Duran Duran are an English new wave band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band went through numerous personnel changes before May 1980, when they settled on their most famous line-up by adding guitarist Andy Taylor and lead vocalist Simon Le Bon. The Taylors are not related.
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
Procol Harum were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with hints of the blues, R&B, and soul.
Black Eyed Peas is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and singer J. Rey Soul. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hill in 2002 and was replaced by Soul in 2018. Originally an alternative hip hop group, they subsequently refashioned themselves as a more marketable pop-rap act. Although the group was founded in Los Angeles in 1995, it was not until the release of their third album, Elephunk, in 2003, that they achieved high record sales.
James Richard Steinman was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He produced albums for Bonnie Tyler and for Meat Loaf, including Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group, formed in 1990, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label recording contract with Elektra Records in 1996. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1997, with the band largely consisting of Jenkins, Cadogan, Arion Salazar, and Brad Hargreaves (drums). Shortly after the release of the band's second album in 1999, Blue, with the same line-up, Cadogan was released from the band under controversial circumstances.
Stephan Douglas Jenkins is an American singer, guitarist, and the frontman of the alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. He began his musical career in 1992 as part of the short-lived rap duo Puck and Natty, alongside Detroit rapper Herman Anthony Chunn. Following the breakup of the duo, Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan formed Third Eye Blind in 1993. The band released their eponymous debut studio album in 1997, which went multi-platinum in the United States. Since then, they have released six more albums: Blue (1999), Out of the Vein (2003), Ursa Major (2009), Dopamine (2015), Screamer (2019), and Our Bande Apart (2021). As part of Third Eye Blind, Jenkins has received one Billboard Music Award and eight California Music Awards.
Ugly Casanova is an American indie rock band signed to Sub Pop Records. The band has released one album, Sharpen Your Teeth.
Michael Learns to Rock is a Danish soft rock and pop rock band formed in 1988. The band currently consists of Jascha Richter, Mikkel Lentz and Kåre Wanscher. Søren Madsen was an original member of the group since its formation but left in 2000. The band has sold over 11 million records over the course of their career, with the majority sold in Scandinavia and Asia. Despite being Danish, the band performs songs in English. The band has attributed its success in Asia to their drug-free, clean-living image and to singing in English as a second language.
Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2000. Their first album was A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or absurdist nature in a self-created musical genre which the band calls "rockgrass." The band's name is a linguistic play on the name of the band AC/DC.
Sugarloaf was an American rock band that originated under the name Chocolate Hair in 1968. The band, which formed in Denver, Colorado, scored two Top 10 hits, with the singles "Green-Eyed Lady" and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You".
Black Lace is a British pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, "Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they finished seventh with the song "Mary Ann". With numerous line-up changes, Black Lace went on to have success with novelty party anthems such as "Superman" and "Do the Conga".
Matthew Sims, commonly known by his stage name Mount Sims as well as Mt. Sims, is a Berlin-based American DJ, performance artist and producer. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sims began his career in the local music scene. Sims was involved in several groups, the most notable of which was Citizen King, an Alternative Rock band famous for their 1999 hit "Better Days ", which reached #25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, Citizen King would not see any further success, and the band disbanded by 2002. Around the same time, Sims relocated to Los Angeles, where he continued his music career as a solo artist. Starting Mount Sims as an electronic music act, later releases have also shown influences from post punk, new wave, and Dark wave. Sims is almost exclusively responsible for every aspect of his music, providing vocals, instrumentation, and production. He was originally supported by three dancers, one of which was the dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington. The last incarnation, Mt. Sims, was a three-piece band that included Rand Twigg on bass and Andre Lange on drums.
Jazzin' for Blue Jean is a 21-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple. It was created to promote Bowie's single "Blue Jean" in 1984 and released as a video single.
Aqua is a Danish-Norwegian Europop and Dance-pop band, best known for their 1997 multi-platinum crossover and novelty single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 as Joyspeed and achieved international success around the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band released three albums: Aquarium in 1997, Aquarius in 2000 and Megalomania in 2011. The group sold an estimated 33 million albums and singles, making them the most profitable Danish band ever.
John Ellis is an English guitarist and songwriter.
LMFAO are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu is Gordy's grandson and the son of Redfoo's half-brother, Berry Gordy IV, Gordy's son with his first wife Thelma Coleman.
Andrej Aćin is a Serbian director, screenwriter and composer from Belgrade. In the 1990s, he fronted the gothic rock band BAAL. From 1992 until 1995, he worked as the music editor at the Belgrade Art television station, and, in 1997, he was enrolled at the Belgrade Art Academy on the department for film and television directing. He directed the theatre piece Pasija po telu, a semi-documentary Moj svet pun svetlosti and the short movie Margina (Margin). In 2005, he appeared in the movie Bye Bye Blackbird, directed by Robinson Savary.
Pernille Rosendahl is a Danish singer, who besides her solo career was lead singer of the Danish band Swan Lee and now is lead vocalist for the Danish rock band The Storm.
