Richard Barone was born in Tampa, Florida, and began his music career at age seven on local top-40 radio station WALT (now known as WTIS) as "the Little DJ."[1] By age sixteen he was producing local bands and recorded the idiosyncratic performer Tiny Tim after the two met following a Tampa performance. It was Tiny Tim who first suggested to Barone that he should live in Greenwich Village, New York City, where Tim himself had gotten his start.[2] Moving to New York, Barone lived briefly at the Hotel Chelsea, modeled, and landed small acting roles.[3] Answering an advertisement in the Village Voice newspaper[3] led him to meet the musicians with whom he would soon form the Bongos, a critically acclaimed new wave band[4] that helped to create the 1980s Hoboken, New Jersey indie pop community.[5]
The Bongos quickly gained favor at New York City music venues as well as at their home venue, Maxwell's in Hoboken. Signed to the British label Fetish Records, they were invited to perform at the Rainbow Theatre in London as part of a concert that included other bands on the New York scene and was recorded for the live album Start Swimming, released on Stiff Records. A European tour with the Bush Tetras followed.[6][7] After a string of independent singles released in the U.K. on Fetish were compiled in the U.S. as Drums Along the Hudson (PVC), and a major U.S. tour with the B-52s, the group signed to RCA Records. With the advent of MTV, they made a commercial impact with the title song of their label debut, the Barone-penned "Numbers With Wings." The song's accompanying video earned the group a nomination at the first MTV Video Music Awards.[8] Two more albums followed, one for RCA and one for Island Records, which was to remain unreleased until 2013.[9]
Breaking out as a solo artist, Barone's albums have included chamber pop, orchestral, folk, and narrative singer-songwriter material.[10] He has been called a "gifted pop-rock tunesmith" by The New York Times.[11]
Barone released his first solo album, Cool Blue Halo (recorded live at The Bottom Line in New York) in 1987, prior to the Bongos' amicable breakup. Anthony DeCurtis, writing in Rolling Stone, praised Barone's "spare, elegant arrangements" and credited him with fashioning "a kind of rock chamber music."[12] While Trouser Press described the record as "intimate but confused,"[13]NPR's Tom Moon, in a more recent assessment, called the album "a plaintive masterpiece," adding "Cool Blue Halo feels timeless, and maybe even exotic." Moon also credited Barone's version of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World" with influencing Nirvana's own cover of the song on their 1994 album MTV Unplugged in New York.[14]
Two studio albums followed: the rock-dominated Primal Dream (MCA Records) in 1990, and the more acoustic-based Clouds Over Eden (Rhino Records), dedicated to his late friend, rock journalist Nicholas Schaffner, in 1994. Trouser Press championed the "fine set of yearning love songs" on Primal Dream, while calling their production and arrangements as a "step backwards" from his debut album.[13] But David Browne, writing in Rolling Stone, gave the album four stars and commented that "Barone is fast moving beyond the limited vocabulary of twelve strings and wimp-pop vocals."[15] Billy Altman, in The New York Times, called his next album, Clouds Over Eden "unquestionably the most fully realized effort of Barone's career,"[16] while Trouser Press described the album as "wrenching and thoroughly worthwhile" and "the great album fans always imagined [Barone] making."[13]
In 1996, he partnered with Phil Ramone and Larry Rosen's N2K Records label to become one of the first five artists, each representing a different genre, to make their music available as purchasable digital downloads on the pioneering Music Boulevard retail site. Amidst the music industry's growing fear of the then-new technology of digital distribution, Barone appeared on The Wall Street Journal Report television show and other programs to explain and promote legal music downloading as a legitimate method of distribution.[18][19]
In 1997, Barone released Between Heaven and Cello, a live album recorded primarily at NYC's intimate Fez nightclub during a series of "Guitar & Cello" shows. In November he performed in Bryter Later: The Music of Nick Drake at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., performing Drake's "Cello Song" and "Northern Sky." In that year, he also performed with David Johansen on Buster's Spanish Rocketship, the fourth album by Johansen's alter-ego Buster Poindexter, released on Island Records. Barone sang backing vocals on the album, credited as "Richard Barone and the Beautiful Bustiers."[20] Also in 1997, Barone partnered with songwriter Jules Shear to co-host "Writers in the Round - Bluebird Style," a monthly series at The Bottom Line that featured Rosanne Cash, Ron Sexsmith, Susan Cowsill, and other singer/songwriters.[21]
Tony Visconti and Richard Barone in the studio, circa 2000.
