Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the late 1960s, bands such as Blue Cheer, the Jeff Beck Group, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Golden Earring, Steppenwolf, Grand Funk, Free, and Deep Purple also produced hard rock.
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It typically combines elements of folk and rock music together, it arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers such as Bob Dylan and the Byrds—several of whose members had earlier played in folk ensembles—attempted to blend the sounds of rock with their pre-existing folk repertoire, adopting the use of electric instrumentation and drums in a way previously discouraged in the U.S. folk community. The term "folk rock" was initially used in the U.S. music press in June 1965 to describe the Byrds' music.
Al Kooper is an American retired songwriter, record producer, and musician, known for joining and naming Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale". Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best-known originals from this period, including "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "She Don't Care About Time", "Eight Miles High" and "Set You Free This Time". Although he did not achieve commercial success as a solo artist, Clark was in the vanguard of popular music during much of his career, prefiguring developments in such disparate subgenres as psychedelic rock, baroque pop, newgrass, country rock, and alternative country. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Byrds.
Patricia Barber is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist.
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a folk song written by Anne Bredon in the late 1950s. Joan Baez, who learned the song from a student at Oberlin College, recorded the first published version for her 1962 album Joan Baez in Concert and a variety of musicians subsequently adapted it to a variety of styles, including the Association (1965), Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968), and Led Zeppelin (1969). Following the credit on Baez's 1962 release as "traditional, arranged by Baez", subsequent releases did not name Bredon until 1990 when, following Bredon's approach to Led Zeppelin, she received credit and royalties.
"You Know What to Do" was the second song written and recorded by George Harrison with the Beatles. It was recorded on 3 June 1964 but remained unreleased until its inclusion on the band's 1995 outtakes compilation Anthology 1.
"Had to Phone Ya" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1976 album 15 Big Ones. It was written by Brian Wilson, his sister-in-law Diane Rovell, and Mike Love. The song was issued as the B-side to their single "It's O.K.". An earlier recording by the group American Spring was included as a bonus track on a later reissue of the album Spring (1972).
"Baby Come On Home" is a soul song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded during sessions for the band's debut album but remained unreleased until 1993, when it was included on the compilation Boxed Set 2. The song was also included as a bonus track on some CD editions of the band's ninth studio album Coda as included in The Complete Studio Recordings (1993) and Definitive Collection Mini LP Replica CD Boxset (2008). In 2015, the song was included on disc one of the two companion discs of the reissue of Coda.
"Don’t Make Promises" was the first track on Tim Hardin's debut album Tim Hardin 1, released in 1966. The song, along with "Reason to Believe," was one of the two major songwriting hits from the album, with more than a dozen cover versions having been recorded following its release. British radio presenter and writer Charlie Gillett noted the song's ability to achieve "the elusive balance between personal miseries and universal sufferings," while author Mark Brend praised the song's "fragile pop sensibilities" and how it contrasted with the "swaggering" R&B of album track "Ain't Gonna Do Without."
"Mercy, Mercy" is a soul song first recorded by American singer/songwriter Don Covay in 1964. It established Covay's recording career and influenced later vocal and guitar styles. The songwriting is usually credited to Covay and Ron Alonzo Miller, although other co-writers' names have also appeared on various releases.
Highland Ralph Dobson OD was a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer, nicknamed "The Loving Pauper" after one of his best known songs.
"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar. The song has been interpreted and recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin on their 1976 album Presence.
Gerald Goldstein is an American producer, singer-songwriter, talent manager, music executive, musician and entrepreneur. He was one of the members of The Strangeloves, the co-writer of "My Boyfriend's Back" and "Come on Down to My Boat", the producer and songwriter of War, and the former manager of Sly Stone. Goldstein produced a single with teenage singer, Nancy Baron in 1963 for the Diamond Record label. Goldstein was part of a three-person production team which wrote and produced numerous records which are referred to as "FGG" – Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer. The numerous artists and their work in collaboration with FGG are listed in a Discography included in the references below.
McGuinn, Clark & Hillman were an American rock group consisting of Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman, who were all former members of the band the Byrds. The group formed in 1977 and was partly modeled after Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and, to a lesser extent, the Eagles. They were reasonably successful commercially in the United States, with their debut album reaching number 39 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and the single "Don't You Write Her Off" reaching number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Karl Coryat is an American writer, comedian, and musician.
"Party Line" is the opening track from the Kinks' 1966 album, Face to Face. The songwriting is credited to Ray Davies. On one of the earliest covers of the album, the song is credited R.Davies - D.Davies.
David Arthur Garcia is an American record producer and songwriter. He has received four Grammy Awards, and has won nine GMA Dove Awards, for his songwriting and record production. He was honored with the ASCAP Christian songwriter on the year award, in 2015. He co-wrote and produced the smash hit single "Meant to Be" with Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line, and co-produced "Let You Down" by NF.
Bernhard "Bernie" Herms is a Canadian composer, songwriter, and music producer in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for Grammy Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and GMA Canada Covenant Awards, due to his songwriting and music production work.
Steve Horowitz is an American composer, performing musician, producer, audio engineer, author, and teacher from Brooklyn, New York.
