Gong are a psychedelic rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida.
MC5 was an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. MC5 were listed by Parade as one of the best rock bands of all time and by VH1 as one of the greatest hard rock artists of all time. The band's first three albums are regarded by many as staples of rock music, and their 1969 song "Kick Out the Jams" is widely covered.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 and from 1984 to 1987. With its first line-up consisting of musicians Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, and Rick Laird, the band received its initial acclaim for its complex, intense music consisting of a blend of Indian classical music, jazz, and psychedelic rock as well as its dynamic live performances between 1971 and 1973. Many members of the band have gone on to acclaimed careers of their own in the jazz and jazz fusion genres.
Peter William Brockbanks, known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist. He was the original guitarist in the rock bands Yes, Flash, and Empire; he was also a guitarist for The Syn. Banks has been described as "the architect of progressive music".
David Holland is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States since the early 1970s.
Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhunters, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever albums.
Montrose was an American hard rock band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman Sammy Hagar, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi. The band experienced moderate success before disbanding in early 1977. The 1973 debut album Montrose eventually proved to be an international sleeper hit, selling in excess of one million copies and attaining platinum status in 1986.
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. While the band had reached the height of its commercial success by the end of the decade, it has recorded and performed continuously under various line-ups for 50 years. Lead vocalist Doug Gray remains the only original member still active with the band.
Argent were an English rock band formed in 1969 by former Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. They had three UK Top 40 singles: "Hold Your Head Up", which reached No. 5 and spent 12 weeks on the chart, "Tragedy", and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You". Two of their albums charted in the UK: All Together Now, which peaked at No. 13 in 1972, and In Deep, which spent one week at No. 49 in 1973.
Lucifer's Friend was a German rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1970 by guitarist Peter Hesslein, singer John Lawton, bassist Dieter Horns, keyboardist Peter Hecht, and drummer Joachim Reitenbach. The group was an early practitioner of heavy metal and progressive rock; they also incorporated elements of jazz and fusion into their music, especially in their fourth album Banquet of 1974. Beyond heavy metal, the band has been cited, too, as one of the pioneers of doom metal, helping to define both genres due to their heavy sound and dark oriented lyrics of their debut Lucifer's Friend of 1971, and returning to their roots in 1981 with Mean Machine, although more influenced by speed metal.
Gryphon are an English progressive and medieval folk rock band formed in London in 1972. They are known for their medieval and Renaissance style of music.
Climax Blues Band are a British blues rock & pop band that has released 22 albums. "Couldn't Get It Right" reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977. "I Love You" peaked on the Billboard chart at No. 12 in 1981.
John Michael Glyn Etheridge is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known for his work with Soft Machine from 1975 to 1978, 1984 and 2004 to present.
Steamhammer are an rock band from Worthing, England, formed in 1968 by vocalist Kieran White, guitarists Martin Quittenton and Martin Pugh, bassist Steve Davy, and drummer Michael Rushton.
Wally was an English progressive rock band, led by the singer-songwriter Roy Webber, which originated in the early 1970s.
Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Their history is defined by two periods: the early-mid-1970s and the early 1980s. The band went through radical style changes, but they are best known for the hard, progressive rock sound of their hit singles, "Tomorrow Night" and "Devil's Answer", both in 1971.
Cold River Lady ("CRL") was a rock band that was formed in 1970 in Hereford in the Welsh Marches of England. Their music however drew on far wider influences. With its eclectic mix of acoustic guitar, lazy rural rhythms and a sharp electric edge and strong melodies and lyrics, it combined rock, folk and blues influences, with sophisticated flavours from the likes of Arthur Lee, Tim Buckley and Caravan. The music of the band developed with the various changes of personnel and evolving musical times, whilst keeping its unique "Hereford" feel, until it finally wound up in 1976 when the punk era took a grip. The final twist in the life of this band was that forty years after it was formed its first album Better Late Than Never was released in 2010.
Jeffrey "Jeff" Kollman is an American guitarist and occasional bassist from Toledo, Ohio, best known for his work with Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, Glenn Hughes, UFO offshoot Mogg/Way, progressive rock trio, Cosmosquad, and his 90s progressive metal band, Edwin Dare.
Patrice Meyer is a French electric guitarist active in Jazz, Jazz rock, Progressive rock and Canterbury scene bands.
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. Another common formation is a vocalist who does not play an instrument, electric guitarist, bass guitarist, and a drummer. Sometimes, in addition to electric guitars, electric bass, and drums, also a keyboardist plays.
