Classic Rock | Musicosity

Classic Rock

Stevie Nicks

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and a long successful solo career. Her ethereal visual style and symbolic lyrics have brought her critical acclaim and have proved influential to many female artists. She was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, as a member of Fleetwood Mac. Nicks has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards.

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Tonk

Tonk are a Hard Rock band based in Canberra, A.C.T. According to themselves, they are "everything that's wrong with the world, and everything that's right with rock 'n' roll." They have recently recorded and released their debut album entitled "Sister Switchblade". They have gained a strong following within Canberra and around the local region. They have toured with the likes of Airbourne, Jimmy Barnes, Shihad and Karnivool, just to name a few.

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Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, 25 March 1947) is an English singer, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. In his five-decade career Elton John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 58 Billboard Top 40 singles, 27 Top 10, four No. 2 and nine No. 1. For 31 consecutive years (1970–2000) he had at least one song in the Billboard Hot 100.

His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", rewritten in dedication to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling single in the history of the UK and US singles charts. He has also composed music, produced records, and has occasionally acted in films. John owned Watford Football Club from 1976 to 1987, and 1997 to 2002. He is an honorary Life President of the club, and in 2014 had a stand named after him at the club's home stadium.

Raised in the Pinner area of London, John learned to play piano at an early age, and by 1962 had formed Bluesology. John met his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, in 1967, after they had both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years they wrote songs for other artists, including Lulu, and John also worked as a session musician for artists such as the Hollies and the Scaffold. In 1969 his debut album, Empty Sky, was released. In 1970 a single, "Your Song", from his second album, Elton John, reached the top ten in the UK and the US, his first hit single. After decades of commercial chart success, John has also achieved success in musical theatre, both in the West End and on Broadway, composing the music for The Lion King (film and musical), Aida and Billy Elliot the Musical.

He has received five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards – winning two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the first Brits Icon in 2013 for his "lasting impact on British culture", an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Disney Legends award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era. In 2013, Billboard ranked him the most successful male solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists (third overall behind the Beatles and Madonna). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, is an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. Having been named a Commander of the British Empire in 1996, John was made a Knight Bachelor by Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998. John has performed at a number of royal events, such as the funeral of Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, the Party at the Palace in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.

He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation and a year later began hosting the annual Academy Award Party, which has since become one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over US$200 million. John, who announced he was bisexual in 1976 and has been openly gay since 1988, entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005, and after same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in 2014, wed Furnish on 21 December 2014. On 24 January 2018, it was announced that John would be retiring from touring and would soon embark on a three-year farewell tour, which began in September 2018.

Elton John has written with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin since 1967 when he answered an advertisement for talent placed in the popular UK music publication, New Musical Express, by Liberty records A&R man Ray Williams. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. The writing style that Elton John and Bernie Taupin use involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music, with the two never in the same room during the process. Taupin would write a set of lyrics, then post them to John, wherever he was in the world, who would then lay down the music, arrange it, and record.

In 1992, John was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA). His voice was once classed as tenor; it is now baritone. His piano playing is influenced by classical and gospel music. He used Paul Buckmaster to arrange the music on his studio albums during the 1970s.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1994. He and Bernie Taupin had previously been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. John was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1995. For his charitable work, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 February 1998. In October 1975, John became the 1,662nd person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He was awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He became a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, and a Disney Legends Award in 2006. In 2000, he was named the MusiCares Person of the Year for his artistic achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy. In 2010, he was awarded with the PRS for Music Heritage Award, which was erected on The Namaste Lounge Pub in Northwood, London, where John performed his first ever gig.

Music awards include the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1994 for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); and the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2000 for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (award shared with Tim Rice). He has also received five Brit Awards, including the award for Best British Male in 1991, and awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1986 and 1995. In 2013, John received the first Brits Icon award in recognition of his "lasting impact" on UK culture, which was presented to him by his close friend Rod Stewart. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are a blues-rock band, formed in 1974. Their original line up included guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, the older brother of the influential electrical blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, they earned a recording contract with Chrysalis Records and later signed to Arista. The first two albums released in 1979 and 1980 (with Keith Ferguson on bass and Mike Buck on drums), did not initially sell well, but are now regarded as successful white blues recordings.

