Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring they are considered the most successful Nederbeat-band, if the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.
Bananarama are a British-Irish girl group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 30 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
Rockabilly is an early style 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. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly"; the latter is a reference to country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
Stephen Alan Lillywhite, is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big Country, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Simple Minds, the Psychedelic Furs, Toyah, David Byrne, Talking Heads and Kirsty MacColl, as well as U2, the Rolling Stones, the Pogues, Blue October, Steel Pulse, the La's, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey, the Killers, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Counting Crows and Joan Armatrading. He has won six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2006. In 2012, he was made a Commander of the Order of The British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to music.
Larry Page is an English former pop singer and record producer of the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.
"Venus" is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, released as a single in the Netherlands in the summer of 1969. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the song topped the charts in nine countries.
Kincade was an English band that was formed in 1972. In that year, they had their hit single, "Dreams are Ten a Penny", but the band itself did not exist at the time. The song was written by John Carter and his wife Gill. Carter also sang all the vocals and played the guitar on the record. The song was released by the British record producer on the Penny Farthing Records label. Although the record was unsuccessful in the UK, it reached the #2 in Germany, spent six months on the charts there, and sold a million copies.
John Valmore Pearson was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist. He led the Top of the Pops orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the theme music to television series.
"Blue Is the Colour" is a terrace chant associated with Chelsea Football Club. It was performed by players from the Chelsea squad and released in 1972 to coincide with the club's ultimately unsuccessful appearance in that year's League Cup Final against Stoke City. The record was issued by Penny Farthing Records and reached number 5 in the UK Charts and number 8 in Ireland in March 1972. It has become one of the most well-known English football songs.
Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961 respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with a string of top ten country hits, several of which were number one hits, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "The King Of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his uptempo rock-influenced style of country music.
"Baby I'm Yours" is a song written by Van McCoy which was a hit in 1965 for Barbara Lewis, the original recording artist. The song was featured in the 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County and was included on the soundtrack album. It was also featured in the TV movies The Midnight Hour (1985) and An American Crime (2007), as well as being briefly featured in Baby Driver.
"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. The song was lip synced in the film by its lead actress, Didi Conn. The best-known cover version of the song is a cover by Debby Boone, the daughter of singer Pat Boone. It held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.
Maria Elisabeth Ender, better known as Mariska Veres, was a Dutch singer who was best known as the lead singer of the rock group Shocking Blue. She was known for her sultry voice, eccentric performances, and her striking appearance which featured kohl-rimmed eyes, high cheekbones, and long jet black hair, which was actually a wig.
Daniel Boone was an English pop musician who became a one-hit wonder in the United States with the single "Beautiful Sunday" in 1972. The song was written by Boone and Rod McQueen and sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. It peaked at number 15 on The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the end of the summer of 1972, having already reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart earlier during that same year. In 1972, Boone was the recipient of the "Most Likeable Singer" award from Rolling Stone magazine.
Larry Eugene Boone is an American country music artist and songwriter. Between 1985 and 1993, Boone recorded five major label studio albums, in addition to charting several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. His highest-charting single, "Don't Give Candy to a Stranger", reached No. 10 in 1988. Boone has also co-written several singles for other country music artists, including a Number One single for Kathy Mattea, and Top Ten hits for Don Williams, Tracy Lawrence, Rick Trevino and Lonestar.
Gary Benson is an English singer and songwriter.
Venus was a band created in 1997 by five artists hailing from Brussels and Belgium. The original goal of the band was to create an original sound that expressed different emotions through several instruments including guitar, violin, double bass, organ, percussion, synth, and a host of others. Also using the scenography talents of former member Patric Carpentier to create visual emotion through their live performances. They have had success with releases Beautiful Days and Wanda Wultz from their Capitol record label release in 2003, Vertigone. The single Beautiful Days was also a track featured in the film Immortel, which is based on the popular futuristic and Ancient Egyptian styled Enki Bilal comic series. The band's name is in reference to and inspired by the Velvet Underground track, Venus in furs.
20 Fantastic Hits is a compilation album that reached number 1 in the UK. It is a notable album in that it was the first ever - and ultimately most successful - LP by compilation label Arcade Records.
"Beautiful Sunday" is a song written by Daniel Boone and Rod McQueen and performed by Boone. It appeared on his 1972 album Beautiful Sunday and was produced by Larry Page and arranged by Boone.
Jerry Jan Ross was an American songwriter, A&R man, record producer, and record label owner. As a writer, his greatest success was with "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," which he co-wrote with his protégé Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. His greatest successes as a producer include "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb, and he also released "Venus" by Shocking Blue in the United States. Jerry produced The Mob on their self-titled first album in 1970.
