Showing 1 - 25 of 127
Artist: Focal Point
Focal Point released one fair pop-psychedelic single in 1968, "Sycamore Sid"/"Love You Forever." "Sycamore Sid" was typical of much British rock of the time in its sketch of an eccentric character, played out against a pleasant medium-tempo power pop arrangement combining hard rock guitar riffs, organ, and piano. "Love You Forever" was an... [+] Read More
Artist: Focal Point
Artist: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. In his prime, Jackson was an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility,... [+] Read More
Artist: Stone Poneys
Before becoming a solo act, Linda Ronstadt was the lead singer of the Stone Poneys, an L.A.-based trio with an acoustic, folkish sound and strong original material. The band's focal point and greatest asset was Ronstadt's clear, powerful vocals. Originally recording in a coffeehouse folk style not far removed from Peter, Paul & Mary, the group... [+] Read More
Artist: Belle Canto
Belle Canto started their existence as the brainchild of singer Meredith DiMenna. Acting as the focal point for the band, DiMenna began collaborating with musician Keith Saunders and soon the band took shape. Named after an Italian vocal technique, the band began playing shows around their native Stamford, CT, with drummer Chris Sala. Gaining... [+] Read More
Artist: Christian Ludwig Boxberg
A probable student of Johann Schelle, Boxberg was a composer and text writer; the opera "Amyntas and Phyllis" is a good indication of his vocational diversity. Boxberg's librettos, however, were not only scored by him; some were written for the compositional talents of Strungk. His geographical focal point seems to have been Leipzig but he was... [+] Read More
Artist: Tina Turner
The most dynamic female soul singer in the history of the music, Tina Turner oozed sexuality from every pore in a performing career that began the moment she stepped onstage as lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the late '50s. Her gritty and growling performances beat down doors everywhere, looking back to the double-barreled attack... [+] Read More
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails were the most popular industrial group ever and was largely responsible for bringing the music to a mass audience. It isn't really accurate to call NIN a group; the only official member is singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Trent Reznor, who always remained solely responsible for NIN's musical direction (he was, however,... [+] Read More
Artist: Three Second Kiss
Three Second Kiss got together in Bologna, Italy, in 1993 under the inspiration of Rodan, Blonde Redhead, Big Black, and Jawbow. With their complex but abrasive tunes of hard-hitting indie, Lollypop Records contributed to the release of Three Second Kiss' first full-length F.P.R. Two years later, their second album, Everyday Everyman, came out... [+] Read More
Artist: Live Honey
New York City's Live Honey first formed in the spring of 1997, but it wasn't until three years later and numerous members coming and going that the definitive lineup took shape: guitarist/harmonica player Steve Roiphe, drummer Tony Gibson, bassist Glenn Nataupsky, and last but not least, vocalist Shelly Bhushan. Roiphe is the only native New... [+] Read More
Artist: Marin Marais
Marais was the leading figure and the focal person in the French school of bass viol playing. He spent all of his lifetime in the city of Paris and served the royal family much of that time. Having studied with Sainte-Colombe and Lully, Marais composed four operas the most notable being "Alcione." It is memorable for its act containing a storm... [+] Read More
Artist: Sarah Shannon
Washington, D.C.-based indie pop singer Sarah Shannon was the lead singer and focal point for Velocity Girl, whose three early-'90s albums, Copacetic, Simpatico, and Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts, reworked the British shoegazer aesthetic into a distinctly original form. When that band split in 1996, Shannon formed the short-lived Starry Eyes,... [+] Read More
Artist: Signorello
The music of (John) Signorello (b. 2/1/66, New York, NY) is like one big shrine built to the deities of the big-band and lounge eras of long ago. A long history of involvement in music (playing guitar, trumpet and piano, as well as singing) developed into a focus on neo-swing in the mid '90s. Recalling the playfullness of Ella Fitzgerald with... [+] Read More
