Picato Musicians Strings has been owned by Strings And Things Limited since the early 1980s when it acquired the business of General Music Strings Limited, the original founders. General Music Strings Limited was established in the 1940s by the Stein family and by the 1970s were prolific British producers of strings for acoustic, classical, electric and bass guitars; as well as banjo, mandolin, ukulele and violin. It was during this period that Tony Iommi lost the tips of two of his fingers in an accident and the Picato company designed an extra low gauge string set (.008" - .032") especially for him. [1] At that time Picato strings were used by many famous rock guitarists and bassists such as Ritchie Blackmore, [2] Roger Glover [3] , Tony McPhee and Eric Clapton [2] to name just four.
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and composer. He fronted or founded numerous groups throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell.
Rainbow are a British rock supergroup, formed in London and Los Angeles in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. They were originally established with Ronnie James Dio's American rock band Elf, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired the backing members and continued with Dio. Rainbow recorded two more studio albums with Dio—Rising (1976) and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)—before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1978 and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
Down to Earth is the fourth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It is their last album to feature drummer Cozy Powell and their only album with vocalist Graham Bonnet. Released in 1979, it contains Rainbow's first hit single "Since You Been Gone", marking a more commercial direction of the band's sound.
Anthony Frank Iommi is a British guitarist. He was lead guitarist, co-founder and leader of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. Iommi was ranked number 25 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Green Bullfrog is a blues album recorded by an ad hoc band and produced by Derek Lawrence. The bulk of the album was recorded over two sessions at De Lane Lea Studios, London in 1970, with later string and brass overdubs. It was originally released in 1971, with reissues in 1980 and 1991.
"Crazy Train" is the first single from British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, released in 1980. It is also his first solo single. A live version of the song recorded in 1981 from the album Tribute was also released as a single in 1987 with an accompanying music video. The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. The lyrics deal with the subject of the Cold War and the fear of annihilation that existed during this period.
Robert John Daisley is an Australian musician, songwriter and author. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked with prominent rock acts including Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Gary Moore and Uriah Heep, amongst others.
The Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 1 November 1987 (UK) and 8 December 1987 (US). It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Tony Martin. It spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at 168. It was also the last full album of new material by Black Sabbath to be released by Warner Bros. Records, and the final album through their original label Vertigo Records until the release of 13 in 2013.
Finyl Vinyl is a collection of live recordings and B-sides by the British hard rock band Rainbow and was released in 1986, after the band had already disbanded in 1984. All the studio tracks had previously been released.
The Sabbath Stones (1996) is a compilation album of Black Sabbath songs taken from albums ranging from 1983's Born Again to 1995's Forbidden. It was never formally released in the US or Canada, and was the last album to be released by Black Sabbath with I.R.S. Records.
Richard Hugh Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and classically influenced solos.
Live in Munich 1977 is a live album and DVD released by the British hard rock band Rainbow in 2006.
A treble booster is an effects unit used by guitarists to increase the high end of their tonal spectrum. Many units boost the overall volume as well. Treble boosters were commonly used by guitarists in the 1960s and 1970s. During the last couple of decades, their popularity has increased again and many clones and reissues of the classic circuits have become available.
The Best of Rainbow is the first compilation album from British hard rock group Rainbow, released in 1981.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow is a compilation album released by Rainbow. Released on 3 October 2000. The tracks were recorded between 1975–1983, before Rainbow disbanded in 1984.
Seeking Major Tom is the fourth studio album by William Shatner. It was released October 11, 2011 in the US by Cleopatra Records. The album features many noted musicians, including Sheryl Crow, John Wetton, Patrick Moraz, Ritchie Blackmore, Alan Parsons, Peter Frampton, Warren Haynes, Nick Valensi, Zakk Wylde, Mike Inez, Chris Adler, Steve Hillage, Steve Howe, Michael Schenker, Dave Davies, Johnny Winter, Brad Paisley, Bootsy Collins, Carmine Appice, Ian Paice, and Toots. The titular Major Tom was created by David Bowie.
WhoCares was a supergroup formed by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 2011 with the participation of a great number of rock artists as a charity project to raise money to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia, after the destruction of the city in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. The album sold more than 20,000 copies in Europe.