Toward the end of the 90s, Barone began collaborating with producer Tony Visconti. Nine of the songs they wrote and recorded together over the next few years were released on the album Glow in 2010. Also during this period, he was invited to sing on sessions Visconti was producing for David Bowie, including the song "Mother," which would be released in 2021.[22] "Yet Another Midnight," a Barone/Visconti composition from this period, appears on the 2023 retrospective box set Produced by Tony Visconti on Demon Records.[23]
In 1999 he provided musical direction and orchestrations for the off-Broadway musical Bright Lights, Big City at the New York Theatre Workshop, working with Rent director Michael Greif.[24] From 1999 to 2004, Barone directed and performed in The Downtown Messiah, a unique, multi-genre interpretation of Handel's baroqueoratorio that was broadcast annually in December on over 200 public radio stations nationwide, and combined elements of pop, folk, blues, and jazz.[25][26]
A boxed set of Barone's first three studio albums was released in Europe in 2000 as The Big Three by Line Records, Germany. In 2001, he contributed the track "Showdown" to Lynne Me Your Ears - A Tribute to Jeff Lynne, a 32-track collection that included performances by Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, Stevie Nicks and others. He also sang backing vocals for Tony Visconti's version of "Mr. Blue Sky" on the album, along with Kristeen Young.[27]
As a concert producer/director, he began to create large-scale concert events, including three all-star tributes to Peggy Lee at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Chicago's Ravinia Festival in 2003 and 2004 in partnership with legendary concert impresario George Wein. The fully-orchestrated concerts spanned Lee's entire career and were staged as a musical biography. Performers included Bea Arthur, Nancy Sinatra, Rita Moreno, Debbie Harry, and Shirley Horn.[28] For New York's Central Park SummerStage he created The Not-so Great American Songbook, a lovingly irreverent look at the guilty-pleasure hits of the 1970s, featuring an eclectic cast that included Justin Vivian Bond.[29][30]
In 2004, Barone interviewed Quincy Jones for the PBS documentary Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee.[31] That year also saw the first release on his own RBM Special Editions label, an anthology entitled Collection: An Embarrassment of Richard, composed of highlights from his back catalogue. The cover was photographed by Mick Rock, the first of many collaborations.[32] In June, he performed in The Blood on the Tracks Project at Merkin Hall, a multi-artist tribute to Bob Dylan's landmark 1974 album on its thirtieth anniversary. He was accompanied by Tony Visconti on bass, Vernon Reid on guitar, and Buddy Cage, who had performed on the original album, on pedal steel.[33]
Also that year, Barone joined 1960s folk-rock icon Donovan for a series of the latter's Beat Café concert events, including nine performances at New York's Joe's Pub, singing and reading excerpts from Allen Ginsberg's Howl.[34] These appearances were the first of many collaborations with Donovan.
Barone increasingly turned his attention to producing, including a duet between Liza Minnelli and pianist/vocalist Johnny Rodgers;[35] a children's album for Jolie Jones (daughter of Quincy Jones);[36]Fred Schneider for his solo album Just Fred;[37] and others. During this time, he also collaborated with Schneider on songs for British pop sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor.[38] Other projects during this time included executive-producing The Nomi Song DVD (Palm Pictures, 2005), which includes his remix of operatic New Wave countertenor Klaus Nomi's "Total Eclipse."[39]
In 2006, the original three Bongos reunited in the studio with Moby to create a re-make and music video of "The Bulrushes," an early Bongos single, for the re-issue of the group's debut album, released by Cooking Vinyl Records in June 2007. Several Bongos reunion concerts were held, culminating with an outdoor performance at the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival, during which the band was honored with a Mayoral Proclamation and the keys to the city.