Artist: Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child rose to become one of the most popular female R&B groups of the late '90s, eventually rivaling even TLC in terms of blockbuster commercial success. Their accomplishments came in spite of several abrupt personnel changes, which were accompanied by heated, well-publicized feuds in the media and the courts. In fact, for a time,... [+] Read More
Artist: Haysi Fantayzee
Haysi Fantayzee was a quirky '80s pop group known most for its colorful thrift shop image and successful debut single "John Wayne Is Leggy." Former Animal Magnet member Paul Caplin was the group's leader, acting as arranger, producer, and lone instrumentally proficient member. Jeremiah Healy and Kate Garner were the band's focal point as... [+] Read More
Artist: The Hollow Point
Over the past year, The Hollow Point has become a rapidly growing band with the potential to stand out as one of the greater bands of the Midwest. With an emotionally charged rock music style and a passionate stage presence, the band projects enough intensity to kick you in the face and at the same time enough intellect to challenge the mind.... [+] Read More
Artist: The Bongos
Hoboken's Bongos -- founded as a trio consisting of Richard Barone (guitar, vocals), Rob Norris (bass), and Frank Giannini (drums, vocals) -- made no pretense of being anything other than a pop band; fortunately, they were a good pop band, covering guitar pop from the Byrds to T. Rex, all of it pulled together by Barone's original songs.... [+] Read More
Artist: Ed Gein's Car
Named in tribute to the notorious serial killer, Ed Gein's Car were the spirited wiseasses of New York City's mid-1980s hardcore punk scene. The group's origins dated to 1982, when bassist Tim Carroll and guitarist Eric Hedin formed the Deadhead Assassins while attending college in New Paltz, New York; within weeks they were banned from every... [+] Read More
Artist: Orquesta de La Luz
The Japanese salsa band Orquesta de La Luz was quite a large one, whose main focal point (and only consistent member throughout their tenure together) was singer Nora. Throughout the years, Nora was joined by a rotating cast of musicians in the group, including Gen Ogimi, percussion; Carlos Kanno, percussion; Genichi Egawa, timbales; Gen Date,... [+] Read More
Artist: Trio Matamoros
One of the most popular and influential Cuban groups of the '20s and '30s, Trio Matamoros was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros, along with percussionist Siro Rodriguez and guitar player Rafael Cueto. The band performed from 1925 until it disbanded in 1969, hitting several creative peaks along the way. From the beginning, the trio made an... [+] Read More
Artist: Duncan Sanderson
Duncan Sanderson is a very influential and too-little-acknowledged bassist whose major contribution to music took place in two bands, the Deviants and the Pink Fairies. In 1967, when they were still known as the Social Deviants, he succeeded Cord Rees in the bassist's spot in the former group, and was on all three of their albums. He lasted... [+] Read More
Artist: Bent Leg Fatima
A peculiarly-named quartet from Philadelphia, Bent Leg Fatima belonged to the more progressive rock end of that city?s fabled neo-psychedelia scene. Keyboardist Dale Jimenez, drummer Chris Powell, bassist Jamey Robinson and singer/multi-instrumentalist/manic dancing focal point Jeff Bradbury formed the group in 1996, moving to Philadelphia from... [+] Read More
Artist: Transient Waves
A mysterious Philadelphia-based trio, Transient Waves exists on the borderline between ambient electronica and trippy psychedelia without tipping too far into either direction. Clearly heavily influenced by the droning, hypnotic soundscapes of Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine, Transient Waves brings very little that's new to what had already... [+] Read More
Artist: Raging Teens
Taking their name from a series of Norton Records compilations called The Raging Teens that chronicled the work of New England rockabilly artists of the 1950s, the NH-based band The Raging Teens pay faithful tribute to hard-driving rockabilly of that era. Unlike some of their contemporaries, The Raging Teens steer away from punk rock posturing... [+] Read More
Artist: Erasure
Following the disbandment of the short-lived synth pop group Yazoo, former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke formed Erasure in 1985 with singer Andy Bell. Like Yaz and Depeche Mode, Erasure were a synth-based group, but they had stronger dance inclinations, as well as a sharper, more accessible sense of pop songcraft, than either of Clarke's... [+] Read More
