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Artist: Excelsior Spring
Excelsior Spring was one of the more obscure groups in Immediate Records' stable of artists, lasting for exactly one single ("Happy Miranda" b/w "It"). They were a pop-rock trio featuring Mike Finesilver, later of Heron (Twice As Nice, 1972), who got booked into the Marquee Club as a supporting act occasionally during 1969, and recorded briefly... [+] Read More
Artist: Sidney Miller
Sidney Miller was an impressive composer of some jewels (recorded by several important artists) who never aroused a bigger interest from the recording industry in spite of having been a very popular artist at historic festivals. His compositions have been recorded by Nara Leão, MPB-4, Quarteto em Cy, Caetano Veloso, AlaÃde Costa, and Gal... [+] Read More
Artist: Leon René
Although often overlooked, songwriter Leon René was an important figure in R n' B/early rock n' roll, as he helped shape the West Coast R n' B sound during the '50s. Born on February 6, 1902 in Covington, Los Angeles, René (along with his brother, Leon) was the head of one of the earliest black independent labels on America's West Coast,... [+] Read More
Artist: Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis has modeled an amazing number of contrasting musical hats over a career spanning more than half a century. Bandleader, record producer, talent scout, label owner, nightclub impresario, disc jockey, TV variety show host, author, R&B pioneer, rock & roll star -- Otis has answered to all those descriptions and quite a few more. Not bad... [+] Read More
Artist: Carlos Gonzaga
Carlos Gonzaga is widely known as one of the most important singers of ballads in the late '50s in Brazil. He started his career much earlier though, in the '40s, interpreting a wide range of styles, from bolero, samba, calypso, and tango to fox trot. In 1946 he launched songwriter Fred Jorge, recording his "Velha Paineira" (RCA Victor). In 1957... [+] Read More
Artist: Francis Hime
An important composer of Brazilian popular music since the '60s, Francis Hime received classical music education and has written symphonies and chamber music. Among the artists who have recorded his songs are Tony Bennett, Leni Hall, Bill Evans, Kenny Burrell, Elizeth Cardoso, Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Tamba Trio, Milton Nascimento, Nara... [+] Read More
Artist: Ronnie Von
The soon-to-be Jovem Guarda idol Ronnie Von, still as Ronaldo Nogueira, had just graduated in 1969 in economics and pilotage, but wanted to be a singer instead. After becoming acquainted with the members of the Brazilian Bitles, he impressed the group in an audition and the very next week the revelation was featured on their exclusive show on TV... [+] Read More
Artist: Louise Bennett
Louise Bennett, also sometimes known popularly in her native Jamaica as "Miss Lou," or more formally as the Honorable Louise Simone Bennett-Coverly, is one of the most beloved folkorists, authors, and singers ever to come from Jamaica. Born in 1919, she was educated at the Ebenezer and Calabar Elementary Schools, St. Simon's College, Excelsior... [+] Read More
Artist: Wanda Sá
When at 13 she enrolled at Roberto Menescal's guitar academy, Wanda Sá (also known as Wanda de Sah), a successful bossa nova artist, was spotted by Ronaldo Bôscoli and invited to appear on the programs Dois no Balanço (TV Excelsior) and O Fino da Bossa (TV Record). Starting her professional career at 19 with Wanda Vagamente (1964), one of the... [+] Read More
Artist: The Hornets
They only had a few releases, and no hits, but the Hornets were one of Cleveland, OH's most talked about groups of the '50s and 60's. The original Hornets were Ben Iverson, Johnny Moore, James "Sonny" Long, and Gus Miller, but except for Iverson, the lineup wasn't etched in stone. Bill Brent, Carl Brown, Bobby Woods, and Eddie Woods (unrelated... [+] Read More
Artist: Erlon Chaves
In spite of his early demise at 41, Erlon Chaves had a noted role in the '60s and '70s during the organization of the earliest historic music festivals, and also as an arranger/conductor/musician in records and shows of highly expressive Brazilian and international artists. In 1968, he accompanied Elis Regina in her performances at the Olympia... [+] Read More
Artist: Geraldo Vespar
A noted Brazilian guitarist/composer/arranger, Geraldo Vespar started as a professional in 1952 at Rádio Anhangüera (Goiânia, Goiás), having worked until 1963 as a guitarist in several clubs. In that year, he joined the Conjunto de Moacir Silva and recorded for the first time as a session musician, directed by Radamés Gnattali. After 1964,... [+] Read More