In September 2007, Barone's memoir, Frontman: Surviving the Rock Star Myth, with cover and interior photos of the author by Mick Rock, was published by Backbeat/Hal Leonard Books. In late 2007, he began staging a series of musical readings of Frontman with excerpts of the book read by television actress Joyce DeWitt and radio personality Vin Scelsa, among others. On his birthday, October 1, 2008, he brought Frontman: A Musical Reading to the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City, with "Special Guests and Legendary Friends," including Moby, Lou Reed, the Band's Garth Hudson, Marshall Crenshaw, Terre and Suzzy Roche, Randy Brecker, Carlos Alomar, DeWitt and others as a benefit for public radio station WFUV.[41]
In July 2009, Barone entered the recording studio to complete production work on the album he began at age 16 for performer Tiny Tim. In addition to production, Barone also arranged multiple songs and played bass and sang backing vocals on the title track.[42] The album, I've Never Seen a Straight Banana - Rare Moments: Volume 1, was released in October 2009 on Collector's Choice Records.[43]
In July, Barone collaborated with Pete Seeger (then 91 years old), producing and performing in "Reclaim the Coast: Gulf Coast Oil Spill Benefit" at City Winery in New York. The next month, he and co-producer Matthew Billy recorded Seeger performing a new song that had been debuted publicly at the show. The song and video, "God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You," recorded while sailing aboard the Sloop Clearwater, were released on Election Day, November 6, 2012.[44][45]
Glow, Barone's fifth solo album, helmed by producer Tony Visconti, was released in September 2010 on Bar/None Records.[46] A majority of the album was also co-written with Visconti. Also working on the project were producers Steve Rosenthal and Steve Addabbo, songwriter Paul Williams, chief engineer Leslie Ann Jones at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch, photographer Mick Rock, and others.[46] A portrait of Barone from the Glow photo sessions appeared in Rock's career retrospective book Exposed: The Faces of Rock n' Roll.[47] A tour of the U.S. and the U.K. followed in early 2011.
In August, Barone was named to the Board of Advisors of Anthology Film Archives by founder Jonas Mekas, where he worked closely with Mekas and produced live fundraising events for the organization.[48]
In Fall 2011, Richard made a cameo appearance and performed a song in the film Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical.[49][50]
On September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Barone released a re-write of the 1894 song "The Sidewalks of New York" with updated lyrics that referenced the World Trade Center attack, co-written and produced by collaborator Matthew Billy.[51][52]
On May 4, 2012, for the 25th anniversary of his Cool Blue Halo album, a reunion concert of all the original musicians was held at City Winery in New York. The concert was filmed and recorded as part of a multi-disc box set released by DigSin Records.[54] In September 2012, he released the first single from the project, "I Belong To Me."[55] In December, I Belong To Me: The 'Cool Blue Halo' Story premiered at Anthology Film Archives, followed by a performance by Barone and musicians from the album. On the occasion of the box set's release, Donovan wrote: "Well-deserved appreciation to Richard on this 25th anniversary release of his album 'Cool Blue Halo.' He displayed the stance early, like the minstrel/actor/playwright of Renaissance London. We met and have shared many a stage together... I have always loved Ricardo's 'Bar-oque and Roll' music. Shine On Ricardo, Shine!"[56]
Matthew Billy and Richard Barone on the set of the "Hey, Can I Sleep On Your Futon?" video in April 2012.
