(Cornet, 1907–67) After honing a vocabulary of unorthodox trumpet techniques with Fletcher Henderson between 1926–33, Rex William Stewart switched to cornet and joined Duke Ellington. In an orchestra of distinctive voices, his was among the most unique. He played with a sharp, biting attack in the middle register. His tone had a slightly sour, almost sarcastic ...
(Vocals, songwriter, 1912–58) Though he died in poverty and obscurity in a New Orleans charity hospital and is little remembered today, Griffin’s singing strongly influenced a number of major artists, including Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, Alsie ‘Rex’ Griffin sang and yodelled in the style of Jimmie Rodgers. He recorded for ...
(Vocals, actor, narrator, 1920–99) The last of the singing cowboys, Arizona-born Rex Allen made 19 movies for Republic before the genre ended with his The Phantom Stallion (1954). His powerful voice ensured several chart successes – the highest being ‘Crying In The Chapel’ (1953) – and a long career as a narrator for several Disney documentaries. The ...
(Vocals, guitar, songwriter, 1934–85) A formative figure of the West Coast hardcore honky-tonk movement, Stewart was a major influence on both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard (the latter played bass in Stewart’s band). He was a regular on KWTO in Springfield, Missouri when he was 13, before his family relocated to California. Skeets McDonald helped ...
(Vocals, piano, guitar, 1945–2003) Kentucky-born Stewart first recorded in 1964, and was a member of rock band The Amps. He co-wrote Stonewall Jackson’s 1965 country hit, ‘Poor Red Georgia Dirt’, and several for Billy Walker and others before signing to RCA in 1973. His first country hit was a cover of The Allman Brothers Band’s ‘Ramblin’ ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1945) Once lead guitarist with Bournemouth’s Tony Blackburn and The Rovers, Stewart’s commercial discography as a solo artist commenced with a 1966 Xerox of a Yardbirds LP track, ‘Turn Into Earth’. Very bound up in himself lyrically, he impinged on national consciousness via mild media uproar over his insertion of a rude word ...
(Founder, Stax Records, b. 1930) Stewart founded Memphis-based Stax Records in 1957 with his sister, Estelle Axton. Local musicians became the house band, Booker T. And The M.G.s. Their backing on many recordings defined the gritty Southern Soul sound. An early hit by Carla Thomas attracted Atlantic, who took options on all Stax releases ...
One of the UK’s finest rock vocalists, Roderick David Stewart was born on 10 January 1945 to Scottish parents. He went to the same school as Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks and briefly trained as an apprentice footballer before busking around Europe. Many Faces Back in London he started singing with The Hoochie Coochie Men in 1964 alongside ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–77) The first glam rock band evolved from acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, formed by Marc Bolan (guitar, vocals) and multi-instrumentalist Steve Peregrine-Took. Mickey Finn (bongos) replaced Took in 1969 as Bolan began to deploy electric instruments. Shortening the name to T. Rex heralded a chart breakthrough in October 1970 with the single ‘Ride A White Swan’. ...
Django Reinhardt (1910–53) overcame physical disabilities to create a unique playing style and one of the most highly influential sounds in jazz. He was born in Belgium to gypsy parents. At the age of eight his mother’s tribe settled near Paris. The French Gypsies, or Manouches, were medieval in their beliefs, and distrustful of modern science. But Django ...
Universally acknowledged as one of the twentieth century’s emblematic composers, Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington used his long-standing touring orchestra as a tool to create wholly unique tonal colours and a distinctive harmonic language in jazz. His career was characterized by the close and long-lasting relationships that he struck up with particular musicians and other figures from the music business, ...
(Cornet, 1906–67) Francis Joseph Spanier was an early part of the group of young white Chicagoans who in the late 1920s opened up and amended the original New Orleans styles that had come north during the Roaring Twenties. He had a hot, jabbing, poking attack, often coloured by the use of a plunger mute. When Spanier recorded ...
(Soprano saxophone, 1934–2004) Steve Lacy began his career in Dixieland jazz, sitting in with Henry ‘Red’ Allen, Rex Stewart and Herbie Nichols, among others, at New York’s Café Metronome. However, he quickly shifted tack and became one of the leading figures in the jazz avant-garde. Soprano saxophone is now widely played, but Lacy concentrated ...
(Soprano saxophone, 1934–2004) Born Steven Lackritz in New York City, Lacy began his career playing Dixieland music with veterans Henry ‘Red’ Allen and Rex Stewart, but became best known as a highly lyrical and adventurous champion of the soprano saxophone. His adoption of the straight horn, neglected since the heyday of Sidney Bechet, inspired John Coltrane ...
Though art music since the war tended more often to define itself in opposition to rock and commercial pop music, signs of mutual regard were already emerging in the 1960s. While it is Stockhausen’s face that stands out from the crowd on the front cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it was Berio ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.