Artist: Albert Snaer
His name looking like a mangled order for a drum part, trumpeter Albert Snaer came up during one of the most historic eras of New Orleans jazz. During the ´20s he played on the famous riverboats with Dewey Jackson and George Augustin, co-leading the Moonlight Serenaders band with the latter performer. Snaer had previously studied with Paul... [+] Read More
Artist: Vanusa
Vanusa was one of the biggest idols of the Jovem Guarda movement, having constituted a solo career with over 20 albums recorded. She started to sing professionally at age 16 in a local dance band in Minas Gerais, and with the boom of the Jovem Guarda movement, her voice and looks made her an ideal opponent for Wanderléa. Vanusa moved to São... [+] Read More
Artist: Carlos Imperial
One of the key figures behind the scenes of the nascent movement of youth music and "Jovem Guarda" in the late '50s and 1960s, as a producer Carlos Imperial launched Roberto Carlos, Erasmo Carlos, Ed Wilson, Sérgio Murilo, Dudu França, and others, on his highly popular TV and radio shows. As a composer, he had songs recorded by the Demônios... [+] Read More
Artist: Nat King Cole
For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. He shared... [+] Read More
Artist: Theogene Baquet
Not only is Theogene Baquet one of the truly earlist major musical influences on the New Orleans music scene, he goes back so far that even his children, clarinetists George, Achille and Harold "Hal" Baquet, are considered some of the earliest influences on this city's scene as well. George Baquet is considered the first major jazz player on the... [+] Read More
Artist: Paul Barbarin
One of the top New Orleans drummers, Paul Barbarin was also quite significant as both a bandleader (his groups almost always boasted high musicianship) and as a composer (he wrote "Bourbon Street Parade" and "The Second Line"). Part of a large musical family, Paul's father Isadore played brass instruments; three of his brothers were musicians... [+] Read More
Artist: Johan
Dutch pop band Johan released one swell self-titled album in 1997, marrying the jittery indie guitar strum of the Wedding Present to the cool, ironic retro-pop charms of the Cardigans and the manic hooks of the best Buzzcocks singles. Formed in Hoorn, Netherlands, by singer Jacco de Greeuw and drummer Wim Kwakman, the quartet was originally... [+] Read More
Artist: Wanderley Cardoso
One of the most successful and popular singers on Jovem Guarda (after Roberto Carlos and together with Jerry Adriani and Erasmo Carlos), Wanderley Cardoso was in fact always a romantic singer and perhaps the number one romantic singer on Jovem Guarda. Yet even during those times, he recorded only a few tracks accompanied by a group, relying... [+] Read More
Artist: Moacyr Franco
Composer of songs recorded by Chitãozinho e Xororó, Wanderley Cardoso, Nalva Aguiar and João Mineiro e Marciano, Moacir Franco had an enormous hit with the marchinha “Me Dá Um Dinheiro AÃ", followed by “Suave é a Noite" and other well-regarded songs, having been also a successful TV artist.Moacir Franco started as a professional in the... [+] Read More
Artist: Sherman Williams
Sherman Williams was a Nashville-area musician who formed his own jump and swing band in 1940. With Williams on alto sax, the group included Charles Gillum on trumpet, Bill Jones on tenor sax, Ed "Skippy" Brooks on piano and vocals, James Brown on bass, Alvin Woods on drums and vocalist Iona Wade. The group recorded for Bullet Records in... [+] Read More
Artist: Mastermind
Mastermind started in 1986 when Bill Berends and his brother, Rich, decided to form the group. They added Phil Antolino and quickly began playing gigs. They hooked up with ZNR Records in 1990, releasing their debut, Volume One. They followed that one with Brainstorm in 1992. By this point, the group was continuing with extensive touring, but... [+] Read More
Artist: Sidney Devignes
In Balkan folklore he would be known as "the man who has seen the bear" -- the person whose presence is both historic and shadowy, always there at key moments in all the important places, undeniably a part of landmark events yet leaving behind less personal residue than a mourning dove. Sidney Desvignes' neighborhood was New Orleans, not the... [+] Read More
Artist: Rosemary
Rosemary recorded for the first time at 15 years old in 1960 with the bolero "Fala Coração" and the samba "Também Sou Mulher," accompanied by an orchestra conducted by Guerra Peixe. Two years later, she and Wanderlea (her rival during Jovem Guarda), the first singer to succeed the first big Brazilian rock & roll star Celly Campelo, were... [+] Read More