Through his work with Pete Seeger, Barone was asked to contribute a song to the Occupy This Album project on Razor & Tie, to benefit the Occupy Wall Street Movement.[57] The four-disc set, subtitled "99 Songs for the 99%", was released on May 15, 2012. Co-written with Matthew Billy, "Hey, Can I Sleep On Your Futon?" was a new song with contemporary references that was inspired by "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?", a popular song from the Great Depression. Both the track and music video, produced by film students from NYU, were included on the original album download.[58] Barone also performed at a series of concerts with other artists on the Occupy album including Michael Moore, David Amram, and Tom Chapin.[59]
That same month, the feature documentary about Anna Nicole Smith, Addicted to Fame, was released, along with Barone's single "(She's A Real) Live Wire" from the film. He also served as music supervisor for the feature documentary, directed by David Giancola.[60]
On July 31, 2013, the Bongos performed the final concert at their home club, Maxwell's, where the original members had also performed the venue's first show.[62] From the stage Richard announced that the group's long-lost album Phantom Train, recorded in Compass Point, Bahamas in 1986, would finally be released on October 1, 2013 on the re-launched JEM Records.[63]
As 2015 began, Barone co-produced, with Tony Visconti, a retrospective concert of Visconti's most familiar work at New York's City Winery entitled "The TV Show."[67] He also began work on a new album Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s, composed of songs that emerged from the early days of the Greenwich Village singer-songwriter scene. The album was curated by music writer/Columbia Records executive Mitchell Cohen, with sessions produced by Steve Addabbo and featuring guest appearances from Dion, John Sebastian and David Amram. A series of musical panel discussions chronicling the music on Sorrows & Promises, hosted by the New York Public Library at the historic Jefferson Market Library branch in Greenwich Village preceded the album's October 14, 2016, release.[68] In March 2017, Barone brought the Sorrows & Promises project to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas where he hosted a five-and-a-half-hour showcase based on the album.[69]
Back in the studio, Barone produced an album for jazz singer Hilary Kole of songs made famous by Judy Garland[70] and a various-artists holiday album for the Miranda Music label on which he appears,[71] as well as a second album of recordings made by Tiny Tim, entitled Tiny Tim's America, released in summer 2016.[72] In addition, he served as executive producer of the musical Tiny, based on the life of Tiny Tim,[73] and produced a songbook album for composer Tracy Stark featuring performances by Lesley Gore, actress Karen Black, and Nona Hendryx, released in October 2016.[74] Barone then contributed liner notes to the vinyl re-issue of The Holy Mackerel, the debut of the 1960s band featuring songwriter Paul Williams.[75] Later, in 2018, he would contribute liner notes for Williams' 1970 solo debut Someday Man.[76]
Richard Barone advocates for the Music Modernization Act (MMA), speaking here with Senator Patrick Leahy in April 2018, Washington D.C.
In April 2017, Barone was elected to the board of governors of the New York Chapter of The Recording Academy (The Grammys). He would be re-elected for a second term in 2019.[77]
In December 2017, he entered the studio to begin producing a tribute for Dean Martin's Centennial, performed by New Jersey–based group Remember Jones and featuring a duet with Martin's daughter Deana Martin.[78] In June 2018, Barone would be invited by Martin to perform at the Friars Club as she was honored with the Trobairitz title.[79]
Also in March 2018, he began a new monthly Village Nights salon series at the historic Washington Square Hotel in New York City.[81] As of 2024 the series is in its fifth season.
The next week it was announced that Richard had joined the faculty of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and was set to teach Music + Revolution, a 15-week music history course centered around 1960s Greenwich Village.[83] As of 2024, Barone has continued to teach Music + Revolution at The New School, along with directing improvisation and songwriting ensembles at the university.
