loaf, whose voice covered four octaves, joined the cast of the musical, Hair.

On the coattails of his theatrical success, Meat Loaf teamed up with singer, Stoney Murphy to release an album in 1971. Together, they toured but Meat Loaf split after the record label decided to replace the vocals with that of another singer.

In 1973, Meat Loaf went back to theatre acting and joined the stage version of Rocky Horror Picture Show. During this time, he met Jim Steinman and began working on the album, Bat Out of Hell. The partnership between Steinman and Meat Loaf on this project produced some of the greatest classic rock masterpieces in the form of title track Bat Out of Hell, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth and Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad. The album has sold over 40 million copies globally.

Steinman and Meat Loaf went searching for a record deal but the rock opera musical style was difficult to sell. Finally, Cleveland International Records took a chance and released Bat Out of Hell in 1977. The songs were greeted by the public with enthusiasm. Meat Loaf performed on Saturday Night Live and supported the album with a tour.

Before and during recording of his second album, Bad for Good, Meat Loaf struggled with cocaine addiction, suicidal feelings and a loss of voice. Steinman had to resort to finishing the album without the portly singer.

In the 80s, Meat Loaf released Dead Ringer which hit #1 in the UK. But it wasn’t to last. The subsequent releases in the form of Midnight at the Lost and Found and Bad Attitude left Meat Loaf bankrupt and caused a break up with Steinman.

So he went back to basics, touring in small venues and re-building his fan base which proved to be the right move. In 1989, Steinman and Meat Loaf reunited to work on Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell which was finally released in 1993, sixteen years after the original. The album was a huge success and is considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history. He was awarded with a Grammy for Best Rock Solo Vocal Performance and single I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) held the UK #1 spot for seven weeks.

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By now, there was no doubting Meat Loaf’s popularity. He continued to release successful albums in the 90s and sold out over 160 concerts during a 2005 tour.

A trademark dispute between Steinman and Meat Loaf failed to stop the release of the last instalment in the Bat Out of Hell Trilogy called The Monster is Loose. The album produced a UK top ten hit in the form of It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, but didn’t sell well stateside. In 2007, rumours circulated that Meat Loaf was going to hang up his singing career after bouts of cancelled gigs but it was unfounded. Meat Loaf promised his fans he would be back and he delivered on it. In 2008, he completed a tour with Patti Russo and continues to work on new material, acting and charity work.

Juanita Appleby

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Grateful Dead

Janis Joplin

Alice Cooper

Top 10 Rock Star Film Cameos

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The Kinks were formed in 1963 by Ray and Dave Davies and Pete Quaife. Drummer Mick Avory joined soon after, replacing Mickey Willet, who had been with the band in their previous incarnation as The Ravens. Willet left just before the band signed a contract with Pye Records in early 1964. The Kinks’ first hit came soon after, their third single, “You Really Got Me”, hitting the top spot in the British charts and reaching the top 10 in America.

The band toured and recorded intensively over the next two years, the pressure of which may have had some part to play in the inter-personal tensions which built up between band members, overflowing occasionally into on-stage fights. In 1965, The Kinks were denied performance permits by the American Federation of Musicians, and, although no reason was ever given, it is presumed that this decision was a result of The Kinks’ onstage rowdiness.

These squabbles resulted in multiple line-up changes. Quaife left in 1969, to be replaced by John Dalton, who was briefly replaced by Andy Pyle, only to return and then leave again shortly after; keyboardist John Gosling joined in 1970 and left in 1978, replaced by Gordon John Edwards, once of The Pretty Things, who only managed a few months before quitting and being replaced by Ian Gibbons.

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The Kinks also attempted alterations in their musical style.  The simple, growling guitars of “You Really Got Me” were replaced by more thoughtful, pop-friendly social commentaries, like “Waterloo Sunset” and “Lola”; these, in turn, sometimes gave way to a more theatrical style, leaning towards concept work and rock opera, for example the “Preservation” series or the earlier album, “Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)”, originally intended as the soundtrack to a television show.

Despite a resurgence in popularity due to their influence on the Britpop scene in the early ‘90s, The Kinks split up in 1996. As of 2008, there has been talk of a reunion, but that is uncertain.

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Rod Stewart

Little Richard

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The Jam, were an English rock band from Surrey in Woking that had huge success from 1975–1982. The media often labelled The Jam a Punk- Rock trio, although Paul Weller (lead vocal and guitar), Bruce Foxton (bass) and Rick Buckler (drums) infused clear elements of Soul, R‘n’B, New wave as well as punk elements into there music. The Jam are closely associated with the mod revival of the late 1970’s that was inspired by groups like The Kinks and The Who (popular in the 60’s).

The band was formed at Sheerwater high school, which all three members attended; they began playing gigs in and around London in 1976. The next year they signed a deal with Universal music subsidiary Polydor records and released their debut album “In the City”, the album produced two successful singles “In the City” and “All Around World”, the success allowed them to embark on an extensive tour across the U.K.

In the following years, armed with their sharp tailored suits, Harrington jackets and penny loafers (common attire among mod-revivalist’s), The Jam had top 10 albums all the way up until 1982, when the band split after the number 1 selling album “The Gift”. The main reason for the split was Paul Weller’s interest in a different musical direction; he formed The Style council in 1983 and eventually went on to a solo career. Weller is often labelled one of the U.K’s great singer-songwriters. The other members of the group both went there separate ways and formed bands of the there own, with no real commercial success.

In 2007, The Jam reunited minus Paul Weller and minus his support, in 2006 having been asked for his thoughts on a reunion he said “ Me and my children would have to be destitute and starving in the gutter before I’d even consider that”. Un-phased the remaining members toured the U.K, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York in the United States. Ironically attaining more success in the U.S than when they were at their peak, proving that there is still a strong global thirst for the unique brand of British music The Jam created at the height of there success.

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Segun Murray Ogunsheye

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Paul Weller

Ocean Colour Scene

Oasis

The Gallaghers Argue Part 1

The Gallaghers Argue Part 2

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