The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne, Bevan, and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
The Average White Band are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others, such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, and Arrested Development, making them the 15th most sampled act in history. As of 2022, 50 years after their formation, they continue to perform.
Elf was an American rock band founded in 1967 by singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Doug Thaler, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarists Nick Pantas and David Feinstein. The band was originally called the Electric Elves, but was shortened to the Elves in 1968 and finally Elf in 1972. Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums and after most of the lineup had been absorbed into the newly formed Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Brian Albert Gordon Auger is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ.
Innervisions is the sixteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on August 3, 1973, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. A landmark recording of Wonder's "classic period", the album has been regarded as his transition from the "Little Stevie Wonder" known for romantic ballads into a more musically mature, conscious, and grown-up artist. On the album, Wonder continued to experiment with the revolutionary T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer system developed by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, and Innervisions became hugely influential on the future sound of commercial soul and black music.
Headquarters is the third album by the Monkees, released in May 1967 after the first season of their television series had concluded. It was the first album on which the group members made substantial songwriting and instrumental contributions, rather than relying on session musicians and professional songwriters. After a struggle for creative autonomy with their record label, the group had been allowed, to a degree, to record by themselves. Headquarters became the group's third consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum in the United States with sales of more than two million copies within the first two months of release. It also peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts. It is included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Sally Can't Dance is the fourth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in September 1974 by RCA Records. Steve Katz and Reed produced the album. It remains Reed's highest-charting album in the United States, having peaked at #10 during a 14-week stay on the Billboard 200 album chart in October 1974. It is also the first solo Lou Reed album not to feature any songs originally recorded by Reed's earlier band, the Velvet Underground, as well as the first of Reed's solo studio albums to be recorded in the United States. The album art was designed by noted Fillmore and Broadway poster artist David Edward Byrd and was one of the few album covers he ever designed.
In Your Own Time is the second solo studio album by British singer Mark Owen. The album was released on 3 November 2003, by Island Records. In Your Own Time features a more mature pop rock sound, shifting away from the Britpop sound of his debut album.
Now Voyager is the debut solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, the member of the Bee Gees. It was released on 17 September 1984 by Polydor Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. Now Voyager was recorded sometime around the year at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, and was produced by Gibb and Karl Richardson. It contains his biggest solo hits, "Shine, Shine" and "Fine Line". The album also included the Olivia Newton-John duet "Face to Face", which was released as a promo single. Gibb co-produced the album with Karl Richardson, who had been working with the Bee Gees since 1975. The front cover photograph was taken by Alex Henderson at Victoria Baths, Manchester.
The Siegel–Schwall Band was an American electric blues band from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1964 by Corky Siegel and Jim Schwall. They played many live shows, and released ten albums. They disbanded in 1974. The Siegel-Schwall Band performed occasional concerts, and released two more albums, from 1987 to 2016.
Dandy in the Underworld is the twelfth and final studio album by English rock band T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI. It reached No. 26 in the UK charts, the band's highest-charting album since 1974's Zinc Alloy. The leading single "I Love to Boogie" had been a hit single in the UK the previous year, peaking at number 13 in the singles chart.
Longing was to have been Dusty Springfield's second LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label, and ninth studio album overall, recorded in 1974 and planned for release the same year. Most of the Longing recordings were mixed and released much later on the compilations Simply Dusty (2000) and Beautiful Soul: The ABC Dunhill Collection (2001).
Lewis Michael Soloff was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor.
The Pious Bird of Good Omen is a compilation album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1969. It consists of their first four non-album UK singles and their B-sides, two other tracks from their previous album Mr. Wonderful, and two tracks by the blues artist Eddie Boyd with backing by members of Fleetwood Mac. These two tracks came from Boyd's album 7936 South Rhodes.
Steve Swindells is an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist, party organizer, club promoter and journalist.
Eyes That See in the Dark is the fifiteenth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released by RCA Nashville in August 1983.
Edwards Hand was a musical group formed by Welshman Rod Edwards and Englishman Roger Hand. After a 1968 album released under their former name, in 1969 Edwards Hand released an eponymous album produced by George Martin who, taking a break from working on The Beatles' White Album, described their music as "exceptional". The online CD vendors Freak Emporium (UK) and Forced Exposure (US) tentatively compare it to certain works by Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour.
Barefoot Jerry is an American progressive country rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They have been described as a seminal southern rock band. The band was most active from 1971 to 1977. It was composed of area studio musicians under the tutelage of Wayne Moss and Mac Gayden. Barefoot Jerry was named after a country fiddle player who performed inside a store next to Gayden's home in the Smoky Mountains.
Brian Maes is an American musician. He graduated from Lynn Classical High School in 1974 and from Berklee College of Music in 1979.