In January 2019, Barone accompanied Donovan in Jamaica to record a tribute album to Harry Belafonte. Barone also photographed Donovan for the cover of the album's first single.[88] A second project with Donovan that year, a tribute to Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, was recorded and filmed in Jones' hometown of Cheltenham, England on the fiftieth anniversary of his passing. Barone was the musical director of the project, which celebrated the American blues music that inspired the early Stones.[89]
In fall 2019, a new guitar effect pedal "The Mambo Sun," a collaboration between Barone and boutique pedal manufacturer Left Coast Workshop, was launched for sale. It was designed to replicate Barone's distinctive double-tracked guitar tone.[90]
In 2020 Barone made a cameo acting appearance, playing himself, in the indie film The Incoherents directed by Jared Barel.[92][93] He also appeared in the documentaries Tiny Tim: King for a Day[94] and You Don't Know Ivan Julian.[95] He also performed "Streets of New York" on Willie Nile Uncovered, a tribute to the singer-songwriter, released in August 2020.[96]
Barone sang on four tracks on Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T.Rex produced by Hal Willner, contributing backing vocals to tracks by Todd Rundgren, Lucinda Williams, Kesha, and Helga Davis. The album was released on September 4, 2020 by BMG Records.[97][98] In tribute to another of his inspirations, Barone performed a medley of "Revolution" and "Power to the People" for JEM Records Celebrates John Lennon, released on the 80th anniversary of Lennon's birth, October 9, 2020.[99] He also contributed an essay about Pylon for the book included in the comprehensive Pylon Box vinyl box set released on November 6, 2020, by New West Records.[100]
On January 8, 2021, David Bowie's cover of John Lennon's song "Mother," for which Barone had sung harmony vocals with producer Tony Visconti at the original session in 1998, was posthumously released on limited edition vinyl and digital streaming on Parlophone Records. The single was released to commemorate Bowie's seventy-fourth birthday.[101] In July, the Bongos' Beat Hotel - Expanded Edition was released by RCA Records.[102] Later that month, Barone contributed two tracks to JEM Records Celebrates Brian Wilson.[103]
On January 20, 2022, he began hosting the Folk Radio show on WBAI Radio, New York. The program broadcasts live on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on 99.5 FM, and streamed live on WBAI.org.
On September 15, 2023, at the invitation of Tony Visconti, Barone performed at the all-star Marc Bolan 45th Anniversary Celebration Concert in London at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, where Visconti conducted the string section.[105]
In October 2023, the Bongos released the Barone-penned "Rock the Christmas Cheer!" holiday single, on RCA Records; the first recording of a new Bongos song since 1986.[106]
On September 28, 2024, Barone produced Bolan Birthday Bash: A Celebration of Marc Bolan & T. Rex in Los Angeles featuring members of The Bangles and Cowsills among many others. On November 18, 2024 he produced a tribute to Star Trek star and social activist George Takei in Philadelphia, for Mazzoni Center Honors. See Concert Productions below.[109]
Barone's latest single, "All Fall Down", featuring Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, was released on September 20, 2024 on Richard Gottehrer's Instant Records label. The song was released in multiple genres, including Rock, Folk, Alt-Country, and Hip-Hop versions.[110]
Collection 2: Before & Afterglow (2011), compilation (RBM Special Editions/Billy Barone Productions)
Cool Blue Halo: 25th Anniversary Concert (2012), Deluxe live album/concert movie, CD/DVD, produced by Matthew Billy (DigSin/RBM Special Editions)
Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s (2016), produced by Steve Addabbo (RBM Special Editions/The Orchard; Ship To Shore PhonoCo)
All Fall Down (featuring Darryl "DMC" McDaniels) E.P. (2024), produced by Richard Barone; Remixes by Steve Addabbo, Johnny Juice (Public Enemy), Lou Holtzman, and Alonzo Vargas (Instant Records)
Marc Bolan was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan strongly influenced artists of many genres, including glam rock, punk, post-punk, new wave, indie rock, Britpop and alternative rock. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of T. Rex.
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's "Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of many hits in collaboration with Marc Bolan. Visconti's lengthiest involvement was with David Bowie: intermittently from the production and arrangement of Bowie's 1968 single "In the Heat of the Morning" / "London Bye Ta-Ta" to his final album Blackstar in 2016, Visconti produced and occasionally performed on many of Bowie's albums. Visconti's work on Blackstar was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and his production of Angelique Kidjo's Djin Djin received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album.
Electric Warrior is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex and their sixth since their 1968 debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex, released on 24 September 1971. The album marked a turning point in the band's style, moving away from the folk-oriented sound of the group's previous albums and pioneering a more flamboyant, pop-oriented glam rock style.
