|
Rock Of The Westies
''Rock of the Westies'' is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 24 October 1975, through DJM Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. Produced by Gus Dudgeon, the record was recorded in the summer of 1975 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado and contained a new lineup of the Elton John Band reflecting John's desire for a harder rock sound. Titled after a pun on the phrase "West of the Rockies", ''Rock of the Westies'' showcases a much more aggressive, rock-based sound than its predecessors. As opposed to the autobiographical themes of the preceding album '' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'', Bernie Taupin's lyrics on ''Westies'' cover both personal and fictional themes. Guests on the album include funk rock group Labelle and Kiki Dee, both of whom contribute backing vocals. Released less than five months after ''Captain Fantastic'', ''Rock of the Westies'' repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John was the 19th EGOT winner in history. He has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time. John learned to play piano at an early age, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. In the 1960s, he formed the blues band Bluesology, wrote songs for other artists alongside Taupin, and worked as a session musician, before releasing his debut album, ''Empty Sky'' (1969). Throughout the next six decades, John cemented his status as a cultural icon with Elton John albums discography, 32 studio albums, including ''Honky Château'' (1972), ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' (1973), ''Roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labelle
Labelle was an American funk rock band that originated out of the Blue Belles, a girl group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The original group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the area around Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and Trenton, in New Jersey: ''the Ordettes'' and ''the Del-Capris'', forming as a new version of the former group, then later changing their name to the Blue Belles (and further Bluebelles). The founding members were Patti LaBelle (born Patricia Louise Holt), Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash. As the Bluebelles, and later Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, the group found success with ballads in the doo-wop genre: " Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and " Over the Rainbow". After Birdsong departed to join The Supremes in 1967, the band, following the advice of Vicki Wickham, changed its look, musical direction, and style to re-form as the progressive soul group Labe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band), Manassas. As both a solo act and member of three successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in ''Rolling Stone''s 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"''Rolling Stone'The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.2003-08-27. and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to Neil Young, "Stephen is a genius". Beginning his professional career with Buffalo Springfield, he composed "For What It's Worth", which became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. Other notable songs he contributed to the band were "Sit Down, I Think I Love You", "Bluebird (Buffalo Spr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other bands: James Gang, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, and New Zealand's Herbs (band), Herbs. He was part of the supergroup (music), supergroup The Best (band), The Best and had success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, appearing on other artists' recordings. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him No. 54 on its list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In the mid-1960s, after attending Kent State University, Walsh played with several local Ohio bands before reaching national fame with the James Gang, whose hit "Funk 49, Funk #49" showcased his skills. Roger Abramson signed the James Gang to BPI in Cleveland. After leaving the James Gang in 1972, Walsh formed Barnstorm (band), Barnstorm with Joe Vitale (musician), Joe Vital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores include ''Pretty Woman'' (1990), '' The Prince of Tides'' (1991), '' The Fugitive'' (1993), ''Dinosaur'' (2000), '' The Village'' (2004), ''King Kong'' (2005), ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and its sequel ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) (both composed with Hans Zimmer), '' Michael Clayton'' (2007) and the ''Fantastic Beasts'' trilogy (2016–2022). He has collaborated extensively with directors M. Night Shyamalan and Francis Lawrence, having scored eight of Shyamalan's films since ''The Sixth Sense'' (1999) and all of Lawrence's films since '' I Am Legend'' (2007). He has also worked with other directors such as Edward Zwick, Michael Hoffman, P. J. Hogan, Andrew Davis, Lawrence Kasdan, Joe Johnston, Taylor Hackford, Ivan Reitman, Joel Schumacher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caleb Quaye
Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948) is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with Shawn Phillips in the 1970s. He is the son of singer/pianist Cab Kaye, younger brother of musician Terri Quaye, and elder half-brother of singer Finley Quaye. Early career Quaye was a member of local band The SoundCasters (Sound Castles) while at school. He spent several years as a member of Long John Baldry's backing band, Bluesology, which also featured a keyboard player named Reg Dwight, who would soon become known as Elton John. When Bluesology disbanded in 1967, Quaye released a single under the name Caleb called "Baby Your Phrasing is Bad" b/w "Woman of Distinction" (1967, Philips Records). In 1969 he served as guitarist for the one-off "flower power" pop band Argosy (which also included Dwight, Roger Hodgson, and Nigel Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Passarelli
Kenny Passarelli (born October 28, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. Passarelli was a founding member of the Joe Walsh-led band Barnstorm, co-writing the hit "Rocky Mountain Way". He later served as a contract player for a number of other acts, appearing in both session and live work. These include stints with Elton John, Hall & Oates, and Daryl Hall's solo work, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Otis Taylor, among others. Career Born in Denver, Colorado to a Mexican, Italian American family, Passarelli has played with a variety of rock musicmusicians, including Joe Walsh, Elton John, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills, Hall & Oates and Italian musician Edoardo Bennato. He served as a replacement for Dee Murray in the Elton John Band from 1975 to 1976, playing on the albums ''Rock of the Westies'' and ''Blue Moves''. After leaving John's band he joined the Hall and Oates band in June 1977 and appeared on their albums '' Livetime'' and '' Along the Red Ledge''. Collaborati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Cooper
Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as a duo and as a member of his band), Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Art Garfunkel. Cooper absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice and John Bonham. Incorporation of unusual instruments for rock drummers of the time such as cowbells, glockenspiel and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Cooper's percussion set offers a large array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity such as the tambourine, congas, crash cymbals, cowbells, rototoms, tubu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davey Johnstone
David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone was born in Edinburgh. At the age of seven, at primary school, he volunteered to learn the violin. But by the time he was 10 he was playing it "sideways like a guitar". One of his sisters then bought him a guitar for Christmas and by the age of 12 he was organising bands at his secondary school, Forrester High School. He had already decided he wanted to be a musician when he grew up. Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in 1968, where he received his first album credit on the album ''Another Round''. By 1969, Johnstone had secured regular work as a session musician, where he began to branch out and explore differing genres of music, and experiment with a variety of instruments. In 1970, when Lyell Tranter (one of the two guitarists in the acoustic British folk group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dee Murray
David Murray Oates (3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992), known as Dee Murray, was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham, Kent, England on 3 April 1946. Before joining Elton John as his touring sidemen, Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson were members of the Spencer Davis Group in 1969. In Murray's musician bio in the programme book for 1982's "Jump Up!" tour, Murray recalled when he first took up the bass guitar during his high school years: "Someone put this heavy thing over my shoulder and said, 'Here, you play this!'" Murray quickly established a solid reputation on the instrument. In the '' Classic Albums'' documentary on ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', producer Gus Dudgeon lauded Murray's musical ability and said he "hadn't heard a bassist quite as good as him". Murray and Olsson joined John as his road sidemen in 1970, and first appeared together ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English drummer, best known for being a lifelong member of the Elton John Band. He has had an equally long career as a session musician and composed, recorded and produced albums as a solo artist. Career Early years Olsson was born to John and Elsa Olsson in Wallasey, Cheshire, England, the second of five boys. His family were originally from Gothenburg and he spent his early life living in Sunderland, where he worked on the pilot boats on the River Wear. He began his musical career playing the guitar in small bands, including the Sunderland based Fireflies; and took up the drums at a gig where the drummer did not show up at the last minute. His first appearance on a record album was in the band Plastic Penny, which released ''Two Sides of a Penny'' on Page One Records in 1968. Olsson was spotlighted on one song on that album, "I Want You," performing both lead vocals and a drum solo. In 1969 he played drums on the "flower power" po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
