The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Top 100 chart on September 16th, 1957. The sleeve of their first album, The "Chirping" Crickets, shows the band line-up at the time: Holly on lead vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up, performing their own self-written material. After Holly's death in 1959 the band continued to tour and record into the 1960s and beyond with other band members through to the 21st century.
Gito Baloi was an African musician, from Mozambique. Originally known for his collaborations and as a member of the trio Tananas, he also released solo albums as vocalist and bassist: "Ekhaya" (1995), “Na Ku Randza" (1997), "Herbs & Roots" (2003) and the posthumously-released "Beyond" (2008).
Hot Apple Pie is an eponymous debut album released by country music band Hot Apple Pie. It was released June 28, 2005 on DreamWorks Records Nashville. The tracks "Hillbillies", "We're Makin' Up" and "Easy Does It" were all released as singles, respectively reaching numbers 26, 54, and 50 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Due to the dissolution of the DreamWorks label in late 2005, the latter two singles were issued on MCA Nashville. "The Shape I'm In" is a cover of a song originally recorded by The Band, while "We're Makin' Up" was previously recorded by Jeffrey Steele on his 2002 album Somethin' in the Water.
The Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.
Pete Barnacle is an English rock drummer who has played for various bands including Gillan, Girl, Broken Home, Spear of Destiny, Theatre of Hate, Yngwie Malmsteen, Sheer Greed, and Soldiers of Fortune. Barnacle now lives in Japan, teaching English, and occasionally working as a drummer.
Phinius Gage were an English underground skate punk/melodic hardcore band who started up in 2001 and were active until 2008. They reformed in 2015 and played a reunion tour.
Newborn is the eighth studio album by James Gang, released in 1975, and the only released on Atlantic Records.
The Flames was a musical rock group from Durban in South Africa. They performed across London in the late 1960s, where they met Brian Jones, Keith Moon, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, Miles Davis and Carl Wilson. They later traveled to Los Angeles to record an album for The Beach Boys' record label Brother Records, for which they changed their name to The Flame.
Toto XX: 1977-1997 is a compilation album by Toto to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The album features rare original demos, outtakes, previously unreleased recordings and live tracks from the band's 20-year career.
Hero and Heroine is the seventh studio album by English band Strawbs.
Fire Through the Window (FTTW) is an indie pop rock group hailing from Durban, South Africa. The band was originally formed in late 2006 by couple Marc De La Querra and Sinéad Dennis, however since 2007 Fire Through The Window has performed as a full five piece band. The band signed to Witchdoctor Records early in 2007 after expressing interest in the band to Shaughn Pieterse, the label manager. He agreed to sign them and assist in production of their debut album. De La Querra wrote all the music and tracked all the instruments in the recording studio, while De La Querra and Dennis co-wrote the lyrics and melodies. The album was released nationwide in the 3rd quarter of 2007. The first single "Just Like You Are" was played on radio stations around the country and was also chosen as the official soundtrack for the first ever South African Apple iPod Nano commercial which was broadcast regularly on multiple channels on satellite television over the festive season.
Zebra & Giraffe is an alternative rock band from South Africa. The band's debut album, Collected Memories, was released on 5 May 2008.
Rock Solid is the 13th studio album by the Commodores, released in 1988. At this time in the band's career, hits were no longer forthcoming, and this album failed to enter the Billboard albums chart. The single, "Solitaire", reached No. 51 on the R&B chart. It is the last of the band's albums with keyboard player and founding member Milan Williams, who left after a dispute about playing in South Africa.
Mind Assault is a heavy metal band formed in 2003, that first emerged in October 2004 under the name Mind Assault. Their members are based in Somerset West near Cape Town, South Africa. They were the first extreme metal band to use their native language Afrikaans in their music, maintaining a balanced use of Afrikaans and English in their music. This language usage results from a re-emerging consciousness among young Afrikaans people through alternative sub-cultures, reflected by bands such as Fokofpolisiekar and Kobus!, which results from a closer observation of their own cultural heritage.
Miners of Muzo are a Dutch-based rock band that started out in 1983, founded in the city of Tilburg by singer and songwriter Leon Lemmen.
Crow Black Sky is a black metal band from Cape Town, South Africa, and has been active since 2009. The band has released two albums, with later material described by the band as "cosmic black metal". Multiple lineup changes occurred between the release of the debut album, 'Pantheion' (2010), and 2012. On 17 January 2018, they released their second album, 'Sidereal Light: Volume One.' The band releases its material independently.
The Fat Club is a series of twelve 7-inch singles released monthly by Fat Wreck Chords from March 2001 to February 2002. 1,300 of each single were pressed; They were not available for sale individually, but were distributed by postal service to those who purchased a subscription to the series.
Uhuru Afrika is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label. The album features lyrics and liner notes by the poet Langston Hughes and was banned in South Africa in 1964, at the same time as was Lena Horne's Here's Lena Now!, with copies of the albums being seized in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
ShortStraw is an indie rock band from Johannesburg, South Africa. ShortStraw is currently signed to their independently formed publishing label Boosh Records in South Africa, with digital distribution by Sony Music.
Infanteria is a South African progressive thrash metal band from Cape Town formed in 2005.
