Julian Charles John Lennon is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian inspired three Beatles songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1967), "Hey Jude" (1968) and "Good Night" (1968). His parents divorced in 1968 after his father had an affair with Yoko Ono.
John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Lennon's son Julian inspired the song with a nursery school drawing that he called "Lucy – in the sky with diamonds". Shortly before the album's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the nouns in the title intentionally spelled "LSD", the initialism commonly used for the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide. Lennon repeatedly denied that he had intended it as a drug song, and attributed the song's fantastical imagery to his reading of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books.
"With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr, his lead vocal for the album. As the second track on the album, it segues from the applause of the title track.
Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but failed to find commercial success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote the glam rock song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became a huge commercial success in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced an album of the same name for them, which continued their success.
Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their commercial successes, musical eclecticism and frequent personnel changes; going through three lead guitarists and four drummers. However, the core trio of the McCartneys and Laine remained intact throughout the group's existence.
Alan White was an English drummer, best known for his tenure in the progressive rock band Yes. He joined Yes in 1972 as a replacement for original drummer Bill Bruford. Following the death of bassist Chris Squire in 2015, White became the longest-remaining member in the band and the only member besides Squire to never leave the band prior to his death in 2022. He appeared on 43 albums with the band, 17 of which were original studio albums.
Chester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer best known for his tenures with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Santana, the progressive rock band Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo artist. Thompson has performed with his jazz group, the Chester Thompson Trio, since 2011.
Henry Campbell Liken McCullough was a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, The Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He also performed and recorded as a solo artist and session musician.
Joe English is an American musician, vocalist and songwriter who, during the 1970s, played drums in Paul McCartney's band Wings and in the rock band Sea Level, among others.
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied.
Rory Dodd is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing as the duet voice on Bonnie Tyler's version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart", a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Matt Bissonette is an American bass player and vocalist. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music styles ranging from jazz, jazz fusion, progressive metal and instrumental rock. Bissonette has played bass with performers such as David Lee Roth (1987–1992), Jeff Lynne and ELO (2001), Ringo Starr (2003–2005), and currently, Elton John (2012–present). He is the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette.
Christopher Robert "Chris" Stainton is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, Stainton is best known for his work with Eric Clapton, The Who, Andy Fairweather Low and Bryan Ferry.
The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both English and American musicians. The band is often not recognised as a formal entity, and is instead referred to simply as the Elton John Band.
Valotte is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Julian Lennon. The album was produced by Phil Ramone and recorded at several studios from February to August 1984. It was released in October 1984 on Charisma and Atlantic. The album was first certified gold in the United States, in the new year, then shortly afterwards being certified platinum. From the album, four singles were released, each with a music video, charting at various positions on the singles charts in both the United Kingdom and US. "Too Late for Goodbyes", the second US single, and "Valotte", the first US single, were both US Billboard Top 10 hits, the former reaching No. 5 and the latter reaching No. 9. The album peaked at No. 17 in the US and No. 20 in the UK. Lennon toured the US, Australia, and Japan in March–June 1985.
Japanese Tears is the third album by guitarist Denny Laine, released shortly before the demise of Paul McCartney's band Wings, of which Laine was a member. The album was released in 1980.
Stephen John Hunter is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long association with record producer Bob Ezrin who has said Steve Hunter has contributed so much to rock music in general that he truly deserves the designation of "Guitar Hero". Steve Hunter has played some of the greatest riffs in rock history - the first solo in Aerosmith's "Train Kept A Rollin'", the acoustic intro on Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" and he wrote the intro interlude on Lou Reed's live version of "Sweet Jane" on Reed's first gold record.
"Valotte" is a song by British singer Julian Lennon, the title track and second single from his debut album Valotte. It was a top-ten single in January 1985 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian pop charts, peaking at No. 9. On the US Adult Contemporary chart, "Valotte" peaked at No. 4. On the Canadian AC chart, it spent two weeks at No. 2.
Carmine Rojas is an American bass guitarist, musical director and composer. His musical styles include rock, R&B/funk, and jazz.
