The first African slaves arrived in America in 1619 and brought their music with them. From then until the Civil War of 1861–65, the music both fascinated and frightened the white slave owners who would flock to see the black people celebrating their weekly ‘day off’ in New Orleans’s Congo Square. At the same time, slave owners suppressed the drumming that they saw as a possible means of communication between tribal ...
(Vocals, b. 1946) An American soul and gospel singer, Reverend Al Green (he was ordained a pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976) made his recording debut on Back Up Train (1967). His third album Al Green Gets Next To You (1970) was the start of a golden period when he recorded many of the songs for which he is best known – ‘Tired Of Being Alone’, ‘Let’s ...
The undisputed Queen of Soul since the title was first applied to her in the late 1960s, Aretha Franklin has been hailed as the greatest soul diva of all time. Possessing a voice of power and passion (and an underrated talent on the piano) she has turned her attention to everything from pop through jazz to classical; but with a grounding in gospel it was in soul music that she found ...
Blind Lemon Jefferson (c. 1893–1929) opened up the market for blues records in 1926 when ‘Got The Blues’, backed with ‘Long Lonesome Blues’, became the biggest-selling record by a black male artist. It brought him the trappings of success, including a car and chauffeur, and he released nearly 100 songs over the next four years, before his death. Jefferson played country blues, a style he customized by listening to the flamenco ...
Next to The Beatles, Bob Dylan was the most influential artist of his generation, writing and performing songs whose poetic, sometimes-abstract, often-philosophical lyrics of astute commentary and therapeutic introspection spoke to the masses during an era of social unrest, political upheaval and radical change. While cross-pollinating folk and country with electric rock, Dylan elevated the role of the singer-songwriter and, in so doing, introduced an entirely new dimension to popular music. From ...
(Vocals, b. 1944) The diminutive Georgia-born Brenda Tarpley turned professional aged six, and was known as ‘Little Miss Dynamite’, debuting on the US pop and country charts in early 1957. 1959’s ‘Sweet Nothin’s’, a sexy rocker, was her first US Top 5 hit, and her biggest success came with 1960’s million-selling US No. 1 ballad, ‘I’m Sorry’. ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ was another 1960 million-seller, and she accumulated over 50 ...
The first great Delta-blues singer, Charley Patton (c. 1887–1934) developed a raw, driving and percussive kind of guitar playing that was a seminal influence on the following generation of Mississippi blues singers, including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. All the elements that became integral to the Delta blues – different guitar tunings and picking techniques along with the bottleneck slide – were developed by Patton, ...
(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 ...
(Vocals, 1924–63) Dinah Washington influenced countless R&B and jazz singers, including Nancy Wilson and Esther Phillips. Born Ruth Lee Jones, the young singer moved quickly from her gospel roots to become a pro pianist, big band singer with Lionel Hampton and jazz and blues solo artist. After Washington’s ‘What A Diff’rence A Day Makes’ became a major national hit, she stuck with a formula of orchestrated pop. An accidental overdose killed ...
(Vocals, b. 1940) Discovered by Burt Bacharach in 1962 singing backing vocals in a New York studio, Warwick became the muse of the Bacharach-David writing team that made the reputations of both parties. Her first hit that year was their ‘Don’t Make Me Over’, and from then until 1972 when the writers fell out she charted 30 times with their compositions, from ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’ to ‘I’ll Never Fall ...
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in his family’s shot-gun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935. His twin brother died at birth, and his mother doted on her sole son. He showed musical aptitude early, and loved to sing at the local First Assembly of God church. His mother, Gladys and father, Vernon, moved to Memphis when Elvis was 13, first to a run-down area, then to good public ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1987) An English-born Scottish singer-songwriter and radio favourite who debuted on rapper Chipmunk’s ‘Diamond Rings’ (2009), Sandé’s first solo single, ‘Heaven’, was released on Virgin Records in 2011. She has three No. 1 singles to her credit: ‘Read All About It’ with Professor Green, ‘Next To Me’ and ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’, a collaboration with Labrinth. In 2012 she performed in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London ...
(Vocals, b. 1938) Los Angeles-born Jamesetta Hawkins was discovered by Johnny Otis, who helped her write her first US R&B hit (and four-week chart-topper), 1955’s ‘The Wallflower’, an ‘answer record’ to Hank Ballard’s ‘Work With Me Annie’. Her 1960 breakthrough came with four US Hot 100 singles, including two duets with Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows. Crossover R&B hits continued through the 1960s, but heroin addiction cramped her style. Her biggest ...
(Vocal group, 1952–88) One of many 1950s doo-wop groups scraping a reputation on the R&B circuit, Gladys Knight and The Pips (brother Merald and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten) only came to mainstream attention on signing with Motown in 1966, where they had minor hits and the 1967 million-seller original of ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’. Overlooked by the Motown machine, they switched to Buddah in 1973 just as ...
(Singer-songwriter, 1923–53) Insofar as rock has been shaped by country music, it has been shaped by Hank Williams. Williams, a superstar at 25 and dead at 29, set standards for popular as well as country music, and was a virtual hit songwriting machine. Yet, like several young rock stars who followed him, he was unable to manage stardom and drifted into alcoholism and addiction. Williams started out performing around his native Alabama. ...
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.
