(Vocal group, 1990–94) Formed in Georgia, and based around Todd ‘Speech’ Thomas and Timothy ‘DJ Headliner’ Barnwell. Taking a pastoral rather than city attitude, Arrested Development fused articulate social concerns, black pride and education on to music that blended hip hop, funk and heavy doses of Sly. 3 Years, 5 Months And Two Days In The Life Of… (1992) featured vital hits ‘People Everyday’ and ‘Mr Wendel’. After Zingalamadni (1994) the ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1972–82, 1989–present) The blue-eyed soul of Scots Alan Gorrie (vocals, bass), Malcolm Duncan (saxophone), Owen McIntyre (vocals, guitar), Hamish Stuart (vocals, guitar), Roger Ball (keyboards) and Robbie McIntosh (drums) topped the US charts in 1975 with the album AWB and single ‘Pick Up The Pieces’. After dabbling in disco with ‘Let’s Go Round Again’, a British hit in 1980, the band went on hiatus in the mid-1980s, reforming in ...
(Vocals, 1944–2003) Nicknamed the ‘Walrus of Love’, Barry White’s image as a Lothario sometimes obscured his talents as a songwriter, producer and arranger. Working with girl group Love Unlimited, his first hit was ‘Walking In The Rain With The One I Love’ in 1972. White’s distinctive growl was heard on ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love Babe’, a US No. 1 and ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’ a British ...
(Vocals, b. 1938) This smooth-voiced performer from West Virginia broke through with ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ from the album Just As I Am (1971). His songs have been recorded by countless artists ranging from Grace Jones’s version of ‘Use Me’ to British pop band Mud’s cover of ‘Lean On Me’. ‘Lovely Day’ has been a Top 10 hit twice for Withers in the UK, the second time, in 1988, after its use ...
(Instrumental group, 1962–71, 1973–77, 1994–present) Stax Records’ house band, Booker T. And The M.G.s also toured and recorded instrumentals in their own right. More than any other group they defined the sound of 1960s soul with their sparse, funky arrangements on hits for other Stax and Atlantic stars like Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, and Otis Redding. Booker T. Jones, Stax’s sax and organ prodigy, formed The M.G.s (Memphis Group) with ...
(Bass, vocals, b. 1951) Formerly the bassist in James Brown’s backing group the J.B.s of which his driving, rhythmic playing was a prominent feature, Collins joined George Clinton’s musical collective in 1972, supplying bass and songwriting for Funkadelic. An outrageous showman, he founded Bootsy’s Rubber Band, whose first three albums, Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band (1976), Ahh ... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby (1977) and Bootsy? Player Of The Year ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1976–83, 1990–92, 1996, 1998–present) Chic were a disco outfit built around the songwriting and production team of Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard Edwards (bass), who were originally part of a New York rock band but changed direction when unable to secure a record deal. Chic evolved from demos recorded by the pair that formed the basis of their first album Chic (1977), for which drummer Tony Thompson and singer ...
(Vocals/vocal group, 1957–90) Childhood friends Mayfield and Butler joined Sam Gooden and Arthur and Richard Brooks in The Impressions in 1957, Butler going solo after one hit, ‘For Your Precious Love’. In 1967, Butler teamed his distinctive smooth soul voice with producer-writers Gamble and Huff and helped to forge the polished Philadelphia Soul sound with No. 1s like ‘Hey Western Union Man’. Under Mayfield The Impressions in the 1960s were the ...
‘Groove Is In The Heart’, 1990 With the legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins on bass, the equally legendary Maceo Parker (of James Brown fame – as, incidentally, so was Bootsy) on saxophone, and A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip as a guest vocalist, all the elements were in place for a modern funk anthem. ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ was pop-funk perfection that reached No. 4 in the States, and No. 2 ...
(Vocal group, 1970–83) In 1972, Maurice White (drums) assembled a second line-up of Earth, Wind and Fire after two unsuccessful albums. This featured brother Verdine (bass), Jessica Cleaves (vocals), Ronnie Laws (saxophone), Larry Dunn (keyboards), Ralph Johnson (percussion), Roland Battista (guitar) and Philip Bailey (vocals). After further personnel changes, ‘Shining Star’ became the first in a string of dancefloor standards, which included ‘September’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘After The Love Has Gone’ and ‘Boogie ...
Eddie Hazel (1950–92) was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. He played guitar and sang in church. At the age of 12, he met Billy ‘Bass’ Nelson, and the pair sang and played guitar together. In 1967 the Parliaments, a Plainfield-based doo-wop band headed by George Clinton, hit the charts with ‘I Wanna Testify’. Clinton recruited Nelson for the backup band, and Hazel joined after a ...
(Vocals, 1942–2003) Starr’s early singing career was interrupted when he was drafted in 1960. He finally broke with 1965 Bond novelty ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ and its follow-up ‘Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S.)’. He had a powerful, rough voice that will be remembered for the 1970 anti-Vietnam hit ‘War’, originally a Norman Whitfield song for The Temptations. Starr enjoyed a disco comeback in 1979 with two UK Top 10 entries, ‘Contact’ and ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1993–present) Forming in New York, Huey Morgan (vocals, guitar), Steve Borovini (drums, programming) and Brian ‘Fast’ Leisler (bass, keyboards) blended hip hop, funk and soundtrack references on early releases with some success. Debut album Come Find Yourself (1996) was a fine work spawning the addictive single ‘Scooby Snacks’. Barry White tribute single ‘Love Unlimited’ became a huge UK hit as did the soulful 100% Columbian (1998). More albums followed, ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1943) A child jazz guitar prodigy, Benson later recorded with giants of the genre Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. In his mid-30s he followed in the crossover footsteps of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Louis Armstrong, reinventing himself as a honey-toned, R&B singer. 1976’s Breezin’ set him on his way, and he consolidated his pop star status with In Flight (1977) and 1980’s Give Me The Night, the title ...
Jazz and R&B star George Benson (b. 1943) seemed destined for a respected but low-key career in cool jazz until he adopted a funky hybrid of jazz and soul for the 1976 album Breezin’. Driven by accessible instrumentals and a smash reworking of Leon Russell’s ‘This Masquerade’, the album made Benson the biggest star to cross over from jazz to pop since Stan Getz in 1962 with ‘The Girl From ...
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.