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Bernard Fowler

It is a distinct possibility that everyone alive today in the free world has heard Bernard Fowler sing. This is because Bernard Fowler is a true Renaissance Man when it comes to the vast expanse of his career. He has a list of credits that is pages long, with experience which has truly spanned all genres of music: Rock, Jazz, Funk, Pop, and Latin. His critically acclaimed voice is powerful, soulful, and unforgettable.

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Ratcat

Ratcat were an Australian indie rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s fronted by Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop songwriting and energetic punk-style guitar won them fans from both the indie and skate-punk communities. Ratcat formed in 1986 in Sydney and were a mainstay of that city's live music scene until they were eventually signed to Waterfront Records where they released a self-titled EP, several singles ("I Think I Love You", "Baby's Got A Gun") and their debut album, This Nightmare in 1989. Another EP, Killing Joke, and another single, "Saying Goodbye" followed.

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Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are an American rock band led by Joan Jett. After The Runaways split in 1979, Jett pursued solo career and met Kenny Laguna and soon released her self-titled debut. Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed The Blackhearts with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums.

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Roger Waters

Roger Waters was the main lyricist for the classic British rock band Pink Floyd. He, along with Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, formed the band in 1965 and released their first album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" in 1967. In 1968, Syd Barrett was replaced by guitarist/singer David Gilmour. He and Gilmour were the main creative forces behind the albums "Meddle," "Dark Side of the Moon," and "Wish You Were Here"; Waters eventually became the primary songwriter, being the driving force behind "Animals", and "The Wall" as well as the sole songwriter of "The Final Cut".

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Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is both the name of an American rock band formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964 and subsequently the name of the band's lead singer (born Vince Furnier) who legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and had a solo career under that name after the band became inactive in 1975.

Alice Cooper, the band consisted of lead singer Vince Furnier (stage name Alice Cooper), Glen Buxton (lead guitar), Michael Bruce (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Dennis Dunaway (bass guitar), and Neal Smith (drums). After several years of little success, the band rose to fame in 1971 with the hit single "I'm Eighteen" and the album Love It to Death. Success continued with the popular single "School's Out" and the album of the same name in 1972. The band peaked in popularity in 1973. After the breakup in 1975, Vincent Furnier took "Alice Cooper" as his own name. Bruce, Dunaway and Smith went on to form the short-lived band Billion Dollar Babies.

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician whose career spans five decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors, and baby dolls, he is considered by fans and peers alike to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock"; Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a grandly theatrical and macabre brand of rock designed to shock.

Originating in Phoenix in the late 1960s after Furnier moved from Detroit, Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and drummer Neal Smith. The original Alice Cooper band broke into the international music mainstream with the 1971 hit "I'm Eighteen" from the album Love It to Death, which was followed by the even bigger single "School's Out" in 1972 which reached No 1 in the UK. The band reached their commercial peak with the 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies.

Furnier adopted the band's name as his own name in the 1970s and began a solo career with the 1975 concept album Welcome to My Nightmare. In 2011 he released Welcome 2 My Nightmare, his 22th album as a solo artist. Expanding from his Detroit rock roots, in his career Cooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, including conceptual rock, art rock, hard rock, heavy metal, new wave, pop rock, experimental rock and industrial rock.

He released the album "Paranormal" in 2017. It contains 2 new tracks with the original members of the Alice Cooper Band from the early '70s. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English lineage.

With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Rod Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group (1967-1969) and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his début album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces proved to be influential on the formation of the heavy metal and punk rock genres, respectively. Both bands were also pioneers of blues-rock.

With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has achieved numerous solo hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has garnered six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. He has had 16 top ten singles in the USA, with four of these reaching number one. He has sold over 130 million records worldwide, and is one of the best selling British singers of all time. He was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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