Hal Willner was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles. Willner died during the COVID-19 pandemic from complications brought on by the virus.
The Slider is the seventh studio album by English rock band T. Rex, and the third since abbreviating their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 21 July 1972 by record labels EMI and Reprise. Two number-one singles, "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru", were released to promote the album. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, The Slider received acclaim from critics, reaching number 4 in the UK Albums Chart and number 17 in the US.
Maria Muldaur is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has recorded albums in the folk, blues, early jazz, gospel, country, and R&B traditions.
Pedro Alejandro Escovedo is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk rock, roots rock and alternative country, and is most closely associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas but also San Francisco and New York. He comes from a family of musicians.
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released on 6 March 1970 through Mercury Records as the follow-up single to "Space Oddity". A love song for his soon-to-be wife Angie, it was recorded in January 1970 at Trident Studios in London and featured Marc Bolan on guitar, who was brought on by producer Tony Visconti. Despite praise from music journalists, the single flopped and failed to chart. Years later, Bowie rerecorded the track for his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. On this more glam rock influenced take with lyrics matching themes on the album, Mick Ronson recreated Bolan's guitar part almost note-for-note. The remake was more well-received.
Unicorn is the third studio album by English psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 16 May 1969 by record labels Regal Zonophone and Blue Thumb, and was the last Tyrannosaurus Rex album to feature Steve Peregrin Took.
The Bongos are a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey, that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop community, college radio favorites, and made the leap to national recognition with the advent of MTV. Their breakthrough song "Numbers with Wings" garnered the group a major cult following and was nominated at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Along with a handful of others, the Bongos were instrumental in the advancement of the alternative rock movement.
Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages is the second studio album by English psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 1 November 1968 by record label Regal Zonophone.
T. Rex is a 1970 album by Marc Bolan's band T. Rex, the first under that name and the fifth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 18 December by record labels Fly and Reprise. The album continued the shift begun by its predecessor from the band's previous folk style to a minimal rock sound, with an even balance of electric and acoustic material.
Tanx is a 1973 album by rock band T. Rex, the eighth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968, and the fourth under the moniker T. Rex. It was released on 16 March by record label EMI. Tanx was a musical departure from previous works: still containing tracks in the vein of The Slider, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan showed his interest for soul music, funk and gospel. Female backing singers appeared on a few tracks. New instruments such as mellotron were used, played by producer Tony Visconti, allowing the T. Rex sound to evolve.
My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows is the debut album by psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex. The release of the album was planned for early May but delayed until 5 July 1968 by record label Regal Zonophone.
"Get It On" is a song by the English rock band T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album Electric Warrior. Written by frontman Marc Bolan, "Get It On" was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by the group Chase.
Glenn Mercer is the vocalist and guitarist of the North Haledon, New Jersey–based rock band The Feelies. Together with Bill Million, Mercer has written and produced virtually all of the Feelies' recorded output.
T. Rex were an English rock band formed in London in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan, who was their leader, frontman and only consistent member. Though initially associated with the psychedelic folk genre, Bolan began to change the band's style towards electric rock in 1969, and shortened their name to T. Rex the following year. This development culminated in 1970 with their first significant hit single "Ride a White Swan", and the group soon became pioneers of the glam rock movement.
Howard William Casey is a British rhythm and blues and rock saxophonist. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors, the first rock and roll band from Liverpool to play clubs in Germany, and later as leader of the renamed Howie Casey and the Seniors, the first Liverpool group to record an LP. He was a sought after session musician, particularly in horn sections in the 1970s, recording and/or touring with groups including Paul McCartney and Wings, T. Rex, The Who, ABC and The Roy Young Band.
Steve Addabbo is an American record producer, songwriter and audio engineer, who helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. He had a vital hand in Vega's hit single, "Luka" and Colvin's album Steady On.
Drums Along the Hudson is the debut album by American power pop band The Bongos, released in 1982 by record label PVC.
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